EPP Projects
Technology / Public Policy Courses
"Issues in Bulk Mail"
Fall 1995
Faculty Advisors:
Otto Davis,
Social and Decision Sciences/Eengineering and Public
Policy
Hadi Dowlatabadi,
Engineering and Public Policy
Spyros Pandis,
Chemical Engineering/Engineering and Public Policy
Introduction:
In recent years, the words "bulk mail" have
been making headlines. Various groups profile bulk mail
as a marketing success, invasion of privacy, personal
annoyance, or environmental problem. This report studies
bulk mail and the combination of perspectives that can
be taken. Our purpose is to establish a more balanced
evaluation of bulk mail than is available in any of
the single-view perspectives.
We will use the definition used by the United States
Post Office. The United States Postal Service (USPS)
states that to qualify for bulk mail rates there must
be a minimum of 200 pieces of the same mail. For this
study, we will be considering only first and third class
mail. First class mail issued for letters, post cards,
greeting cards and checks or money orders while third
class mail, also known as bulk class mail, is primarily
used by retailers, catalogers, and other advertisers
to promote their products and services. A piece of bulk
mail must be less than one pound and be prepared in
a manner that allows for efficient handling. Second
class mail is limited to publishers and registered news
agents and fourth class mail is for packages weighing
more than one pound. Since neither of these two classes
involve a substantial amount of bulk mail, they will
not be examined since they do not fall within the scope
of this project.
To order this report, please send your request and a
check for $12.40 to:
Department
of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 All
orders must be prepaid.
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