How The Direct Mailing Process Works
Myth: The post office gives you a discount based on how many postcards you mail.
Fact: The post office does NOT give discounts based on volume. They give a discount SOLELY because we do part of their job for them. We do this in specifically two ways.
#1 - Automation:
Automation is the process of placing a barcode on your mail that a machine at the post office can read eliminating the need for a human to look at your mail. By using a computer to sort mail it reduces the time and cost it takes the post office to move your mail to the destination. As consumers, when we hand write an envelope it has to go through a machine which reads our writing and applies the barcode on our mail. This step costs the post office a lot of money. When we perform this step for them, they give us a discount.
Hand written mail:
Step 1. Dropped in mailbox, picked up by carrier and taken to sort facility.
Step 2. Handled by human, fed into OCR to be read and barcoded for delivery destination.
Step 3. Sorted and processed through the mail stream to the DDU (local post office)
Step 4. Delivered by carrier.
Automated mail:
Step 1. Accepted at BMEU (business mail entry unit) in postal trays.
Step 2. Forwarded to destination and processed by computers.
Step 3. Delivered by carrier
It is very important to realize that with an automated process the mail it's self may never be touched by a human until the carrier actually delivers it. This results in enormous labor savings for the post office and they give you a portion of their savings back in the form of discounted postage.
#2 - Pre-Sorting:
The second way we get your postage discounted is by sorting the mail for the post office. We process your mailing list in USPS approved software that separates mail into zip codes. If you have more than 150 pieces of mail going to one zip code, it can be sent specifically to that zip code for mailing. This gives you the discounted 5 digit rate of postage which for a postcard is $0.199 cents. This results in a savings of 5.3 cents from the regular single piece rate. 5.3 cents doesn't seem like a lot, but that is enough to cover the cost of printing and preparing your mail!
Who wouldn't want to print and mail postcards for less than the cost of a stamp?
Depending on your list, there are different tiers of discounts. If you have 150 pieces in the same city (or SCF) you can receive the 3 digit rate, which your mail is forwarded to the main post office and then sorted down from there. The more concentrated your list is the less expensive your postage will be.
Below is a sampling of discounted postage rates:
First Class Rates:
|
First Class Postcard Rates: Up to 4.25"x6" |
Price |
| 5 Digit Rate (More than 150 cards going to a 5 digit zip code) |
.199 |
| 3 Digit Rate (More than 150 cards going to a city) |
.210 |
| Mixed Automated Rate (No geographic requirement) |
.223 |
| Presort (Non Barcode/Automated) |
.242 |
|
First Class Rate
"Letter" (Any size card up to 6"x11") |
Price |
| 5 digit automation rate
(at least 150 postcards going to 1 zip code) |
.324 |
| 3 digit automation rate (at least 150
postcards going to one city/SCF) |
.346 |
| Mixed Automated Rate (No geographic area
requirement) |
.369 |
Standard Rates:
|
Standard/Bulk Rate "Letter" (Any size
card up to 6"x11") |
Price |
| Mixed Automated Rate (No geographic area
requirement) |
.257 |
| 3 digit automation rate (at least 150
postcards going to one city/SCF) |
.241 |
| 5 digit automation rate
(at least 150 postcards going to 1 zip code) |
.225 |
| 5 digit automation rate
with a DSCF entry discount |
.183 |
| Saturation with no discount
(90% of addresses in a route) |
.179 |
| Saturation with a DSCF discount (90% of
addresses in a route) |
.137 |
Non-Profit Rates:
| Non Profit Standard
"Letter" (Any size card up to 6"x11") |
Price |
| Mixed Automated Rate (No geographic area
requirement) |
.159 |
| 3 digit automation rate (at least 150
postcards going to one city/SCF) |
.143 |
| 5 digit automation rate
(at least 150 postcards going to 1 zip code) |
.127 |
| 5 digit automation rate
with a DSCF entry discount |
.085 |
| Saturation with no discount
(90% of addresses in a route) |
.066 |
Additional Information:
Mixed AADC:
Mixed AADC means your postcards are mailing all over the United States and the post office will not sort your mail into individual trays. It is not cost effective for the post office to send less than 150 postcards to a single location. If you are mailing to a national audience your postage will most likely be at Mixed AADC rates.
3 Digit:
3 Digit means that you are mailing at least 150 postcards to a 3digit area. Your city is considered a 3digit area. For example Tampa's zip codes start with 336. If you’re mailing to people all over Tampa, your 3digit is 336.
5 Digit:
5 digit is a postage rate where you are mailing primarily in a certain neighborhood. If you are doing a local mailer to your customer area chances are your mailing will be at this rate.
Other postage rates:
Enhanced Carrier Route (Saturation, Basic, and High Density) AADC
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