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NEWS AND UPDATES
01/13/18
USPS Rate Increase
The USPS will be increasing postal rates
at the end of the month on January 27th!
Please remember that postal rates are a pass through
cost from the USPS to you the valued BRH customers! BRH
does not mark up costs!
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FROM THE USPS
WASHINGTON — The
United States Postal Service filed notice with the
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price
changes to take effect Jan. 27, 2019.
The proposed prices,
approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, would
raise Mailing Services product prices approximately 2.5
percent. Shipping Services price increases vary by
product. For example, Priority Mail Express will
increase 3.9 percent and Priority Mail will increase 5.9
percent. Although Mailing Services price increases are
based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Shipping
Services prices are primarily adjusted according to
market conditions. The Governors believe these new rates
will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing
the agency with needed revenue.
If favorably
reviewed by the PRC, the new prices will include a
5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail
Forever stamp, from 50 cents to 55 cents. The
single-piece additional ounce price will be reduced to
15 cents, so a 2-ounce stamped letter, such as a typical
wedding invitation, will cost less to mail, decreasing
from 71 cents to 70 cents.
The proposed Mailing
Services price changes include:
|
Product
Letters (1 oz.)
Letters additional ounces
Letters (metered 1 oz.)
Outbound International Letters (1 oz.)
Domestic Postcards |
Current
50 cents
21 cents
47 cents
$1.15
35 cents |
Proposed
55 cents
15 cents
50 cents
$1.15
35 cents |
The proposed
domestic Priority Mail Retail Flat Rate price changes
are:
|
Product
Small Flat Rate Box
Medium Flat Rate Box
Large Flat Rate Box
APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box
Regular Flat Rate Envelope
Legal Flat Rate Envelope
Padded Flat Rate Envelope |
Current
$7.20
$13.65
$18.90
$17.40
$6.70
$7.00
$7.25 |
Proposed
$7.90
$14.35
$19.95
$18.45
$7.35
$7.65
$8.00 |
First-Class Package
Service, a lightweight expedited offering used primarily
by businesses for fulfillment purposes, will move to
zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of
service and improve value based on distance.
The Postal Service
has some of the lowest letter mail postage rates in the
industrialized world and also continues to offer a great
value in shipping. Unlike some other shippers, the
Postal Service does not add surcharges for fuel,
residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday
season delivery.
The PRC will review
the prices before they are scheduled to take effect Jan.
27, 2019. The complete Postal Service price filings with
the new prices for all products can be found on the PRC
site under the Daily Listings section at
https://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily (see listing
for Oct. 10). For the Mailing Services filing see Docket
No. R2019-1. For the Shipping Services filing see Docket
No. CP2019-3. The price change tables are also available
on the Postal Service website at
https://pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.
The Postal Service
receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and
relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to
fund its operations.
THE BREAKDOWN
Summary of the 2019 Postage Rate Increase:
Domestic Mailing:
-
The First Class
Mail Letter (1 oz.) rate for postage purchased at
the Post Office will increase by five cents to $0.55
from $0.50.
-
Each additional
ounce for a First Class Mail letter will cost $0.15
(a decrease from $0.21).
-
“Metered Mail”
rates for First Class Mail Letters (1 oz.), which
includes online postage providers and postage
meters, will increase three cents to $0.50 from
$0.47. Each additional ounce will cost $0.15.
-
The five cent
“Metered Mail” rate discount for a First Class Mail
letter (1 oz.) compared to the Post Office rate
represents a savings of 9%.
-
First Class Mail
Flats/Large Envelopes (1 oz.) rates will not
increase and will remain at $1.00. Each additional
ounce will cost $0.15.
Domestic
Shipping:
-
Priority Mail
Express will see an overall rate increase of 3.9% in
2019. Commercial Base (online postage) rates will
start at $22.68 (previously $21.98).
-
Priority Mail
will see an average rate increase of 5.9% in 2019.
Commercial Base (online postage) rates will start at
$6.95 (previously $6.55).
-
First Class
Package Service will see an average rate increase of
11.9% in 2019. Commercial Base (online postage)
rates will start at $2.66.
-
First Class
Package Service will move to zone‑based pricing in
2019.
-
Parcel Select
Ground will see an average rate decrease of 1.3% in
2019. Commercial Base (online postage) rates will
start at $6.85 (previously $6.55).
-
Media Mail rates
will increase by 2.9% in 2019. Rates will start at
$2.75 (previously $2.66).
International
Shipping:
-
Priority Mail
Express International will see an average rate
increase of 3.9% in 2019. Commercial Base (online
postage) rates will start at $42.00 (previously
$40.38).
-
Priority Mail
International will see an average rate increase of
6.2% in 2019. Commercial Base (online postage) rates
will start at $39.71 (previously $38.29).
-
First Class
Package International Service will see an average
rate increase of 3.9% in 2019. Commercial Base
(online postage) rates will start at $9.98
(previously $9.50).
So get you orders in ASAP to avoid the increases!
Upcoming Preorder
Deadlines
January 15: Atlas Preorders
January 30: Bowser Preorders
January 31: Intermountain Preorders
January 31: Walthers Preorders
All-New WalthersProto HO Tank Cars Now Shipping
New WalthersProto 55' Trinity Modified 30,145-Gallon
Tank Cars are based on prototypes with upgraded safety
features. Spotting features on these models include
reinforced/shielded ends, revised end platforms and a
multi-valve housing to meet federal safety mandates.
These new models have all of the highly visible
modifications and they'll look great on your
modern unit oil trains. They're also used for ethanol,
gasoline and
more. These highly detailed and much-anticipated cars
feature etched-metal walkways, applied grab irons and
accurate decoration for extra realism. Available in
multiple road numbers per scheme,
make sure to order now so customers can add them to
their tank
car fleet!
TO ORDER
New Arrival of Popular WalthersMainline HO
Scale EMD SD70ACes Now Shipping!
The latest arrivals of EMD SD70ACes are shipping now!
This latest release includes new road numbers for BNSF
and KCS units plus NS heritage units decorated for NYC
and PC fallen flags. Modern-era modelers love the
reliable, affordable EMD SD70ACe diesels for their good
looks and great performance. NS heritage-painted diesels
are extremely popular with many of you, and some BNSF
road numbers are just about sold out, so order now and
don't miss out!
TO ORDER
Bowser Announces New HO Freight Cars
Bowser has announced new schemes and road numbers
ready-to-run PRR X31 Boxcars and K11 Stock Cars. Based
on PRR prototypes, these distinctive round-roofed cars
were also operated by other railroads and could be
found running coast to coast. Bowser cars feature
detailed injection-molded bodies, accurate decoration,
metal wheels and magnetic knuckle couplers. Preorder now
before they are sold out!
TO ORDER
NEWS AND UPDATES
01/06/18
Welcome To 2019!
I hope everyone had a great holiday
and you found time to work on your layouts.
For the next four months I will be working on restocking
the retail store after inventory is completed and
prepping for the potential move into the new
Miniature World of Trains™
display's location.
I will be at the new location for MWOT™
with the general contractor and architect again on
Monday to review the proposed changes to the building
interior for review by the governmental agencies. Once
this is completed and the answer is in our favor I can
move forward with the plans for a planned late 2019
opening.
More to come!
Track Crew Memberships
As of 01/01/19 I will no longer be offering the Track
Crew Membership to new members.
If you are a current member, your membership is good
until the expiration date in 2019.
Phone and In Store Ordering
This is an old store policy that I have not enforced
over the years but I will have to do so do the the time
it takes for me to manually input your in store orders
and phone in orders. This will need to be done
since in all cases customers have already checked or are
on the BRH website when calling in or have the exact
pricing and information when they come to the store!
So, as noted in the store policy page, all in store
orders and phone orders will have a 5% charge for the
total purchase including shipping.
Credit Card Fees
Just in case you did not know, credit card
fees are rather high for most small business that can
not negotiated lower rates due to sales volumes compared
to a Walmart or Amazon for example.
On average each time a business wipes a credit card
there is a fee of about 25cents, plus a transaction fee
of around 2%. International bank credit cards are
more plus the currency conversion fee!
When you order online we have to manually input your
credit card number which has a high transaction cost.
Debit cards as well have fees. All paid by the merchant.
For the holiday season for in store purchases we have
implemented a minimum $30.00 credit card charge.
Keep in mind at the retail store I prefer cash for all
transactions over credit cards. So, even though you have
had to input your credit card number for an in store
pickup of an online order, we prefer payment in cash!
The more we can save on credit card fees the lower we
can keep both online and in store prices!
Update From Digitrax
It’s been a tough 9 weeks since Hurricane Michael’s (Cat
4+) eye wall passed about 4 miles to the east of
Digitrax on October 10, 2018. Digitrax was without power
for several weeks and our internet was finally restored
on December 13. All of us at Digitrax have worked every
day since the storm to get back up and running. We are
so thankful for all the kind words of support and for
your patience during this disaster.
We have
inspected, tested and repackaged finished goods that
were in stock prior to the storm, and on Friday December
14 we resumed shipping to our dealers. Zephyr Starter
Sets were on back order at the time of the Hurricane and
they will still be on back order for a couple of weeks
until we can begin building them again. There will be
other items that may become temporarily unavailable as
we re-start. Most of our component inventory and all raw
circuit boards were at the epicenter of our severe
building damage and must be replaced. We are in the
process of ordering the parts we need to build our
products.
Over the past
9 weeks, we moved our manufacturing operations into our
smaller building which was not as badly damaged as the
main building. There are still a few leaks when it rains
and space is tight but, we are fortunate to have a
suitable building where we can resume manufacturing
operations. Much of our surface mount equipment will be
replaced due to storm water damage. We will be able to
return to our pre-storm manufacturing capacity once we
get the replacement equipment installed and programmed
and once we replace our component and circuit board
inventories.
Our main
building has been dried-in and all interior drywall,
carpet, etc. have been removed. We will begin rebuilding
that structure after the first of the year.
Our phone
service is still limited so, if you call and don’t get
an answer, please leave a message and we will call you
back. If you have tech support or repair questions
please send them to our help desk @
helpdesk.digitrax.com.
All repair
items we have received are being logged in now that our
network and internet is running. Repairs will be
completed after the first of the year, when we have
resources to process these. Again, we are very thankful
for everyone’s patience; including dealers, users and
employees.
We would like
to thank all our wonderful stakeholders for their
support during this time. We couldn't do this without
you!
Digitrax is
back running trains, and we’re rebuilding better than
ever!
Update
From Lionel
In an effort
to keep everyone up to date on important product
changes, please read the information below:
Item
434-614198 80 Watt Transformer CW80
·Between the
last time we produced the CW80 and now, new government
regulations on external power supplies have been issued.
Electrical performance standards and safety requirements
need to be met through ETL and UL. This means completely
changing the electronics and software that control the
CW80. Because of the new testing, it will have new
regulation numbers printed on the case and packaging.
This also means it will have a new product number from
us when re-introduced.
· The
indicator LED behavior will change to mimic the new
GW180, with a bi-color LED showing green for power, and
flashing red when there’s a short detected.
· The new
CW80 will have no more cooling fan. The design will be
more efficient and reliable and not need the fan.
· We are sold
out of this item and all current backorders will be
cancelled in our system. We anticipate the new CW80’s to
be available to order in the 2019 fourth quarter catalog
coming out this fall.
Item
434-681495 40W Powermax Transformer
· It has been
decided that once we sell out of the inventory on this
item, it will be discontinued and no longer made.
Rapido Trains Announces a Trio of New
HO Locomotives
Now is the time to order the latest
locomotives announced by Rapido Trains. New in the
"Icons of Canadian Steam" are two widely used steam
locomotives - the Canadian National Class H-6 4-6-0 and
the Canadian Pacific D10 Class 4-6-0s. These light,
general use ten-wheeler steam locomotives could be found
in use on freight and passenger trains across their
railroads' systems into the late 1950s and early 1960s.
CN Class H-6 locomotives were inherited from the
Canadian Northern in 1919 and this model is of the H-6-d
and H-6-g subclasses. The CP D10-class Ten Wheeler was
the most numerous class of steam locomotive not only for
the CP but in Canada, numbering 502 strong, all
constructed between 1905 and 1913. Rapido's H-6 and D10
models will feature many optional details and
appropriate decoration to match several configurations
(with oil or coal tenders) and sub-classes.
Tenders are also available
separately.
For diesel modelers, Rapido has
announced the widely-used EMD-GMD SW1200 in over 16 U.S.
paint schemes and with prototypically appropriate body
styles, truck styles (Flexicoil or Type A) and detailing
as a follow-up to its highly popular Canadian SW1200RS.
This is a model that will appeal to many of you.
All of these Rapido locomotives are
available with or without
LokSound and DCC. Order them all
now!
NEWS AND UPDATES
12/27/18
Shipments To And From BRH
I know on the last update I advised
that all shippable items had shipped to all of our
customers. However, it seems our main wholesaler did not
ship on 12/21 so with the current shipping status from
the wholesalers and shippers here is what is going on.
Orders received from 12/20 6am until 12/21 6am did not
leave the wholesaler until 12/26. Orders received from
12/21 6am until 12/25 6pm left the wholesaler on 12/26.
They will arrive at BRH on 12/28 based on what I know as
of this update. However, BRH retail and shipping is
closed from 12/27 2p until 01/03 10am.
Orders received from 12/25 6p until 12/28 6am should
ship from the wholesaler on 12/28 but will not arrive at
BRH until 01/03 at the earliest.
Once all the shipments arrive, they will be processed in
the order the where received and ship to you as quickly
as time will allow.
Sorry for the delay, but they are beyond my control!
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