These two approaches solve different problems, and the cheaper per-piece option is not automatically the cheaper campaign. Here is how to decide.
What EDDM and a targeted mailing list are
Every Door Direct Mail delivers a saturation piece to every active address on the carrier routes you select, using a simplified address rather than names. There is no mailing list, no name data and no Move Update processing.
A targeted mailing list reaches specific people you have chosen, whether that is your own customers or an acquired list. It costs more per piece and requires address processing, but every piece goes to someone you picked.
Choose EDDM when
- The offer is local and relevant to everyone in an area, as it usually is for restaurants, home services, retail and local events.
- You do not have a list and do not need one.
- The geography is tight enough that saturating it is not wasteful.
Choose a targeted list when
- The offer only makes sense for certain people, so saturating an area wastes most of the print run.
- You are mailing your own customers, which almost always outperforms a cold saturation drop.
- You need to personalize the piece, or track response by recipient.
EDDM piece size requirements
EDDM has a size floor: the piece has to mail as a flat, not a letter. The exact test depends on how the mailing is entered.
EDDM Retail, where you bundle the pieces yourself and take them to the Post Office counter, needs a piece longer than 10.5 inches, taller than 6.125 inches, or thicker than 0.25 inch. It must stay within 15 inches long by 12 inches high by 0.75 inch thick, at no more than 3.3 ounces.
When Plavidian mails EDDM, the job goes on Plavidian's own permit through the business mail entry unit, so the commercial rule applies instead. There a flat is longer than 11.5 inches, taller than 6.125 inches, or thicker than 0.25 inch, within the same 15 x 12 x 0.75 inch maximum. A piece longer than 10.5 inches can still mail as an EDDM flat if it is at least 3.5 inches high and carries an "EDDM" marking directly after its "ECRWSS" marking. There is no 3.3-ounce limit: carrier route flats can weigh up to 24 ounces, with a per-pound charge on top of the piece price above 4 ounces.
A standard 5 x 7 postcard does not qualify under either rule. Typical EDDM pieces start around 6.25 x 9. EDDM postage is the same across the size range, so designing to the small end gives up space and saves nothing on postage.
EDDM Retail or EDDM BMEU
EDDM Retail needs no permit but caps at 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day, with a minimum of 200 pieces per ZIP, bundled in groups of 50 to 100 and dropped at the destination Post Office.
EDDM BMEU requires a permit, has no daily cap, and costs slightly less per piece. Under about 5,000 pieces in one ZIP, Retail is simpler. Above that, or across multiple ZIPs, BMEU saves both postage and trips.
How to compare the cost
Compare total campaign cost against reachable audience, not cost per piece. EDDM wins when nearly everyone in the area is a plausible customer. A targeted list wins as soon as a meaningful share of that area is not.