WEB EXCLUSIVE - Understanding Postal: What a 5-Day USPS Delivery Week Means for Direct Marketers

Mail drop-shipped to plants/delivery units on Saturdays will still have a service standard that begins that day as long as the mail is entered before the critical entry time (CET) for that facility. This may sound like it solves the problem — particularly since a large percentage of catalogs are drop-shipped — but the USPS is likely to reduce mail acceptance hours on Saturdays, limit the number of appointments or make changes to CETs to accommodate changes in facility processing on weekends. Any of these changes could restrict the ability of mailers or service providers to enter mail on a Saturday to achieve desired in-home delivery dates.