The U.S. Postal Service's proposal to change flats into parcels will drive BMG-Columbia House away from the mail channel, vice president Clifton B. Knight Jr. said in a letter USPS chief operating officer Pat Donohoe.

He said his company would face increases of "62% to 115%" in its product shipment costs. And if BMG is "constrained to stop using the mail for product shipment", it will "inevitably reduce, if not entirely eliminate" its "use of mail for marketing and promotional purposes."

Knight noted the USPS is compounding the problem by reclassifying his company's product from flats to parcels, even though he claims BMG has gone to "considerable expense" to make sure that their CD and DVD shipments meet the requirements for automated flats.

The USPS has already drawn criticism for its proposed new standards from mailer groups, particularly on the issues of automatable flats (Direct Newsline, Oct. 8).

The Postal Service hoped these standards would encourage companies to prepare their mail to make it "compatible with [its] improved processing capabilities."

Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce, blasted the proposals last week for treating flats like parcels, which would cost mailers a lot more money. "I hope we can make our objections loud enough so that the Postal Rate Commission hears our objections," said Del Polito.

The USPS is accepting public comments on these proposals, and on other changes, until Nov. 13.