Miss Terry set a new record getting all of the envelopes stuffed with the new issue of the paper, and by yesterday afternoon the majority of them were in the mail. We’ll drop the remainder off at the post office and UPS this morning.
The Gypsy Journal goes out to our subscribers several different ways, depending on their preference. The greatest majority are sent as Standard Rate mail, which used to be called Bulk Mail.
We use different commercial mail houses around the country, depending where we happen to be when we publish a new issue. We send the mail service our address list and they print the names onto envelopes. Then we pick the envelopes up, stuff them with papers, and return them to the mail service, which uses its mail permit to send them out. Because a mailing permit is specific to one post office, and we travel all over the country, we don’t have our own permit, which would require us to return to the same post office for mailing every time. Standard Rate is the least expensive way to subscribe, but it is also the slowest delivery method. If subscribers are traveling, the post office will not forward Standard Rate mail.
The second option is First Class mail, which costs more, but moves faster through the postal system. First Class is also supposed to be forwarded, but it has been our experience that no matter what the rules say, the good folks at the post office do (or don’t do) whatever they feel like. We use Stamps.com to print our own First Class postage, and we can mail items anywhere.
We also have a lot of subscribers who use mail forwarding services such as Escapees, FMCA, and Alternative Resources. We have so many subscribers who use these three mailing services that they all allow us to put the envelopes with the papers for their clients into boxes, and ship them to them by UPS. This saves us a few dollars in postage, and gets the papers into subscribers’ mail boxes a little quicker than Standard Rate.
Last year we also made digital subscriptions available, and we have had a lot of subscribers switch to that option. When a new issue is uploaded, we send them a link to its location on the internet, where they can either read it online, or download it to their computers. The digital subscription is the quickest way to get each new issue of the paper, because subscribers can be reading it minutes after I upload it.
Now that the new issue is making its way to subscribers in every corner of the country, we can relax a little bit, and we can even try to squeeze in a little bit of fun. Today we plan to drive down to Tucson and visit my cousin Beverly, who is one of my favorite people in the whole world. For the last three or four years, we have spent a couple of weeks in Tucson visiting Beverly, but this year our schedule is so crowded that we’re not sure if we can get down for a stay or not. But we at least want to make a day trip to the Old Pueblo and spend some time with her before we head to Yuma for our Gypsy Gathering rally.
While Terry and I were busy dealing with mailing chores, Bad Nick was busy posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled 10 Things That Piss Me Off. Check it out and leave a comment.
Thought For The Day – New survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world’s population.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
As for the thought for the day; I think I fall into that category.
Sometimes called the “silent majority.”