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Mike - I've been farming my local neighborhoods as well and the cost of stamps is killing me! Are you using a bulk rate of any kind? Also, I literally took the addresses off the google map - and wrote every address. Is there a way to take a lot of postcards in and say "send these to X neighborhood"?
Omigod, you poor thing -- YES! The USPS's "Every Door Direct" program is a godsend for covering a large area cheap. You don't need a bulk mail permit:
It's sent by carrier route -- most neighborhoods under 500-600 homes are on one carrier route. The cost is 17.5 cents each. You don't address ANYTHING -- when you print up the postcard, it simply says "Local Postal Customer" and has the EDDM (Every Door Direct Mailing) indicia in the place of a stamp. You have to send to an entire carrier route - but at $.17.5 each, you get a lot more bang for your buck than $.49 each, you can send out 2-1/2 tmes more for the same money. You can exclude certain addresses, if you wish -- i.e., if there's a competing agent in that neighborhood, or if there's a house that is currently for sale -- but you have to write them in on the submisson sheet.
A lot of printers now have the service and the specs on the size of the postcards -- you can't use the 1/4 page or 1/2 page "jumbo" postcards like you are probably used to. Check on-line.
Ok - I swear I'm not an idiot, but I can't see on the site where you get the postcards. I like to order mine from vistaprint. Can I still do that and take them in.
Ok - I swear I'm not an idiot, but I can't see on the site where you get the postcards. I like to order mine from vistaprint. Can I still do that and take them in.
Really, honestly, I'm not as dumb as I sound.
The post office does not provide a card printing service. You can use vistaprint, but make sure it is EDDM compatible. You may also want to search for printers who specialize in EDDM -- it could make it a little easier for you.
Ok - I swear I'm not an idiot, but I can't see on the site where you get the postcards. I like to order mine from vistaprint. Can I still do that and take them in.
Really, honestly, I'm not as dumb as I sound.
I print my own cards. Stacks of 100, and I have a cutter that I can knock that stack into two cards.
I don't handle individual cards at all, except for needing to count the last odd lot on a route.
I figure I hit each mailbox for <$0.25.
You can probably get them from Vistaprint. You would need to get the retail EDDM indicia printed or you could buy custom stamps at Staples and stamp them yourself, which would be a LOT of manual handling of individual cards.
USPS can be particular about how the indicia are placed, so you would want to be certain you have it right before you order.
BTW, buy stamps on EBay. I bought 1000 @ $0.40 and that paid off better than putting the money in the bank.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 04-12-2015 at 06:07 AM..
Thank you so much for all the advice! I'm glad I wasn't just missing something on the postal site about the actual ordering of the postcards. I checked Vista print, but I don't think they have the EDDM option. I'll have to double check again now that I know what I'm working for. Thanks again!!
Thank you so much for all the advice! I'm glad I wasn't just missing something on the postal site about the actual ordering of the postcards. I checked Vista print, but I don't think they have the EDDM option. I'll have to double check again now that I know what I'm working for. Thanks again!!
I checked the vistaprint site and I think they have one postcard that is compatible with EDDM. However, I think they're prices are a little higher than some other services I found... just google: EDDM postcard printer and you'll find a ton of results to compare/contrast pricing and services.
Try these folks: GotPrint.net
I have found them to be good quality and economical. If you design your own postcards, it should be easy to adapt them to EDDM requrements.
A typical EDDM postcard would be 6.5" x 9" (different from a 8.5 x 5.5), but they have several other eye-catching sizes to choose from. By contrast, the largest size for a $.49 postcard is 6.125" x 11.5". What I usually try to do is design the postcard so I can trim off 3/8" and use left-over EDDM postcards for first class mailings to clients outside of farm areas. :-)
Now, I do not have the company handle the mailing (although you can, for a small fee.). If your farms are clustered together, they would usually be served by one or two post offces. You can just have the postcards mailed to you and prepare the postcards for the carrier (stacks of 100, with a cover sheet that's generated from the USPS website), you can pay on-line, and then drop them off at the postoffice that handles that carrier route (the USPS site will tell you which post office it is). Mine are within two miles of my office -- so I drop them off on my way home.
Keep in mind that EDDM is considered 'bulk rate' and may not not go out quickly. This is especially important to remember during high volume times (around Mother's Day, and basically from October 15th until New Years.) The bulk rate stuff is handled last, after the first class, parcels, etc., etc. So do not take it to the post office on a Wednesday to advertise an open house on Sunday. Depending on the time and volume, it may take up to a week or even more for it to go out. Sometimes it does surprise you -- but other times, the times you are rolling the dice for advertising by a certain date, those are the times that the term "snail mail" comes to mind. :-)
Try these folks: GotPrint.net
I have found them to be good quality and economical. If you design your own postcards, it should be easy to adapt them to EDDM requrements.
A typical EDDM postcard would be 6.5" x 9" (different from a 8.5 x 5.5), but they have several other eye-catching sizes to choose from. By contrast, the largest size for a $.49 postcard is 6.125" x 11.5". What I usually try to do is design the postcard so I can trim off 3/8" and use left-over EDDM postcards for first class mailings to clients outside of farm areas. :-)
Now, I do not have the company handle the mailing (although you can, for a small fee.). If your farms are clustered together, they would usually be served by one or two post offces. You can just have the postcards mailed to you and prepare the postcards for the carrier (stacks of 100, with a cover sheet that's generated from the USPS website), you can pay on-line, and then drop them off at the postoffice that handles that carrier route (the USPS site will tell you which post office it is). Mine are within two miles of my office -- so I drop them off on my way home.
Keep in mind that EDDM is considered 'bulk rate' and may not not go out quickly. This is especially important to remember during high volume times (around Mother's Day, and basically from October 15th until New Years.) The bulk rate stuff is handled last, after the first class, parcels, etc., etc. So do not take it to the post office on a Wednesday to advertise an open house on Sunday. Depending on the time and volume, it may take up to a week or even more for it to go out. Sometimes it does surprise you -- but other times, the times you are rolling the dice for advertising by a certain date, those are the times that the term "snail mail" comes to mind. :-)
My post office puts the cards out on the route the day after I drop them. I include my home route, so I see when they are delivered.
So, it is a question to ask the folks at the local station.
I print 8.5 x 14 cardstock and knock them in half to get 2 8 1/2 x 7 cards. It is a nice size for handling, for me, the postal folks, and the homeowner.
Mine are all B&W, and composed properly, IMO, that is a great look. Too many cards are too over the top in design.
My post office puts the cards out on the route the day after I drop them. I include my home route, so I see when they are delivered.
So, it is a question to ask the folks at the local station.
I print 8.5 x 14 cardstock and knock them in half to get 2 8 1/2 x 7 cards. It is a nice size for handling, for me, the postal folks, and the homeowner.
Mine are all B&W, and composed properly, IMO, that is a great look. Too many cards are too over the top in design.
I WISH my post office was that forthcoming. When you ask, they sorta mutter that "yeah, yeah, it's going out tomorrow" -- which is a flat-out fib, because I won't get mine for over a week. One time it took almost two weeks! The next time I stopped by, I talked to the postmistress about it, and she basically told me that they will deliver the standard rate stuff when they feel like it. The other post offices that I use are much better.
Thank you all so much. You have been incredibly helpful.
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