reply mail
Convenient Business Reply Mail service is available with recharge to all campus departments.
Mail Services maintains an advance account with the Amherst Post Office for business reply mail and handles all associated accounting and fees. mail services is the only campus department qualified by usps to authorize the use of commercial responses.
Design requirements are very exact for Business Reply Mail, so you need to contact Mail Services Customer Service at 413-545-2488 before planning your campaign or printing. any piece of mail.
Postal regulations change frequently, so don’t use old envelopes or older designs without approval from the mail services.
Top-up amounts, based on USPS Basic Business Response Postage rates, are as follows:
- regular letters and postcards up to one ounce – 81.5 ¢ each piece returned
- larger pieces are charged $2.35 plus .20 each additional ounce
After receiving business reply pieces from the post office, the mail services will reload the individual departments and deliver the reply mail the next business day.
choose reply mail type
There are two basic types of reply mail: business reply mail (brm) and courtesy reply mail (crm). although brm and crm are similar, there is a significant difference.
business reply email
Business Reply Mail (brm) requires postage to be paid by your department. (the sender) if your customer (the respondent) sends you the response by mail. brm is appropriate when your client needs a little extra incentive to respond; in other words, the answer or your time is not certain. this type of reply mail is often used for researcher surveys looking for answers to questionnaires, or development looking for donations and marketing looking for orders.
The additional incentive is provided because your customer does not need to post return postage, does not have to provide a postcard or envelope, and does not need to address the correspondence. Figure 5-1 shows a standard piece of brm in postcard and envelope format.
courtesy reply email
Courtesy Response Mail (CRM) requires your customer (the respondent) to postage before mailing the response to you (the sender). crm is appropriate when the response is more or less secure, as in the case of billing (see annex 5-2).
Although the customer usually pays the return postage (unless you prepay by meter, as in meter reply mail (mrm) – see page 96), the postcard or pre-addressed envelope add comfort and ensure steering precision. Figure 5-2 shows a standard CRM piece in postcard and envelope format.
exhibition 5-1 brm postcard and envelope (not drawn to scale)
test 5-2 cream colored postcard and envelope(not drawn to scale)
benefit from reply mail
Reply mail offers two main benefits: a faster response and more accurate delivery.
The easier it is for your customer to respond, the faster the return will arrive. an addressed (and perhaps postage-paid) envelope containing the customer’s response or check is easy to mail. Customers have positive attitudes toward vendors and fundraisers who show foresight and thoughtfulness by providing reply cards, envelopes, or labels.
with brm and crm, your address is pre-printed. this is especially important when you want payments and inquiries to be directed to an address other than your regular mailing address.
By eliminating client routing issues, potential delivery errors can be eliminated.
To request an envelope or postcard design, select one of the options above. A camera-ready pdf design will be sent to you so you can take it to whitmore printing services and have the envelopes printed for your show.
Business Response Design Order Form