How to Pay for Postage and Prepare for the Post Office®
Now that you know how to create a memorable mailpiece, we can start exploring postage payment options to see which makes the most sense for your campaign.
10 Min. Read
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Chapter Sections:
The Basics of Business Pricing Postage Payment Methods Prepping for the Post OfficeThe Basics of Business Pricing
Once your piece is printed, it’s time to get ready to mail. Before we dive into different payment methods, let’s go over a few basics.
Since you’re going to be sending out bigger quantities of mail (whether as First-Class Mail® campaigns or USPS Marketing Mail® campaigns), you’ll be able to get business pricing, which is lower than regular mail—or “single-piece”—prices. When you put a regular stamp on an individual letter, you’re paying single-piece postage. With business mail, you pay less for sending out more at once.
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Why? Because you—or your
Some businesses still pay single-piece postage even though they have large mailings. Why? Because they don’t want to do the extra prep work, obtain a
Check out Figure 5.1 to see the steps you’ll typically need to take to get discounted business pricing.
Figure 5.1
- Design a mailpiece that meets USPS size, shape and weight requirements.
- Have accurate, up-to-date addresses.
- Get a
mailing permit and pay an annual fee for each class of mail you use. Presort your mail (or work with anMSP who can do so), grouping it by ZIP Code number. All pieces going to the same place get put into the same tray.- Pay postage using
precanceled stamps , ameter imprint or apermit imprint . - Send out at least 500 pieces for First-Class Mail campaigns, or 200 pieces (or 50 pounds) for USPS Marketing Mail campaigns, in a single mailing.
As we mentioned in Chapter 4, you may also qualify for lower prices if your pieces can be easily read by USPS automated mail processing machines.
Exercise
Spend some time weighing business mail versus single-piece mail to see which makes more sense for you. This will all depend on the campaign you’re envisioning, your budget and your time.
GETTING OUTSIDE HELP
If you don’t want to do all the work yourself, you can always work with a
TURNING TO A SOFTWARE SOLUTION
Many companies sell
If you’re working with a house list of fewer than 10,000 addresses, the Intelligent Mail® for Small Business Mailers (IMsb) Tool may be right for you. This free tool
USING FULL-SERVICE MAIL
One last thing before we get into postage payment methods? Full-Service Mail.
Allowing you to get the best possible pricing on business mailings with letters and flats, this service offers some serious benefits, including:
Automation price discounts- No need to pay annual
permit fees - Free Address Correction Service (ACS)
- Detailed mail tracking
- Ability to use the same
permit at anybusiness mail entry unit (BMEU) or Post Office location. This is called Mail Anywherearrow_right_alt, and it means you don’t need to hold a separatepermit at every location you do your mailings from.
Curious to know more? Head to PostalPro for more details on Full-Service Mailarrow_right_alt.
Lesson Learned
Getting a good grasp on business pricing—and all of the options available to help you along the way—will make everything easier once you’re ready to pay for postage.
Postage Payment Methods
Decided to send out your pieces as business mail? Then you have a few different ways to pay for postage, whether you’re using First-Class Mail campaigns or USPS Marketing Mail campaigns.
Let’s start exploring your options, beginning with
1. Precanceled Stamps
These special stamps are made specifically for campaigns using
Because
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Wondering why you should use
With a minimum requirement of 200 pieces for Marketing Mail campaigns and 500 pieces for First-Class Mail campaigns,
Presorted First-Class Mail service — 25 centsPresorted First-Class Mail postcards — 15 cents- USPS Marketing Mail service — 10 cents
- Nonprofit Mail — 5 cents
Here’s how it works: You’ll start off by placing a
You can buy
2. Metered Mail
No postage stamps? No problem. You can always turn to a digital postage meter.
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Meters are postage-printing machines that you can buy or lease to print postage right onto your mail (or onto
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Digital meters can even help you pick the best class for every piece of mail, helping you save money—and time—at every turn. And if you’re looking to boost brand visibility, you have the ability to print a logo or message right onto the envelope.
Check out Figure 5.2 to get familiar with a few of the main benefits.
Figure 5.2
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Digital connections are fast and flexible.
Digital meters use broadband internet (like you probably have at home), which means they can do jobs quickly, without competing with other devices for internet access. Need to move operations or work on the go? Meters make it easy, since they can be used anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.
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Rate changes and software updates are simple.
Digital meters are always connected to the internet, which means updated postage rates can be downloaded to the meter at any time, easily and accurately.
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Accounting is easier than ever.
Digital meters allow you to track how much your business spends on postage, down to the last dime. You can also see what time of the year your spending goes up or down, allowing you to identify patterns and plan ahead.
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Digital connections are really reliable.
Because these meters use broadband internet, their connections are extremely reliable. That means you won’t have to worry about them disconnecting during jobs.
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Digital meters can save you money.
If you’re already paying for broadband, there’s no extra cost to get a digital meter connection. Plus, metered mail can be sent out at reduced rates, making it slightly less expensive than mail with
As with
3. Permit Imprint
Last but not least?
Instead of using
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This can be a major time-saver: You don’t have to buy postage in advance or worry about putting the right amount of postage on each piece.
But you do have to make sure all of your mailpieces are the same weight. Why? Because you don’t apply postage in advance, so the Postal Service™ has to weigh individual pieces (as well as your entire mailing) to calculate what you owe.
To use a
Then when you bring in your mail, the total postage will be taken out of the account. You can think of your advance deposit account as a checking account for mailings. (And once again, you can’t drop your mail in a collection box or give it to a carrier, since the payment needs to be taken out of your account at the Post Office location.)
Mailing Permit
No matter what kind of business mail you’re sending, you’ll first need to get a
If you’re using
Keep in mind that you must hold a
And remember: The experts at USPS can guide you through every step, whether you need help getting a
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Lesson Learned
When it comes time to pay for postage, you’ve got options. Getting a good grasp of the basics will help keep the process simple and stress-free.
Prepping for the Post Office
When it comes time to actually drop off your mail (you’re almost there!), you’ll want to make sure you have everything you need on hand.
WHAT TO BRING
- All of the mailpieces you’ll be sending out. (Yep, that’s a big one.)
- Signed and dated postage statements. (You can also send your statement electronically.)
- Supporting documents, like any printouts from your
presort software. - Payment to cover any extra postage or for your annual mailing fee (if you haven’t already paid it).
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WHAT TO EXPECT
A clerk will make sure that you’ve prepped your mail the right way.
They will check your mail for:
- Price eligibility (for USPS Marketing Mail campaigns, the clerk will actually open one of your mailpieces to make sure it qualifies for the price you’re claiming)
- Markings and endorsements
- Proper sorting
- Any postage payments due
When you bring in your first mailing, the clerk will do a thorough
If your mail isn’t
Lesson Learned
Coming to your Post Office facility prepared can deliver some serious cost and time savings—a little extra homework ahead of time can make all the difference.
Footnotes
keyboard_arrow_down- [1]Shaun Buck, “7 Rules to Foolproof Your Next Marketing Campaign,” Inc. arrow_right_alt
Need help? Reach out to the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center at MSSC@usps.govarrow_right_alt and a team member will be in touch.