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Archiver > APG > 2001-07 > 0995043350


From: Sandra Shafer <>
Subject: [APG] Billing question continued
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 12:55:50 -0400


It's always an education to participate in a discussion on this list. It
forces me to take the time to think it through and say exactly what I mean
rather than pop off something quick as I did a few days ago.

Over the past few weeks we have had several threads about the real cost of
printouts and copies. Some researchers were asking about charging for
photocopies and whether to charge for their file copies or to take that out
of their hourly rate. I added that you could add the cost of mailing those
copies to the price per copy. It's just one way of doing it.

There were a few responses about mailing more than a pound. Most of my
reports weigh a few ounces. I mailed one yesterday that weighed 3 ounces
and cost $.80 to send first class. Sending it overseas would have cost
more. It was a 9x12 envelope, a sheet of "better quality" stationery and
perhaps 10 or 12 other sheets of copy weight paper. By figuring that 5
sheets of paper weigh an ounce and the first ounce ($.34) was the envelope
and the heavier cover letter, each sheet cost more than 4 cents to mail
because it costs less to mail the second and third ounces. This isn't exact
but it's close.

My point is to be aware of costs and thoughtful about tossing things into
your hourly rate because you are already absorbing the cost of reference
copies, bad copies, and misprints. In fact, I usually don't include the
mailing cost in the copy charge because copies here cost .15 each at the
library, .25, .75 and $1 each elsewhere and a kinko's type place runs about
.07 each for my file copies. The copy charge is already sky high when the
client sees it.

Sandra Shafer

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