Postal

Question: Should I put the real shipping or in-hands dates on the orders I send to suppliers? Answer: I always built in a cushion of a few days to prevent 11th hour heroics and to be prepared for client ignorance, like neglecting to tell me the event is at 8 a.m. or that they need…

The United States Postal Service announced that it is "contemplating amendment" of its mailing standards for domestic mail, changing the standards for letter-size and flat-size pieces. According to the release in the USPS Federal Register, the change would limit all mail that is shipped as Marketing…

EnvyPak, Columbus, Ohio, received another new ruling from the United States Postal Service that provides lower automation letter rates for a specifically-formatted, polypropylene envelope that now does not require an affixed mailing label, can be sealed with glue applied by lettershops and is fully machine-insertable. Using this specially formatted, Automation Letter Rate (ALR) clear poly…

Two months ago, news of scratch-and-sniff stamps from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) had us pondering which promotional products would benefit from a similar treatment and which would violate considerations of common sense. For the latter, of course, we had some fun with it, as we doubt anyone would consider adding a scratch-and-sniff scent to…

The newest rounds of retaliatory tariffs from Canada announced yesterday point directly at a few items with direct ties to the promotional industry, like ballpoint pens.

According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), there's a shortage of approximately 50,000 truck drivers in the U.S. This shortage is contributing to shipping issues for retailers and consumers, and it's seeping into the promotional products space, too...

With the USPS set to launch scratch-and-sniff stamps, we began to wonder which promotional products might benefit from a similar treatment and which should definitely resist the urge to be nosy about our noses’ inner workings. Just for fun, here are three examples of goods that would be more awesome and three that sound downright terrible in scratch-and-sniff form...

When you, as promotional products professionals, are thinking about a way to appeal to the younger generation, what do you think of? Fidget spinners? Bluetooth speakers? Smartphone accessories? Stamp books? Wait, what was…

On a concrete strip of coastline in sunny Southern California, the Port of Long Beach acts as the gateway for a hefty percentage of the promotional products imported from Asia. As the second busiest container port in the country, Long Beach has weathered its share of storms in…

The United States Postal Service (USPS) rolled out its "Informed Delivery" service that allowed people to see exactly what will be in their mailbox when they get home. Originally, the USPS implemented it in major cities, like New York and Washington, D.C., but now plans to expand the service further. Beginning April 14, the Informed…