Postal Rates 101
By Joe Ferry on Feb 11, 2008 in Featured, Marketing Communications
For those of us who still use direct mail as a means of getting the word out, it’s time for Postal Rates 101.
As you probably know, a lot changed last year in the world of direct mail. By switching to a system based on shape rather than weight, the United States Postal Service threw a lot of people for a loop.
Case in point: two of my clients are Realtors who send out quarterly newsletters. Until last year, they were the standard 8½×11 publications. One mails pre-sorted first class, the other pre-sorted standard. Both were looking at nearly 40 percent increases in postage if they kept their format.
One chose to fold his newsletter in half, making it a 5½×8½ finished size. The other chose to downsize his format to 6×10. It took a little work, but we didn’t have to sacrifice content in either newsletter. Not only did they not have to pay an extra 40 percent for postage, both Realtors actually saved money compared to their previous mailing.
Another client of mine, a school district, has been sending out about 20,000 copies of its quarterly newsletter the same way for years. All the newsletters were sent to one post office branch; a little less than half the newsletters qualified for the saturation rate of 6.7 cents each. The rest went at a higher rate (11.6 cents) because they had to be trucked to a different post office less than a mile away.
Simply by arranging to have those higher rate newsletters taken directly to the second post office, we were able to qualify for the lower rate and saved about $450 in the process.
My point is this; it pays to know the ins and outs of the U.S. Postal rate system. If you can employ the services of an experienced mail house, do it – you’ll probably save money in the long run. If not, get out the rate manual and start studying!
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On Feb 12, 2008, Rodger D. Johnson said:
There are still organizations using direct mail? Sorry, I’m being glib. But that interesting you changed the size of one newsletter. I reminds me of our reaction to the Stamp Tax that caused printer of Colonial America to “invent” the broadsheet.
On Feb 12, 2008, Joe Ferry said:
I actually have clients who want to FAX things to me. Can you believe that? At least they don’t still use IBM Selectrics.
On Feb 13, 2008, Corinne Miller said:
I believe the price of stamps are going up a penny to $.40/stamp. Anyway, I like getting newsletters sent in the mail. I like the tangibility of sitting down and reading them.