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The best way to clean and update your list
is to mail it with an address correction endorsement.
Without an address correction endorsement, undeliverable standard (bulk)
mail is thrown away by the Post Office. The cost for a manual address correction is now 50
cents per piece (or more depending on endorsement and
weight).
As an incentive to regularly update your
mail list with address correction endorsements, the USPS has developed
an “automated update” process that makes it much more
economical to return updates to you. This process is called Address
Change Service (ACS).
Currently, the cost for using the proper endorsement for ACS
correction is only 25 cents per piece.
This service is designed to significantly
reduce the number of address correction notifications provided manually
and replace them with electronic notifications. However, ACS
will not completely eliminate manual corrections ... you may
still receive some manual corrections at the higher cost. (For
complete details, go to www.usps.gov.)
To use this service, you must add an ACS
participant code (assigned by the USPS) to the address block. This
code can be provided only by the ACS Department at the National Customer
Support Center. However, to simplify the process, you can use Tri-Media's
ACS Participant Code for your mailings and avoid the delay and
required programming for this service. Tri-Media will
perform the necessary setup, process all electronic corrections and
return them to you, either on disk or in printed form indicating the old
address and the new updated address.
There are specific guidelines required
for label preparation and endorsement printing on the mail piece to
properly qualify for the lower ACS rate. Failure
to follow these guidelines can cause ALL mail pieces to be
returned at the higher manual return rate! Click
here to read these important requirements for ACS processing.
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