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The U.S. Postal Service has done an amazing job reducing costs. But thus far, despite stiffening competition, mailers haven't seen it do much to increase its products' appeal. So here's a way for the USPS to offer added value — and boost mail volume and revenue as well.

In the early days of the postal service's letter-automation program, the mail handling capability of its optical character readers and barcode sorters was limited. The maximum ideal weight for automation-compatible pieces was no more than 2 ounces. It may have been fine for marketers that slimmed the size of their mailing packages to practically nothing. But for the rest, that weight restriction would've made mail use a dubious proposition.

Fortunately, as automation improved, so did the weight-handling ability of the USPS' machines. This has been a topic of conversation between the postal service and mail marketers over the years, and the top weight of an automatable letter has inched from 2.5 to 3.5 ounces in the current rate scheme.

Raising the maximum weight of automation-rated letters has been a boon to both advertising mailers and the USPS. Users of heavier pieces say they've been able to launch whole new mail programs that have won the postal service volume and revenue gains across all mail classes.

But there's still more the USPS can do. Postal engineers know that today's processing equipment can accommodate pieces up to 6 ounces. So, given the industry's propensity for squeezing the most value out of each half-ounce of mail weight, there's no reason the USPS shouldn't expect even greater business by lifting the limit on automatable letters to at least 4 ounces. That's only half an ounce more than what's permitted today, and still 2 ounces below the top load USPS machines can handle.

Such a change can easily be worked into the upcoming rate case. The postal service has the experience and data to justify it, and mailers have demonstrated the market-based wisdom for doing it.

So what are we waiting for?

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GENE A. DEL POLITO is president of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) in Arlington, VA.