Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501030036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It's pretty silly when you think about it. For the couple of pennies I saved, I could've kept that money in the bank," said Mandros, who figured he would've earned more interest than the 24 cents he drove across town to save on postage.
He wasn't the only one who made a dash to local post offices Friday to get mail out before tonight's witching hour.
At midnight, first-class stamp prices climb to 32 cents, and bulk-rate postage increases by about 10 percent.
That increase, the first in four years, is expected to generate $4.7billion in additional revenue for the U.S. Postal Service, which completed the fiscal year $914million in the hole.
At the Cave Spring post office and Roanoke's main post office near the Civic Center, it was as if Christmas had returned.
Some waited in line 10 minutes to buy 29-cent stamps and new makeup stamps valued at 3 cents.
Earlier this week, the Grandin Road post office ran out of those makeup stamps, Roanoke Postmaster Billy Martin said.
And downtown postal worker Peggy Palmer is expecting a flood of customers next week to buy the temporary "G" series stamp, valued at 32 cents. Martin said he isn't sure when new 32-cent stamps will be available.
"Tuesday is going to be a nightmare," said Palmer, who has been through eight postage increase during her 18-year tenure with the postal service.
But not everyone in Friday's crowd was trying to pinch pennies.
Longaberger Baskets of Virginia Inc. consultant Cheryl Ranson was trying to mail out promotional leaflets and couldn't figure out why postal headquarters was so busy.
"They're really trying to save 3 cents?" she asked. "I'm just here trying to mail this because the promotion starts on January 1st, so we're trying to get everything in the mail before then."
Palmer said the only people she's heard complaining are those who wanted a bigger increase.
"They were mad it didn't go to the even amount: 35 cents. They think it should be an amount that's easy to multiply in their heads," she said.
Another couple of cents may not mean much to most families, but to a business that sends out thousands of pieces of mail per month, a few more pennies equals hundreds of dollars more in postage, Palmer said.
That's why, in November, Packett Group Executive Vice President Bill Thomasson sounded the alarm with his advertising clients.
Thomasson sent out a memo advising them to push January deadlines up to December to take advantage of the lower rates.
He wasn't prepared for their response.
"The floodgates just opened up. It's been wild. We've gotten a number of mailings out - several thousand pieces ... The printers are wall-to-wall trying to meet the deadlines."
And it wasn't only large businesses that were scrambling for their last chance to save money.
Terry Doss of Ewald-Clark, a camera and photo supply dealer, made it his pet project to get repair notices out a week early, so he could save the company about $1.20 on postage.
And Greg Greenstein of Rebel Records did the same.
"I sent out our January mailing today. The difference if I'd waited would've been about $15," said Greenstein, who is sending out another batch of mail today.
Any mail with only 29 cents' worth of postage that is postmarked after midnight will be delivered with a postage-due notice, Martin said.
by CNB