In a tight economy, every penny counts! Saturation rate mailings offer the least expensive bulk mailing option in the United States. Saturation rate postage costs even less than standard bulk mail/presort standard mail. When using the saturation rate, the per piece postage cost can be as low as 13.9 cents a piece.
Do all mailings qualify for the saturation rate? No only areas classified by the US Post Office as “rural routes” qualify for the saturation rate; “city routes” do not qualify. The classification of a rural route does not necessarily means that an area has to be truly “rural.”
How can I check if my mailing qualifies for the saturation rate? Click on “Find a Zip Code” in the top left hand corner of the main www.USPS.com website. From there, enter an address in the area being targeted and click the “submit” button. Click on the “Mailing Industry Information” link to the right of the address, and a box will appear; the “Carrier Route” is the top listing in the box. If the carrier route starts with an “R” (Rural) or an “H,” (Highway) the mailing qualifies for the saturation rate. If the carrier route starts with a “C” (City) it does not. A note of caution: sometimes within the same zip code there are both rural routes and city routes, so don’t assume that an entire zip code is eliminated because a specific neighborhood is a city route.
Obviously, not every bulk mail campaign qualifies for the saturation rate. However, there are valid arguments against using the saturation rate even for mailings that do qualify. Stop back next Wednesday to read my post, “Important Limitations Associated with the Saturation Rate.”
Important notice, as of January 2, 2011, the USPS has expanded the Saturation Rate to now include city routes as well. Please click here to read the most current article.
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