Mary Swiergol says she is hoping for a miracle. Each month, she spends more than $20,000 to mail 56,000 copies of the DesertLeaf to homes, mostly in the Catalina Foothills and Tanque Verde areas. That will jump almost 50 percent to nearly $30,000 to reach those same homes starting May 14.

“Right now,” she said, “I’m saying my prayers that they change their minds.”

On such short notice Swiergol says she doesn’t know where the money will come from to pay the U.S. Postal Service’s announced rate increases on bulk mail.

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She isn’t alone. Any business, whether it’s mailing a free periodical, a catalogue or advertisement, is subject to the change in the standard rates. Like the new rates for first-class mail, which also go into effect May 14, these rates will also take into account pricing based on shape and size.

The new rates, which were announced in March, divide all mail by shape and size. The traditional business-sized envelope (No. 10) is the Postal Service’s favored size because it can be inexpensively machine processed. Larger “flats” and thicker packages will see mailing rate increase of 40 percent or more.

The DesertLeaf’s Swiergol is now faced with making decisions such as changing the publication’s format, reducing circulation or increasing advertising prices to meet the new costs.

“You’ll definitely be seeing more racks around town,” Swiergol said. “Beyond that, we haven’t decided what we’ll do, yet. All we know is that it’s going to become extremely difficult for periodicals to mail, and that’s something we’ll have to deal with as best we can.”

Some businesses may just decide to quit using the Postal Service.

“Almost everyone is taking another look at their budget,” said Anna Vogel, a sales representative for Apache Business Systems. “Some of those who have been mailing are now looking at online options, and others are considering whether it makes sense to continue. For certain, everyone feels blindsided.”

They shouldn’t be surprised, said David Partenheimer, spokesman for the Postal Service, who said the new rates were proposed more than 10 months ago. The adjustment is intended to reflect the actual price of processing the mail, shifting the burden to those who cost the most.

A number of factors go into figuring out bulk rates n weight, quantity, how its pre-sorted, and distance. The new rates add shape and size to the equation.

It’s similar to first class, where a standard envelope will increase from 39 cents to 41 cents. But a one-ounce first class flat can be 80 cents. If it’s too thick, it would be classified a first-class parcel and the charge is $1.30 for the first ounce.

“This is a public process, so it has been public record for awhile,” Partenheimer said.

The largest bulk mail user in Tucson n and one of the largest in the nation n is Crosstown Traders/Old Pueblo Traders, owned by Charming Shoppes. The company publishes 13 catalogs that generate $400 million in sales.

Gayle Coolick, director of investor relations for Charming Shoppes, said the company had been expecting the rate increase and had budgeted to compensate for it.

“We’re looking at the best way to manage costs,” Coolick said, adding the company is looking at ways to reduce its expenses for catalogs.

One option, she said might be to add more brick-and-mortar retail stores. The company already operates 2,400 Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherine’s Plus Sizes. Another alternative is to continue expanding the “symbiotic relationship” between catalog and Web-based marketing.

“We don’t have any plans to go one way or the other,” Coolick said. “Instead, we’ll continue to evaluate what we do as needed, continuing to giving our customer the power to do what she wants.”

Philip S. Moore

Inside Tucson Business

Contact Philip S. Moore at pmoore@azbiz.com or at (520) 295-4238. E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com.

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