What Is Drop Shipping in Direct Mail?

Key Takeaways

• Direct mail drop shipping involves transporting prepared mail closer to its target destination before handing it over to the USPS.
• Qualifying mail that is entered closer to its target destination could be eligible for a lower postage price, as the USPS has less transportation to perform themselves.
• Lower postage doesn’t necessarily equate to a lower total campaign cost, as the mailer has to pay a vendor to transport the mail.
• A lettershop or mail-service provider can help mailers determine whether drop shipping makes sense for their campaign.

Introduction

While you can get a discounted postage rate for your mail if your campaign qualifies, a service known as direct mail drop shipping might help your campaign save money. Drop shipping in the context of direct mail involves shipping your pieces of mail using a lettershop or mail-service provider closer to its destination before entering it with the USPS, which could qualify for destination entry postage prices. Direct mail drop shipping doesn’t refer to having a product shipped from a supplier directly to a customer like in traditional eCommerce drop shipping.

How Does Direct Mail Drop Shipping Work?

Direct mail drop shipping works by transporting your mail from its printing origin to a point closer to its destination and entering the mail stream there. This can potentially save on postage, as the USPS offers destination entry prices for qualifying mail that is entered closer to its target destination. As an example, if I’m producing my mail in California and mailing to New York, it could make sense for me to drop ship my pieces of mail to somewhere closer to New York before entering it with the USPS to save money on postage. The mail does not bypass the USPS; the mail is just being given to them closer to the mail’s destination.

Does Direct Mail Drop Shipping Always Save Money?

Direct mail drop shipping can save money, but not always. Be careful not to automatically equate lower postage with a lower total campaign cost.

As an example, let’s say I have two options for my campaign:

Option A:

• Enters the mail locally
  • Has a higher USPS postage cost
  • Little to no additional transportation/freight expense

Option B:

• Gets drop shipped and enters the mail stream closer to its destination
  • Lower USPS postage
  • Additional transportation/freight expense

The question then becomes this: Are the postage savings greater than the additional cost of transporting the mail? Depending on the result of this question, drop shipping your mail might not be worth it.

What Type of Mail Can Be Drop Shipped?

Destination entry pricing is available for certain qualifying commercial mailings, such as USPS Marketing Mail. The mail has to meet the USPS entry and preparation requirements to receive those prices. For more information on destination entry pricing, read about it on the USPS website here.

How Is Mailing Divided for Direct Mail Drop Shipping?

For a campaign that covers a large geographic area, postal software can help to determine how the mailing should be sorted, and which portions of the mail could qualify for destination entry pricing, which could involve presorting. Drop shipping doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. Depending on the mailing, portions might qualify for destination entry, while other portions are entered differently.

Who Handles Direct Mail Drop Shipping?

A lettershop or other mail-service provider are the parties who typically handle the drop shipping. These providers are also the ones who are able to give you an estimate of the total freight costs. Once you have the estimated postage savings and transportation costs, you can make a more informed decision whether drop shipping makes sense for your campaign.

Does Drop Shipping Make Direct Mail Arrive Faster?

Drop shipping can reduce the distance that your mail needs to travel within the USPS network but doesn’t guarantee faster delivery, so make sure that you have expectations for the USPS that are realistic. The mail still needs to be transported to its destination entry point, and other variables such as mail class, USPS processing, transportation schedules, and destination can all have an impact on your mail’s delivery timeline. For more information on how long mail takes to arrive, read Geon’s article on that topic here.

Direct Mail Drop Shipping vs. Presorting

FAQ

• Q: Does ecommerce drop shipping mean the same as direct mail drop shipping?
  • A: No, the two are not the same, even though they have the same name. Ecommerce drop shipping usually involves a supplier shipping a product directly to the customer. Direct mail drop shipping involves transporting prepared and sorted mail closer to its shipping destination before entering it with the post office.
• Q: Does drop shipping my mail save money?
  • A: It can, but not always. While transporting the mail closer to its destination can save money, variables such as the vendor fee for transporting the mail and lead time to get the mail to the target destination need to be considered before choosing to drop ship your mail.
• Q: Who handles drop shipping for direct mail campaigns?
  • A: A lettershop or other mail-service provider are the ones who can determine whether destination entry makes sense for your campaign, and can coordinate the preparation, transportation, and post office entry for the mail.
• Q: Should I do direct mail drop shipping for every campaign?
  • A: No. Whether it makes sense for your direct mail campaign to drop ship the mail depends on factors such as mailing volume, geographic distribution, postal savings, transportation costs, and campaign timing. Depending on these factors, the additional transportation might not provide enough savings or other benefits to make drop shipping worthwhile for your campaign.

Conclusion

Drop shipping your direct mail can help to reduce your postal costs by transporting your qualifying direct mail closer to its target destination before it gets entered into the USPS mail stream. However, remember that lower postage doesn’t necessarily mean a lower overall cost. Variables such as transportation expenses, mailing volume, geographic distribution, and timing all need to be considered when determining whether drop shipping your mail makes sense for your campaign.

Return to Preparing Your Mail, or browse Geon’s Learning Center.