Is the USPS Auctioning Your Goods or Shredding Your Mail?

“It never ceases to amaze me, the things people send through the mail with incorrect addresses,” said Michael Miles, Communications Manager for the U.S. Postal Service’s Atlanta District.

The USPS Mail Recovery Centers in St. Louis and Atlanta auction off lost products every six to eight weeks. Attendees can bid on lots containing anything from 100 reading glasses to a dozen automobile tires, a couple of karaoke machines, computers, books, and golf clubs.

The 180 postal workers at the two Recovery Centers process 39.3 million letters and 548,000 packages per year. These “detectives” open each piece in search of clues that will help them route the mail in the right direction. Undeliverable letters are shredded, while undeliverable packages are prepared for auction.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of getting addresses right,” said Miles. “You might think you have an accurate and complete address, but if your mail says ‘Atlantic Street,’ instead of ‘Atlantic Boulevard,’ it might end up at auction. A letter that says ‘Main Street,’ instead of ‘Main Street North,’ might end up shredded.”

Keep your valuable packages and correspondence out of the Mail Recovery Centers! Find out why 8,500 companies already use QuickAddress software to validate the addresses in their customer databases.

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QuickAddress Saves Eastwood Insurance $26,000 in Less Than Six Months

Eastwood Insurance, a California-based auto insurance broker, turned to QuickAddress in early 2004 to ensure accuracy in the customer database.

“QuickAddress won’t let our agents put bad addresses into the database,” said Mike Johnson, Director of Information Technology at Eastwood. “We’re seeing an immediate decrease in returned mail, down from over 400 pieces per day to less than 200. The savings are enormous.”

He also likes the product for its ease of installation.

“We have 22 offices scattered throughout the Western states, and we needed a product that would be easy to install at the client/server here in California, and ported to the other sites easily, without on-site manipulations. QuickAddress delivered on that promise.”

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3 Easy Steps to Reduce Returns

Few industries have as much to lose due to address errors than mail-order. When you ship large packages that contain valuable products, they had better not get lost in the mail. If they are returned to your company, customers are upset, and you incur significant handling fees.

The USPS may even destroy mis-addressed catalogs, causing thousands of dollars in losses that management might not even know about.

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QAS Quiz: Win a Prize from Hickory Farms

What does "DPV" stand for, when referring to USPS mail handling procedures?

• Delivery Promise Validity
• Delivery Point Validation
• Data Point Validation
• Don't Pay Volumes

If you think you know your USPS facts, email us now. The first correct answer wins a prize from Hickory Farms!

Last QAS Quiz:

We asked:
How many 5-digit ZIP codes are there in the U.S.?

1. 3,279
2. 26,908
3. 41,899 (correct)
4. 106,311

QAS congratulates
the winners!

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