The font and writing of the address should be proportional to the size of the envelope for easy reading.Is it possible to fold your flat-size piece to letter-size? If so, you can save money because you’ll pay the lower letter price (see more information on First Class Letters here) But keep in mind that weight usually affects price – the higher the weight the higher the postage, especially for First-Class Mail. The maximum size for a flat provides plenty of room to put lots of material in the envelope.Be no more than 12 inches high x 15 inches long x 3/4 inch thick (for a copy of the Flats Design template, click here: Flats).Have one dimension that is greater than 6-1/8 inches high OR 11-1/2 inches long OR 1/4 inch thick.Weights and Sizes To qualify as a first class flat, envelopes must:

If USPS Presort does make sense for you, then stay tuned for our guide to implementing an in-house USPS Presort Operation.The Postal Service uses the word “flats” to refer to large envelopes, newsletters and magazines. Businesses with extensive mailing lists for catalogs and advertising can gain the most savings with USPS Presort, while businesses that only send out mailers in short spurts wouldn't benefit much from the extra savings. So should you be using USPS Presort? It really depends on how many mailers you're sending out. That's just $40 a month, which would not be worth the time, investment, and effort to implement a Presort operation in-house in most cases. Each invoice weighs 1 ounce, which means 500 invoices would normally cost you $220, while Presort would cost you $180. Let's say you have to send around 500 invoices a month, which means you qualify for First-Class Presort rates. It only makes sense if the value of the savings matches up with the resources you can spare. Of course, USPS Presort is effectively USPS paying you in discounts to do some of their work for them. You're cutting down your postage bill into a mere fraction of what it could have been. Normal Standard Mail would cost you $7,800, but Presorted Standard Mail would only cost $2,500, which means you save $5,300. So let's say you have a seasonal catalog (weighing at 3 ounces) going out to 10,000 subscribers. First-Class Mail offers a sliding scale of discounts, but Standard Mail gets a flat Presort rate, which means bigger savings when you're sending large amounts of heavier mail: First-Class Mail Presort Rates Ounces There's a 500 piece minimum for First-Class Mail per Presort mailing.ĭepending on the service level you use, you get different discounts. The USPS is obligated to make its best effort to locate the recipient.

First-Class Mail is usually personalized or unique items such as account statements and bills.

There's a 200 piece minimum for Standard Mail per Presort mailing.

Standard Mail is usually catalogues, coupons, and advertisements that aren't personalized.A good rule of thumb is: if you're sending at least 5,000 mailers a year, it's a good idea to inquire about USPS Presort and determine if it's a good fit for your business.įirst of all, the USPS splits up Presort-eligible mail into Standard Mail and First-Class Mail: It offers a sliding scale of discounts based on service level, mail shape, and weight. USPS Presort is a discount for customers who sort their mail before sending it off to USPS. If you're sending at least 5,000 mailers a year, USPS Presort can significantly slash your annual postage bill.

Usps firstclass stamp