Mailing class and postage
What are mailing classes?
As Lob leverages USPS as our mail delivery carrier, the USPS offers a number of mailing services to suit the needs of the business. Leverage different mailing class options based on your time sensitivity, budget, and need for other adjacent services.
First Class Mail
Used to send Lob postcards, self-mailers, letters, and checks
Intended mostly for personal or business correspondence
Invoices, statements, and other confidential mail that include PII/PHI or sensitive data of any kind must be sent via First Class or risk being flagged by USPS and taken out of the mail stream
Businesses have the option of adding on additional services, like Certified Mail
Must weigh 13oz or less; anything over 13oz can be sent as Priority Mail
First Class delivery is given priority over Standard Class Mail, both locally & nationally
Includes forwarding and return services with no additional charge
Domestic mailings typically take 4-6 business days, and international mailings typically take an additional 5-7 business days to be delivered
Standard Class Mail or Marketing Mail
Broadly known as Marketing Mail, or "bulk mail" in the industry
Lob will often refer to it by its previous name, Standard Class Mail, in our product offerings
Used to send Lob postcards, self-mailers, and letters with marketing-related content
Intended more for advertisements and mass communication purposes
Must not contain any sort of sensitive personal information or PII outside the address box
Must weigh 16oz or less, and meet a minimum quantity of 200 pieces or 50lbs of mail
Processed by USPS on a "time available" basis; no delivery time guarantees provided by USPS
Best to avoid with time-sensitive mailings
Least expensive postage mode available on Lob
Mailings typically take 7-21 business days (only available in US)
Standard Class mail cannot be sent internationally
Standard Class mail is not forwarded or returned if undeliverable unless a special endorsement is used; undeliverable mail will be destroyed by USPS
Any mailpiece that contains PII or PHI must be sent as First Class and cannot be sent as Standard Class Mail per USPS regulations. Non-compliance will result in potential removal of your mail batch from the mailstream, customer delays, and/or order cancellation.
Nonprofit Marketing Mail
Saves authorized nonprofit organizations up to 70% of the cost of First Class mail
Only available for domestic mail
Follows the same delivery times as Standard mail
Lob currently does not offer any overnight/express mailing options.
Delivery times are estimates and will vary depending on product and destination. As our primary mail carrier, the USPS also experiences delays from time to time. To see the most up-to-date status of your mailing, check the tracking information of your particular mailing through a GET request or on your Dashboard.
You can also view the latest information on USPS delivery times on the USPS interactive map.
USPS Marketing Mail eligibility
As marketers are adding greater amounts of "personal information" in their direct mailings that include advertising mailers typically sent as USPS Standard Class or Marketing Mail, USPS has added greater scrutiny around which class of mail can be utilized given the level of "personal information" included in your mailers.
These Marketing Mail eligibility standards have been in effect since June 1, 2005, and are enforced at the discretion of the USPS Customer Support Rulings agent. The main conclusion: Standard Class (aka Marketing Mail) should not be utilized for sending mail that includes personal information or sensitive data in any way.
If you are planning any Marketing Mail campaigns that include the personal information of the recipient, make sure to mail it First Class to avoid USPS rejection which will result in delays for your mail.
Lob cannot currently prevent customers from sending personal information or sensitive data as Standard Class Mail. Consult your Customer Support Manager for further guidance on eligibility.
Available mailing class options
Postcards
4x6, 6x9 and 6x11 postcards: Mailed via USPS First Class Mail (takes 4-6 business days and international mailings take an additional 5-7 business days).
6x9 and 6x11 postcards: Mailed via USPS Standard Class Mail (takes 7-21 business days) and only within the US.
Self-mailers
Mailed via USPS First Class Mail or Standard Class Mail
USPS Standard Class Mail may only be used for sends within the US
Letters
Mailed via USPS First Class Mail (takes 4-6 business days)
Mailed via USPS Standard Class Mail (takes 7-21 business days) and only within the US
Checks
Mailed via USPS First Class only (takes 4-6 business days)
USPS Standard Class Mail is not available for checks
Overnight/expedited mailing options are not available
Postage
Our fulfillment partners programmatically print their own indicia on all postcards and self-mailers. This indicia is then used to prepare the mailing paperwork for USPS. There is no need to mark the location of your indicia in your submitted creatives.
Our return envelopes are blank and come without prepaid postage; mail recipients will be responsible for adding their own postage when sending reply mail.
Mail collection & cut-off times
Our daily cut-off times for all mail submissions are 10am PST each business day; anything submitted after that will be processed in the following business day's production run.
Remember: if you use the cancellation window or scheduling feature and your send date surpass a daily cut-off time, it will be slotted for the next production day. Production days are based on normal business days, including National Holidays.
If you have more questions regarding cut-off times, reach out to support@lob.com or your Customer Success Manager.
Lob's Print Delivery Network (PDN)
Lob's Print Delivery Network (PDN) is the backbone of our Print & Mail offering. By building an integrated, distributed network of professional printers, we simplify client print operations and vendor management on behalf of our customers. Qualified commercial printers are thoroughly vetted by our print experts and integrated into our PDN ecosystem, enabling our customers to easily access different mail delivery strategies without the hassle of management. The strength of our PDN is predicated on automated production, dynamically-adjusted throughput, and consistency of quality that's on-demand and at scale.
Any mail that is sent through Lob is dynamically distributed to the prints within our PDN, based on a number of factors, including:
Mail form factor and permutation availability
Mail volume capacity
Paper stock and ink availability
Distance from end-recipient of mail
Other manufacturing and logistical capacity needs
Regulatory requirements (e.g. HIPAA)
If you're a printer that's interested in exploring a partnership opportunity with us, let's talk!
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