How to Qualify For Bulk USPS Rates

When you mail your business letters, brochures and catalogs in bulk, you pay much lower postage rates than if you mailed them individually. The reason is that you do some of the work for USPS that they would normally have to do, such as sorting and barcoding your mailing, which saves them time and money. In addition, you may qualify for discounts on your mail that range from 35 to 65 percent.

To qualify for bulk mail rates, your mailing must be sorted by delivery zone before you hand it over to the post office. This is called presorting, and it allows USPS to process your mailing much faster and more efficiently. The savings from presorting can add up quickly, especially if you’re sending a lot of mail.

If your mailing is large enough, you can also qualify for reduced rates by shipping it to a local sorting center instead of the post office nearest to where your recipients live. This can save you even more money because the postage rates vary depending on how far your mailing stretches from the post office.

You must have a permit to mail at bulk rates, which costs $265 per year for Marketing Mail and $345 per year for Presorted First Class. The annual fee is waived if you use full-service barcoding or pay with an authorized postage meter. Nonprofit organizations can also qualify for bulk mailing rates, but they must follow strict postal service guidelines and pay a one-time, annual fee to get them.