|
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Standard Class Bulk Mail Prices |
|
Bulk Mail 101 Help Topics: 
Getting Bulk Rate DiscountsBarcoding and CASS Certification
Move Update Requirement
Is it a Letter or aFlat?  Bulk Mail Postage Prices
Presorted First Class Prices |
|
The USPS is now referring to postage "prices" instead of postage "rates". Prices for Standard Class bulk mail vary according to the many different factors. In any particular bulk mailing, it's likely that different pieces will qualify for different postage prices, even though the pieces may be physically identical. 
In general, all pieces in the same tray or sack are charged the same price, since, at least in theory, all pieces in any one tray or sack are
handled in the same way and travel the same distance.One exception, however, is for mailings consisting of barcoded flats. Flats are prepared in "bundles" of a small number of pieces rubber-banded together, which are then placed into sacks. For barcoded flats only, the postage price for any piece is determined by which bundle it is in rather than by which sack it is in. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
 If you buy a permit imprint number, you can print an "indicia" box like this on your mail instead of putting a stamp on each piece. That saves a lot of work! For details on what goes in the box, click here. |
|
The most common way to pay your postage is to maintain an account at the post office. Every time you
bring in a mailing, the bulk mail acceptance crew will verify your postage calculations and then make sure
you have enough in your account to pay for it. When you open an account, you'll get a permit number that you include in the "indicia" box you print on your mail. Since the indicia is not really postage, you can have it printed as part of the printing on your mail piece, just like your return address. So you don't need any special software to print an indicia. Some mailers believe it is worth the effort to use stamps or a meter on their bulk mail, instead of an indicia, to make the recipient think it is not bulk mail. The choice is up to you. | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Standard Class is an inexpensive way to mail a group of identical pieces, if you're not in any particular hurry for the pieces to reach their destination.
Standard Class mail is processed after First Class, and typically arrives within a few days (for local mail) to as much as a few weeks (for mail travelling cross-country). Each mailing at Standard Class prices must consist of at least 200 pieces. (Exception: If each piece weighs more than 4 ounces, the mailing will meet the minimum if the total mailing weighs at least 50 pounds.) Standard Class cannot contain personalized information, except for name and address. Bills, statements, and other material where each recipient receives a different piece of mail cannot be sent using Standard Class prices. You can still receive a postage discount for such pieces by sending them as presorted First Class but the price will not be nearly as low as with Standard Class (except for certain postcards, where the First Class price is actually cheaper. See below.) Mail must be within the following weight limits in order to be eligible for Standard Class prices:
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cards below a certain size qualify for a special First Class postcard postage price. If you are sending barcoded postcards smaller than the size shown below, and you have at least 500 pieces in each mailing, you should use the First Class postcard price instead of the Standard Class letter price (except for nonprofit mailers, who still receive a better discount using Standard Class nonprofit prices.) Cards are eligible for the First Class postcard price if:
If your cards are larger than the size shown above, you should use the Standard Class letter or flat price, as applicable according to the size of the card. There is no special postcard price in Standard Class. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Standard Class mail has different price categories depending on the size and shape of your
mail piece. See our page on letters vs. flats if you are not sure what category your mail piece fits into. Note
that the category is determined by the size of the mail piece, not by its content. The term "ADC" or "AADC" used in the charts below refer to an Area Distribution Center, which is facility that handles mail for many 3-digit areas. Typically an ADC might cover all of several sparcely-populated states, or one part of a more populated state. Prices for letter-sized mail up to 3.3 ounces: Prices effective 1/28/13. Basic prices (commercial followed by nonprofit):
Discount prices for trays of pieces mailed from a network distribution center (NDC) that will be delivered within the area that NDC serves (commercial followed by nonprofit):
Discount prices for trays of pieces mailed from a sectional center post office (SCF) that will be delivered within the area that SCF serves (commercial followed by nonprofit):
Prices for flat-sized mail up to 3.3 ounces: Prices effective 1/28/13. Basic prices (commercial followed by nonprofit):
Discount prices for sacks of pieces mailed from a network distribution center (NDC) that will be delivered within the area that NDC serves (commercial followed by nonprofit):
Discount prices for sacks of pieces mailed from a sectional center post office (SCF) that will be delivered within the area that SCF serves (commercial followed by nonprofit):
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
