Who doesn’t want to mail at the lowest possible postage rate? Everyone wants to save money, but as with most bargain basement priced items, there are some inconveniences and limitations associated with saturation mailings. Please read this post before diving head-first into a saturation mailing.
What are some limitations associated with the bulk mail saturation rate available in the United States? The saturation rate only applies to those mailing to a “rural route” as defined by the USPS. See my earlier post, Saturation Rate Mailings: The Cheapest Way to Go!, to determine if a specific target area is classified as a rural route.
To qualify for the absolute lowest saturation rate, bulk mail must be dropped off at the actual USPS “Processing Center.” Many of the Business Mail Entry Units are not processing centers, and if a saturation rate mailing gets dropped off at one of these locations, the postage rate will be almost 5 cents a piece higher. For those who are not located near a Processing Center, saturation mailings may lose their appeal when factoring in driving time and fuel costs.
Anyone preparing a saturation mailing must secure a signed “Statistic Report” from a qualified member of the USPS Business Mail Unit. The function of this report is to identify how many addresses there are in a rural route. This tells the mail carrier how many pieces are need to “saturate” the entire targeted area, and also allows the mailer determine how many pieces to print and deliver to the Business Mail Unit. The Saturation Rate mailing will be refused by the Business Mail Unit without the “Statistic Report.”
When would you want to avoid using the saturation rate? Anyone interested in personalization would want to avoid using the saturation rate, as this type of mail cannot be personalized. The address field on a saturation piece mailer will display “Postal Customer ECRWSS” where the name would normally be printed. This is hardly personal, so while it would not be well suited for an invitation to a social event, it may be perfect to announce the opening of a new sub shop.
Anyone wanting to target just businesses would want to avoid the saturation rate as the only option is to target “Postal Customer” which reaches all residents including businesses, or “Residential Customer” which captures all residents excluding businesses. Sending to just the business address is not an option when using the saturation rate.
What’s the Next Best Option if this is not a Good Fit for me? In circumstances where saturation rate mailings are impractical, cumbersome or too impersonal, presort standard rate bulk mailings are probably the next best option. For about an additional 10 cents a piece, presort standard mailings allow personalization, can target businesses specifically, and they can be delivered to any Business Mail Unit (potentially saving a long drive).
Important notice, as of January 2, 2011, the USPS has expanded the Saturation Rate to now include city routes as well. Please click here to read the most current article.
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