Mintel Mailer Shop

Has anyone been doing this project? I was wondering how you are sending your material to Mintel. The scheduler for this project does not seem to want to pay more than $5 for postage but the cheapest I've gotten away with is $9 for postage.

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I only end up with a few every month. I can easily fit them in a manila envelope and mail for about $2 in first class postage. How many do you get?

I stuff them into a Priority mailer that now costs $6.80 I always get a load of Non profit mail every month I have never had a problem sending them that way, Once I tried having them weighed and it did cost much more to do it that way,

@plmccut wrote:

Has anyone been doing this project? I was wondering how you are sending your material to Mintel. The scheduler for this project does not seem to want to pay more than $5 for postage but the cheapest I've gotten away with is $9 for postage.

How much mail do you send? If it's the same project I do I am only sending my non profit mail and that is at the most three pieces of mail. I'm just curious how much you are sending.

Liz

I'm doing the mailer project which is for the communication ads in that mailer. If the ads/coupons came in one of those blue envelopes it would not be a problem. Mine is the Red Plum and 4 of those at the end of the month weigh about 1 1/2 lbs. The project coordinator says, "Please note: Do not ship anything using 2-Day, First Class, or Flat Rate shipping. Only use Standard shipping rates. Anything above that will not be reimbursed."

The mail survey is totally different from the mailer survey. I am doing both and I rarely get any non-profit/political mail so that's very cheap and has a different project coordinator. The mailer project is the one where you are counting the number of communication ads in that mailer.

You might want to call your post office and ask if sending coupons and inserts to a friend can be sent "Printed Matter" if there is no personal communication in the envelope. I think the post office now calls is 'media mail'

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2016 06:45PM by Flash.

The flat rate priority mail envelope has been cheaper for me than a manila envelope on most occasions. It costs me $6.45 versus $8 or $9 to send in my own envelope. If the envelope is too thick, it goes as a package. That's what drives the rate up.

The Priority flat rate envelope is working well for me at $6.45. If it fits, it ships. This is the Mail Survey which includes the non-profit and political mail pieces.

I was doing the priority flat rate envelope, too, but no matter - the shop only pays $5 for the postage costs. Mintel has always been good about paying the postage costs for any projects I have done for them EXCEPT for this one. I'm beginning to think it is not worth doing which is a first for me with Mintel projects. The mailers come once a week and require me to post a pic of the front and the back of the mailer. At the end of the month, all the mailers are to be mailed to Mintel. At that time they pay $15 plus postage. In this case most of the time it would be $15 fee plus $5 postage vs. $15 fee plus $5 postage minus $9.02 postage. Real pay total is $20, real cost is $9 so the project gain for me is $11. Not worth it when considering the time involved plus the drive to the post office every month.

I love Mintel and enjoy their projects as they are different and usually pay OK for the work involved. I probably will continue to eat the costs on this one simply because I want to continue to be considered for Mintel projects.

After being told at the PO that it HAD to go Priority because it cost the same to go standard (!?), I figured it out. Take off the cover with postage and send that. Take excess insides and return envelopes out. Eliminate the bulk and extra weight. My last one was $1.86 to mail in a 9 x 12 poly mailer, and we get lots.

LGRM - So you're saying I should keep the front and back plus any communication ads and discard the rest? Then only mail the front, back and communication ads? That would be a whole lot cheaper.

Funny part of this is I have mailed a Flat Rate package which was cheaper than regular standard postage. They only paid $5 of the Flat Rate fee but today I got the full payment for the standard mail postage of $9.02. The project coordinator stated that the client has requested that they only pay standard rates but this sure does not make any sense to me!!

It appears there is more than one mailing project, with different standards. I only have experience with the daily mail survey. I have mailed at least 8 pieces each month, and have used the Priority flat rate envelope, now at $6.45. I have always been reimbursed for the full cost of sending the materials.

anyone heard of their another department Global New Products Database (GNPD) team in London?
tnx

@plmccut wrote:

LGRM - So you're saying I should keep the front and back plus any communication ads and discard the rest? Then only mail the front, back and communication ads? That would be a whole lot cheaper.

Sorry I've been MIA. Yes, I guess. I'm not sure what you mean by "communication ads."

So, if I get a qualifying newsletter, say, I keep the full cover (which has the postage on it, and they can tell what kind of a mailing it was), and send just the cover. I recycle the insides after we read them.

If I get a qualifying mailer, I keep the sender's envie, and the main part of the mailing with my address on it, and toss the excess inserts and the return envie.

I only send what they're asking for, which is two distinct types of mail. This saves soooo much postage! btw, I asked via email if it was okay to keep some of the qualifying mail, because we actually do use it. I was told yes, so I figure reducing what I send them this way is also fine. I have not been scolded. If you are concerned at all, you should contact the person in charge of the project.

@kimbesa wrote:

It appears there is more than one mailing project, with different standards. I only have experience with the daily mail survey.

I'm getting that impression, as well.

I received a call from a booker on this project, was immediately sceptical, and refused the project. Mintel claims to have a contract with the Canadian government to evaluate food products sent to a lab through the mail. Since when was it legal to send food items in the mail? I have worked in restaurants and grocery stores; they have their own internal investigations and evaluations experts for food and the staff is trained to check on a regular basis.

There are government programs in place to evaluate food through inspections. I have never heard of the federal or any regional/state/provincial government making use of mystery shoppers for these types of investigations. A mystery shopper company is unlikely to have any affiliation with a lab. I was also suspicious of the caller who was hesitant and nervous, did not offer a full name, and did not state her position in the company.

She also told me that I would spend $200 a month and would be reimbursed. The company should cover the full cost of shipping but I do not send food or other questionable items in the mail. I suggest avoiding this company along with Durham Solutions. There are plenty of legitimate companies to work for.

I can believe this. Mintel has a lot of speciality tupe projects and they often pay very well. I am sure someone else will pipe in but my only comment for the moment is what makes you think it is illegal to send food through the mail?

Liz

@acornwilderness wrote:

I received a call from a booker on this project, was immediately sceptical, and refused the project. Mintel claims to have a contract with the Canadian government to evaluate food products sent to a lab through the mail. Since when was it legal to send food items in the mail? I have worked in restaurants and grocery stores; they have their own internal investigations and evaluations experts for food and the staff is trained to check on a regular basis.

There are government programs in place to evaluate food through inspections. I have never heard of the federal or any regional/state/provincial government making use of mystery shoppers for these types of investigations. A mystery shopper company is unlikely to have any affiliation with a lab. I was also suspicious of the caller who was hesitant and nervous, did not offer a full name, and did not state her position in the company.

She also told me that I would spend $200 a month and would be reimbursed. The company should cover the full cost of shipping but I do not send food or other questionable items in the mail. I suggest avoiding this company along with Durham Solutions. There are plenty of legitimate companies to work for.

On the Mintel website, after you log in, there is a message about scams. It says initial contact from Mintel will always be online or via email.

"Remember - Never accept an assignment from Mintel that has been mailed through the post - initial communication will always occur online or through email. Also, any communication from us will always direct you back to our Chicago or London offices, not to a P.O. Box."

I forgot about that. That is true.

Liz

@Roxie wrote:

On the Mintel website, after you log in, there is a message about scams. It says initial contact from Mintel will always be online or via email.

"Remember - Never accept an assignment from Mintel that has been mailed through the post - initial communication will always occur online or through email. Also, any communication from us will always direct you back to our Chicago or London offices, not to a P.O. Box."

Hi

This is Paul from Mintel - I do check the forums and don't respond unless something is stated that is incorrect. The project you are referring to is indeed a legitimate project. We conduct the project in several Canadian markets and use FedEx to ship the products. I just wanted to point out that Mintel (www.mintel.com) is a world leading market research company that ships products from 130 countries across the globe. Apologies for the long note but when our credibility is called into doubt it's important to state the facts. (paulp@mintel.com) for any further clarification on the legitimacy of shipping products

Thanks, Paul, for the clarification. Don't know about the others on this forum but Mintel is my #1 favorite MSC. I was going to take on this project but decided at age 78, I wouldn't be able to deal with the physical part of the project.

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