Post Office 101- Mailing Classifications and what it means for delivery time and money!
There are basically 4 classes of mail and here is an explanation of methods, cost, and delivery time:
1) First Class mail- first class is priority over everything else and is usually transported via air unless it is local. It is full rate, however, if it is pre-sorted by a mail house it qualifies for the same discounts as listed for 3rd class mail, but 10-11 cents higher. Mail time is guaranteed 2-6 days AND undelivered mail is returned to the sender.
2) Second Class mail- this is the mail that is periodicals or thing like the Pennysaver or coupon books that have a bulk deal with the post office and mail regularly: shopwise, pennysaver, mailed newspapers, magazines- This mail qualifies only with a special permit and regular mailing-
3) 3rd Class Mail- OR “Standard “Bulk” mail”- is everything else, but there are several ways to mail out in order to qualify for lower postal rates. Mail delivery time is not guaranteed, but usually arrives 5-25 days(increased time due to USPS cutbacks and closures). Mail is NOT RETURNED TO SENDER if it is undelivered. It is recycled.
Below is description of methods within 3rd class mail for delivery and discounts:
a) AUTOMATED mail drop- bundle and sort bulk mail discounts- means that a mailhouse (like we are) does the work of sorting the mail into trays for easier processing. Within those trays if there are 175 pcs going to all the same zip code then it qualifies for a level 3 discount. If there are 175 pcs going to all the same carrier route then it qualifies for even deeper level 5 discounts. If the order is all in one state, it qualifies for a level 2 discount, etc…
b) Saturation Mail- saturation mail is when you decide to mail to at least 75% of a single zip code- if this is the case then the discounts are even deeper then a level 5. Sometimes with this type of saturation mail the address will say “resident” instead of the name of the person, so it is not the best means for variable data
c) Co-mingling is when one mail house groups with another mail house (such as we partner with a huge co-mingler, Pitney Bowes) to join their mail together to get the optimal discounts mentioned in A at a level 5.
d) PMOD- 3rd class mail with increased delivery time: Priority Mail Overnight Delivery= this is 3rd class mail costs and treated as 3rd class mail, BUT it is FLOWN and delivered to the main central post office if there are at least 175 pieces in one single batch. This increases delivery time. The price to fly the pieces is approximately .08 cents more than the automated rate after pre-sorting. We see delivery times of 4-8 days and this is a very good option for those that are saturating a entire geographical territory rather than the first class delivery of 11 cents.
e) Drop Shipping: if there are over 175 pcs or more going to one particular zip code it may qualify to be dropped shipped which may give the order overall better delivery time by transporting it to the local post office, therefore creating faster delivery times. We determine what is in the best interest of the client based on the cost of this and delivery times for the particular client-
For more information regarding postal rates or delivery methods or time please contact info@snappackmail.com