Help! I can’t risk getting fired over this. Making a mistake would be hugely costly and I have kids that get hungry from time to time. I’ve spent an embarrassingly large amount of time at the US Postal Service website and all it has done is trigger paralyzing anxiety. The USPS Domestic Mail Manual is 1,321 pages long which isn’t conducive to need-answer-fast questions. I’ve called the post office before and have gotten conflicting answers so I trust you guys more. All I need is two numbers.
I need the postage rate for mailing 2 catalogs. They aren’t printed yet but one is expected to weigh 12 ounces and the other one 2 pounds. Dimensions are 8.5 x 11 like regular paper, maybe an inch or two less. Not sure about thickness, maybe .5 to 2 inches thick or something. They will look very similar to phone books and, like phone books, they will go to every address in a bunch of ZIP Codes. The quantities will be in the thousands so way past any minimum quantities to qualify for any mail categories or maximum discounts.
I don’t have to have the exact rate; a ballpark number might let my boss know if mailing is feasible. I also don’t need to know how to prepare the mailings. Whatever needs to be done to qualify for the biggest postage will be done (not by me, thankfully). The catalogs can be delivered to each post office for each ZIP Code. I think that is called DDU entry for designated destination delivery unit and allows for the maximum postage discount. The catalogs can be shrink wrapped, enclosed in envelopes, bathed in virgin blood, whatever. I just need to know what the two per piece postage rates are. And, yeah, I know paper kills trees and there’s the Internet but I don’t make those decisions.
Pursuing the postal service website, it looked like the class of mail was BPM - Bound Printed Matter. I say was because – just my luck – it looks like the USPS just made some changes and it now might be called Marketing Mail but that category has subcategories like “flats” – what the hell!?! How flat!?! Then there is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) - BMEU (Business Mail Entry Unit). EDDM, I understood, used to be limited to relatively small mailings but it appears they may have expanded it to include big mail projects.
Can anyone tell me what the per piece rates would be or point me in the right decision? You want be just fighting ignorance; you’ll keep my kids fed!
How ballpark does it need to be? Bring an example into the post office and ask how much it is to mail it. That would get you the highest cost. For a closer number, call a bulk mailer in your area with the exact weights, quantities and, if you know it, how many are going to which zip codes and they can probably give you a quote.
Better yet, email them, then if there’s an issue, it’s not on you. It’s not your fault if they quoted you incorrectly. Maybe even get quotes from two or three places to make sure they’re about the same.
At least this way you can tell your boss it’s going to cost between $xx and $xxx.
The two catalogs aren’t printed yet so I can’t show them. It will be a while before I can get to the city and ask. (I’m in a small community with a tiny post office.) I can try emailing them but don’t know if I’ll get an answer in time if at all.
Having an answer in writing might be a bit of CYA but I fear that they won’t honor the rate even if they misquote since postal rates are regulated. And if they did honor a misquoted rate, at best it might be just for the first mailing but not subsequent mailings. And once those catalogs are printed, we’re stuck with them.
As far as ballpark, within 20% would be helpful. Even knowing if it would be around $.50 per book versus $1.00/book could be helpful to determine whether the project is go or no-go and to help validate other answers.
The gauge that our flats sorters has at each feeder has a gap not wider than one inch. Catalogs that fit into the gap can be sorted by the machine; otherwise not.*
If I understand the posters at work correctly, I’m encouraged to submit sales leads I might happen across. I got the feeling that you can get a sales rep to come to you and help you assess your needs. If you want, I can look into it when I go back to work on Friday.
Or is this a “need answer fast” sort of thing?
*that’s just one kind of machine, though. We also have systems that sort bundles the size of, saga a family-sizes box of Ritz crackers from Costco, or two-inch publication, one at a time.
I need to submit estimated mailing costs sometime next week.
At this point, I wouldn’t want to waste a sales rep’s time. The goal now is to come up with numbers to see if the project is feasible. When/if the project becomes a go, I’ll be happy to pass along the lead.
OP, it occurs to me that if you know the printing outfit that’s going to produce your materials, they might know how to put you in contact with a specialist who can help you out.
Then contact a printer, get them to put you in contact with someone they print for, and ask that business to show you how they do it.
If you are mailing “in the thousands,” you need to seriously consider bulk mail rules and practices. Either partner with a commercial bulk mailer, or ask to talk to the Post Office’s bulk mailer person. The discounts are substantial, compared to dumping it in a mailbox, but the rules are strict, and you will need to get a permit, so if this is a one-time thing, using a professional bulk mailer might make more sense.
To qualify for bulk mail rates, your address list must meet certain criteria, too, and will have to be scrubbed so 99% (or whatever value, I forget) is guaranteed deliverable, and barcoded. There are also rules about bundling or sorting – basically, you get a discount for doing the post office’s work for them.
Try the Business Price Calculator:
https://dbcalc.usps.com/
You could probably mock something up of a similar size/weight. Or, you said they’re about the size of a phonebook, bring in a phonebook.
Get a quote. If it’s a quote they should honor it.
If they misquoted something that’s on them. I know it’s not good for your company, but it wouldn’t be your fault. You can only do so much. But also, that’s why I mentioned getting more than one quote. If one person tells you it’ll be 55¢ each and everyone else is $1.03, the low one might be wrong.
No one is going to be able to give you a solid price until your dimensions and weight are figured out, or, at the very least, you have an upper bound for them.
Having said all that, your job seems like it’s stressing you out. If you can find a way to relax, you may be able to think through the project more clearly.