STEP 1
Customers will provide their artwork for direct mail and we will add the correct address box and Indicia (stamp box). If it is for EDDM then the indicia will have our permit number. We proof everything and get the artwork ready for printing. Once the artwork is approved by the customer then it is ready for printing. If a customer does not have a design, then please contact us about design services.
STEP 2
The customer will provide ZIP codes and specific routes for their mailings. If a customer does not have specific routes, then they must provide a zip code or zip codes and we can send out their mailings everywhere within that zip code. There is different criteria to determine where the mailings should go. Customers can choose from.
- Residences Only
- Residences and Businesses
- Medium Household Income
- Number of People Living in Residences
- Age Range (anywhere from 18 to 75)
- Rural Areas only
- City Areas Only
- City and Rural Areas
STEP 3
Once the ZIP codes and routes have been confirmed then we invoice the customer for the total direct mail order. Customers must pay the invoice in full for us to process the order. We do have options where customers can pay for the full printing and then split the direct mail cost, weekly bi-weekly, monthly! Also, customers can provide a schedule of when they would like mailers to hit mailboxes. PLEASE NOTE: The USPS only allows 5,000 mailers to go out per day so if you have a large quantity of mailers, while we can drop off everything at the same time, once it arrives at a local post office, they will only distribute 5,000 a day so your mailers may be spread out over multiple days when it comes to being delivered in mailboxes.
STEP 4
We start printing your direct mailers. Printing will take 4 to 5 business days. Then we process and bundle the mailers to get them ready for the USPS. That takes 3 business days. When a customer makes an order, we confirm 2 ETA dates. The first ETA is when mailers are expected to be dropped off at the USPS. The second ETA is when mailers are expected to hit mailboxes. We give a 2 to 3 business day range because it depends on the local post office which will be distributing the mailers and how fast they can sort the bundles, then send out with local mail carriers. . We cannot guarantee one specific date for when they will distribute mailers. The entire direct mail or EDDM process takes 10 to 14 business days (excluding Sunday’s) from the time a customer makes an order to when mailers are being delivered. This includes printing, processing and bundling, USPS drop off, delivery and sorting at local post offices.
STEP 5
Dropping off at the USPS. For EDDM, we will drop off at a USPS BMEU facility. This is a regional facility that handles all marketing mail. This facility has stricter guidelines and checks to make sure that mailers are ready to be sent to local post offices and be delivered. This facility is better than a local post office for checking in direct mail and making sure that it’s ready. If there are any problems and direct mail needs to be redone in order to be approved, we can take care of the necessary changes immediately. PLEASE NOTE: If we drop off or send to a local post office and if there is anything wrong with the mailers and how it was processed then a local post office can discard the marketing mail and we would never be notified. We choose to drop off at a BMEU facility to ensure that the marketing mail qualifies and is processed correctly so that when it is delivered to the local post offices for distribution, they do not have to check it, it only needs to be sorted and given to local mail carriers.
This is a better process than doing EDDM retail or taking it to a local post office. The stricter guidelines and checks ensure that your marketing mail is done correctly and will be distributed. Since our corporate headquarters is in Dallas Texas, the regional facility that we use for all marketing mail is in North Texas or Coppell Texas. We use this regional facility to distribute all marketing mail that is to be distributed throughout the United States. Some marketing mail may take longer to get to its destination depending on how far it is from Coppell Texas. At max it can take up to 5 business days. We will notify the customer that it has been approved by the USPS. We even take pictures of the approval notification by the USPS at the BMEU facility.
STEP 6
Your Direct Mail has been approved and will move through the system. Your mailers are on their way to be delivered to your designated zip codes and routes. Just wait for the mailers to drop and start getting calls.
DIRECT MAIL TERMS and CONDITIONS
Please note: Once your order has left our facility, we are not responsible for lost, delayed, or damaged postcards / flyers / mailers. 1st Stop Print cannot be held liable for any issues that occur in transit (if we ship directly to the post office) or once USPS® has taken possession of the order(s) as stated in our terms and conditions on the website, and for this reason, we do not offer full or partial refunds on any direct mail order. Although we do our best to accommodate future delivery dates specified upon ordering, we cannot guarantee that mailers will be delivered on said requested dates, to requested zip codes/ routes, or that you will be contacted by customers or get new business with your marketing. We recommend placing your order in accordance with the time that you would like your mailers to be sent out, and recommend 10 to 14 business days from the time you place your order with 1st Stop Print.
Read Full Terms and Conditions at www.1ststopprint.com/termsconditions/
1ST STOP PRINT PERMIT INFORMATION
