Mail Does Not Get Delivered When You Think it Does
October 23, 2018   Dave Lewis

Unless you think it takes 14 days…

Ask most mail service providers how long it takes for Standard Mail to be delivered and you’ll get a very (and wisely) noncommittal “7 to 10 days.”  Which seems reasonable - …and probably wrong. Which is why you really do need to track your mail.  We track an awful lot of it around here, and delivery times are tough to guess.  I will say that if I have to pick a number, the median time for delivery of USPS Marketing Mail letters, nationally, is about 14 days…maybe 15.  That is your dock to the recipient’s door, whether you use a commercial commingler or drop it off at the local post office.  So if you must use a rule of thumb, say “about two weeks.”  With a LOT of qualifiers:
  • This is for letters;
  • Local mail is delivered more quickly – mail within the origin SCF may be delivered in as few as 3-4 days;
  • Distant mail is delivered more slowly, naturally, but not as much so as you would think.  The bell curve on mail delivery is pretty steep – once that 50% point is reached, most of the rest of the mail tends to be delivered within 3-4 days, although it continues to trickle out for days and days;
  • Flats…don’t even get me started about flats – they are much easier to track these days, but delivery can be erratic;
  • You don’t have to accept your 14 day fate:  There are things you can do to make it better – drop shipping can be particularly effective.
It really matters when your mail is being delivered, and you need to know it.  One could reasonably argue that it doesn’t matter how long it takes mail to be delivered – as long as you know when it is. Is it just as fast to deposit mail locally?  Is one commingler slower than another?  The only way to know for sure is to track the mail. Of course you’re free to use my 14 days if you like, but don’t come looking for me when it then gets delivered in 7 – 10 days.

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