Why should you outsource your mail?

Many business mailers earn postage discounts by contracting with a USPS approved Mail Service Provider.  While virtually anyone can enter presorted mail and get discounts, the rules and costs are rather burdensome, especially for those that only do a couple mailings each year. Many MSPs, including Mail Works, will handle all of your production needs, from design and print to folding, inserting, sealing, addressing, automating, and sorting the mail for the lowest USPS postage rates. In order to get discounted rates, the USPS requires the use of permits for postage and certain sorting rules.  They also require that the mail be brought to a specific facility to be verified for accuracy in order to get the discounts.  One of the most common rules is that mail be presented in volumes of 200 or more for Marketing Mail and 500 or more for First Class Mail. A Presort Bureau is a type of Mail Service Provider that has a special permit to combine mail from several clients each day to generate large presort jobs to enter to the USPS.  There are very few Presort Bureaus in the United States.  There happen to be 4 in the Kansas City area.  Although they can and often do, a Presort Bureau does not generally provide the same fulfillment services as a Mail Service Provider.  Their primary interest is to collect as much mail each day as possible to make a large presort mailing.  One benefit to using a Presort Bureau is that there are no minimums.  So they can combine just one piece of mail with thousands of pieces from other clients. Not only does Mail Works utilize one of these services, we share a facility with one!  That means that the 200 and 500 piece rules do not apply to Mail Works clients. Several factors determine the fees MSPs charge their customers, including the volume and makeup of the mail. Most providers will have a set fee for services that are very competitive and allow the client to compare against other services and with their own internal costs.  Postage is complicated and a single mailing can often have several rates involved, depending on volume and destination of the mailpiece.  To make budgeting easier, many MSPs, including Mail Works, will often charge a set price for postage, which is not the highest or the lowest of those rates. When considering a Mail Service Provider, it is important to know that the provider will care for your mail, whether it is a mailing of 1 piece or of 10,000 pieces.  At Mail Works, we cherish our relationships and bend over backwards to provide the highest quality service to ALL of our clients, no matter the volume of mail.