EDDM BMEU: When a Roofer Needs the Permit Route

EDDM BMEU is the Every Door Direct Mail option you enter at a USPS Business Mail Entry Unit, a large mail processing center, instead of a Post Office counter. You prepare it through a Business Customer Gateway account and pay with a bulk mailing permit. In exchange, it has no volume limit and one mailing can cover multiple ZIP Codes.

The other option, EDDM Retail, is the simpler place to start. You carry the bundles to the Post Office, you need no permit, and USPS caps you at 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code. Picture a sales manager who wants 12,000 re-roof postcards to land the same day across several Mandarin and Southside ZIP Codes, with more than 5,000 of them in one ZIP. Retail cannot take that in one drop, because that one ZIP is over the daily cap. That job is what BMEU was built for.

What is a BMEU in the USPS?

A BMEU, or Business Mail Entry Unit, is the place inside a large USPS mail processing center where businesses hand over permit mail, and USPS lists it as the drop-off point for EDDM BMEU mailings.

The practical difference for your office is where the boxes go. A Retail mailing goes to your local Post Office, and USPS spells out that BMEU mailings go to a large USPS mail processing center instead. Plan the drive, the loading and who on your team signs for it before the postcards are printed.

How is EDDM BMEU different from EDDM Retail?

EDDM BMEU trades a little setup (a permit and an online account) for no volume ceiling and the freedom to put several ZIP Codes in one mailing, while Retail keeps setup simple but limits each drop.

Read the table from the top, because the decision usually turns on the first three rows. The postage line barely moves.

Do I need a permit for EDDM?

You need no special mailing permit for EDDM Retail, but EDDM BMEU is paid with a bulk mailing permit and prepared through a Business Customer Gateway account.

That is the whole permit question. USPS states that Retail needs no special mailing permit, which is why a roofer testing one subdivision can get a mailer out with just a USPS.com account. Once you move to BMEU, the bulk mailing permit and Business Customer Gateway account become part of the job. If a print shop or mail house is handling your drop, ask whose permit the mailing goes out under before you sign off on the order.

What is the current EDDM rate?

USPS currently lists EDDM Retail Marketing Flats at $0.26 per piece and EDDM BMEU Marketing Mail Flats at as low as $0.259 per piece.

Do the math on that gap before you let it drive the decision. A tenth of a cent per piece is $1 for every 1,000 postcards. On a 5,000-piece drop, Retail postage comes to $1,300 and BMEU at its lowest listed rate comes to $1,295. The USPS rate figures are posted as current, so recheck them the week you budget the mailing.

What are the requirements for EDDM?

For EDDM Retail, mail must be bundled in stacks of 50 to 100 pieces, no bundle may be higher than 6 inches, and a mailing must run at least 200 pieces.

The bundling rule is where first-time mailers lose an afternoon. USPS asks for stacks of 50 to 100 mailpieces, and a thick, oversized re-roof postcard can hit the 6-inch height limit before it hits 100. Count and band a test stack when the printer delivers, not at the counter.

The volume floor matters too. Retail requires at least 200 and allows up to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code. The layout rules for the postcard itself (the indicia block, the address panel, the clear zones) are their own topic, covered in our post on the EDDM template for roofers.

When should a roofer switch from Retail to BMEU?

Switch to BMEU when one drop needs more than 5,000 pieces in a single ZIP Code on a single day, or when you want several ZIP Codes handled as one mailing.

Below that line, Retail is the simpler path. A roofer mailing two or three carrier routes around one subdivision rarely needs anything else. Above it, BMEU lets you plan a territory instead of a ZIP. A company working Mandarin, the Southside and the Beaches can treat that as one campaign with one drop-off, rather than a string of Post Office trips counted ZIP by ZIP. Choosing which routes to put in that campaign is a separate skill, and our post on EDDM routes walks through reading the route map.

What is the cheapest way to do EDDM?

The cheapest way to run EDDM is to mail fewer wasted doors, because the postage difference between Retail and BMEU is a tenth of a cent per piece at the listed rates.

Where your money goes is the route list. EDDM delivers to every door on the carrier routes you pick, including homes that re-roofed three years ago. A roofer who mails a whole ZIP pays the same per piece for the house with a new roof as for the one with original shingles from the 1990s. Cutting the routes where roofs are not due saves more than any rate tier.

Is EDDM worth it for a roofing company?

EDDM is worth it for a roofing company that picks routes where roofs are likely due and tracks cost per signed job, because it puts a postcard at every door on those streets without buying a mailing list.

Mail costs money per piece, and nobody should pretend otherwise. What you get for it is reach that shared leads cannot give you: homeowners who have not filled out a form, have not called three roofers, and will see your name before anyone knocks. Give each drop its own tracking number or URL so you can measure what one signed re-roof costs from that mailing, then compare it to your other lead sources on the same terms. If you want a starting point for which streets to mail, Roof Identifier ranks homes in Duval County by how likely the roof is due, and you can ask for a free ZIP Roof Report for your ZIP.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum number of pieces for EDDM Retail?

Yes. EDDM Retail requires at least 200 pieces and allows up to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code.

Can one EDDM BMEU mailing cover more than one ZIP Code?

Yes. EDDM BMEU has no volume limit on the mailing, and multiple ZIP Codes can be selected in one mailing.

Where do you drop off an EDDM BMEU mailing?

An EDDM BMEU mailing goes to a large USPS mail processing center, the Business Mail Entry Unit. An EDDM Retail mailing goes to the Post Office.

Is EDDM BMEU postage much cheaper than Retail?

No. USPS currently lists Retail flats at $0.26 per piece and BMEU flats at as low as $0.259, a difference of $1 per 1,000 pieces. Volume, ZIP Codes and the permit decide the choice more than postage does.

Related reading

• When to Replace Roof Shingles: How Roofers Read the Signs When to replace roof shingles, read the way a roofer sells it: wear across the whole roof, the 20-year mark, and what Florida's 15-year insurance rule says.
• EDDM Routes: How Roofers Pick the Streets Worth Mailing EDDM routes are USPS carrier routes you pick in the Online Tool. How Jacksonville roofers choose routes by roof age, budget $0.26-a-piece postage and cut waste.
• How Long Does a Flat Roof Last in Florida? A Roofer's Read No single number holds for Florida flat roofs. What decides how long one lasts, what the 15-year insurance rule says, and which flat-roof homes to prospect first.

Sources reviewed

1. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
2. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
3. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
4. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
5. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
6. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: Retail vs. BMEU
7. USPS Every Door Direct Mail: bundling rules