How do I add USPS Endorsements to Imagination Library Books?

For those who may be less familiar with postal endorsements, they are addressing services offered by the Postal Service (which they officially call ‘ancillary service endorsements’) that, for a fee, allow you to give the Postal Service specific instructions for how to handle your mail if it is undeliverable as addressed. A majority of you across the country have good working relationships with your local post offices and are able to retrieve your undeliverable Imagination Library books each month. However, if you are an affiliate whose post offices are not cooperating with returning the undeliverable books, you may want to read the following carefully if you would like to consider adding a postal endorsement to your books.

In November of 2012, we began using the mandatory IMb (Intelligent Mail Barcode) put in place by the United States Postal Service. At that point, since we mail all DPIL books under one bulk mail permit, either all of our affiliates had to pay for any endorsement we added (like Return Service Requested) or none could. However, since February 2020, individual affiliates have been able to add endorsements again.

If you add an endorsement to your Imagination Library books, the postal carrier will deliver a ‘due bill’ to the return address on the label for the undeliverable books. A representative for the affiliate will then need to go to the local post office, pay the bill and pick up the books, addresses, etc. You have a certain timeframe in which to pick up endorsed, returned books, and the USPS can refuse to continue to return them if they are not picked up in a timely manner. This could also affect our bulk mailing permit, so please stay on top of this if you decide to add an endorsement.

TO ADD AN ENDORSEMENT TO THE BOOKS:

Any endorsement should be added to Tag Line 1 in your affiliate profile, and we will handle the rest. If you wish to pay to retrieve your undeliverable Imagination Library books by adding the Return Service Requested endorsement or would like to add the Address Service Requested endorsement, take these steps:

1.Log in to the BOS as the Main Coordinator.

2.Under Daily Operations select “Affiliate” then “Edit Profile”

a.Remember you may switch between multiple Affiliates under your username at the top right.

3.On the lower-left portion of your affiliate profile page, find the Tag Line 1 box.

4.Type ‘Return Service Requested’ or ‘Address Service Requested’ in the Tag Line 1 box and click the ‘Save and Exit’ button.

We will approve the change in the BOS, and this will print the Return Service Requested or Address Service Requested endorsement on the book labels until you request a change.

ENDORSEMENT SERVICES AND ASSOCIATED COST (Oct 2022 First Class Rates: find current rates here):

(The following information has been provided by the USPS)

Address Service Requested Endorsement

Scenario 1: The mail piece is undeliverable and the USPS has a move update available:

What you get – if the move update on file is between 1 and 12 months old: The mail piece is forwarded to the updated address on file, and a notice of the new address is provided.
What it costs: An Address Correction Fee of $0.55 is charged.
What you get – if the move update on file is between 12 and 18 months old: The mailpiece is returned with the new address attached.
What it costs: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed – this is the appropriate First Class postage for the piece (for flats less than 1 pound, the First Class postage cost is $1.20 for the first ounce and $0.20 for each additional ounce) multiplied by 2.472 and rounded to the nearest whole cent. Example: if a book weighs 7 ounces, it will cost $2.40 for the First Class postage. That amount multiplied by 2.472 equals $5.80 for the total return charge.
What you get if the move update on file is 18 months old or older: The mail piece is returned with the reason for non-delivery attached.
What it costs: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed.

Scenario 2: The mail piece is undeliverable and the USPS does not have a move update available:

What you get: The mail piece is returned with ‘No Forwarding Address on File’ attached.
What it costs: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed.

Return Service Requested Endorsement

What you get: The mail piece returned with a new address (if one is available) or reason for non-delivery attached.
What it costs: First Class postage – for flats this cost is $1.20 for the first ounce and $0.20 for each additional ounce. Example: if a book weighs 7 ounces, it will cost $2.40 to have it returned.

The pricing and services can get confusing, please reach out to your local postmaster for the most current costs.