How many pieces would yer average Joe have to mail in order to qualify for bulk rate? I’ve got about 100 pieces, but I can generate a few more if it will save me some moolah in the long run. Also, how much is bulk rate on postcards these days, anyway?
TIA
I helped someone do a bulk mailing once. ONCE. Man, it was a pain in the ass. We had maybe 500 pieces. Maybe about 10% were from the zip code we were in. The rest were from all over the US. The amount of money that was saved was insignificant when you consider how much time we spent dealing with the “bulk mail” regulations… Peices of mail had to have certain stickers on them, in certain areas… certain mail with certain zip codes had to be bundled together, zip codes that were considered worthy of being bundled together held no relation to each other sometimes, neither numerically nor geographically… on and on and on with the confusing regulations.
My friend realized that since she was doing this as part of her job, essentially she was getting paid to do this, instead of her regular work. They money that was saved was less than how much she earned while doing the bulk mailing.
The bulk mailing people were very helpful, and we saw other people come through and take much less time than us. But uughhghg, that first time was a PAIN.
I can assure you that 100 pieces do not meet the bulk rate standard. It requires thousands of pieces, presorted, bundled into carrier routes, etc. They also have to carry an indicia indicating prepayment, with the permit number indicating the Postal account the postage is to be applied to.
Believe me, sorting mail in bulk shipments is what I do for a living currently. There’s more to it, but that’s the jist of it. You couldn’t get a bulk mail rate for what you have. Sorry.
I have done lots of bulk mailings, and I’ll just tell ya it’s not worth it for around 100 pieces. Especially postcards. If it’s many hundreds of pieces of heavier stuff like brochures in envelopes, the savings adds up, but not for smaller gigs.
For non-profit mail you need at least 200 pieces. Once you get it down, it only takes a few minutes to get it ready for mailing. It really helps to have your barcodes and zip codes sorted by computer before labeling. If properly done and barcoded I get rates as low as .11 each, actually, some may go for .09.
I do a non profit bulk mailing of about 2,000 pieces four times a year. It really is a major PITA, but presorting your labels by zip code, as suggested above, makes all the difference in the world. Also, your mail has to be within a certain size, and the address, return address, and postage permit box thing in the correct places, and such. Consult your post office for more specific information on your mail.
You have to buy a yearly permit to do bulk mail–it cost us $150 this year. Then, the rates depend on how many pieces are going to which zip codes. I do what’s called upgradeable, and 200 or more pieces to a local zip code go for like $0.09 a piece, less than 200 to a local are more than that, and the box of mixed, out of town zip codes are the most expensive. I don’t think there’s a minimum number of pieces you can mail bulk rate, but the savings comes with the bigger mailings.
If you only have a couple of hundred pieces, you’re only doing this once (or once a year) and it’s to a bunch of different, out of town zip codes, it probably won’t be worth it.
But for first-class volume discounts, you need at least 150 pieces per 5-digit or 3-digit zip, and a minimum total of 500 pieces.
However, you might consider taking it to a third-party mailer, or “pre-sort house” as they’re sometimes called. That’s what my employer does with all their miscellaneous mail. The pre-sort house then charges you a few cents less to mail them, while they in turn, as the result of combining your mail with mail from their other customers, get the “real” postal discount.
I’m impressed to see that there are several of us who have done “Direct Marketing” on SDMB and wish I’d known you while I was working for a catalog that mailed nationally.
Only catalog requests were mailed from the office and labels were run only when the total requested reached 250. We still were required to band, sticker and other-wise pre-sort but seldom got any kind of discount. The savings over first class postage were great and made the work worthwhile.
Good luck on your mailing, Rastahomie.
Jois