Postage - Your Biggest Cost

The first thing you should understand is that POSTAGE IS NOT CHEAP! Even at the lowest rates that are given to not-for-profit organizations who qualify, just the postage alone will be upwards of $100 per thousand pieces mailed. At the commercial for-profit rate, standard (bulk) postage, runs around $200 per thousand, and presorted First Class about $320 per thousand. In order to qualify for even these rates, the mailing pieces have to follow the USPS design specifications, the mailing lists have to be checked against the Post Office master list and the correct bar code has to be printed correctly near the address (not crooked or smudged), and then everything has to be sorted not only by zip codes, but by the post office or even each particular letter carrier. The reason to hire a lettershop is not only because you don't want to stick on labels and lick envelopes, but to qualify for postal savings.

That said – a company like Select Mail can save you real money on postage, and the larger your mailing is the more you will save, because there are no volume discounts on postage. A letter takes a 37 cent stamp whether you are mailing one or a hundred thousand. I usually tell people that a good time to consider a mailhouse is when your mailings exceed 1000 pieces. Less than that you may as well do it yourself, because there is not that much postage to save, unless you really hate stuffing and sealing, in which case we'll of course be happy to help.

One thing to remember when asking mailing houses for quotes is to ask them to include the postage in their quote. Sometimes my customers tell me that my quotes are not the cheapest, that someone else has offered a better price. When I ask whether the quote included the postage, and to please compare the postage costs also, they usually end up sticking with me.