These two approaches solve different problems, and the cheaper per-piece option is not automatically the cheaper campaign. Here is how to decide.
What each one actually is
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. No mailing list, no name data, 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 genuinely local and relevant to everyone in an area, which is
typical 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.
The piece size constraint that surprises people
EDDM has a size floor. The piece must qualify as a flat, meaning it has to exceed at least one of 6.125 inches high, 10.5 inches long, or 0.25 inch thick, and stay within 15 inches long by 12 inches high by 0.75 inch thick, at no more than 3.3 ounces.
A standard 5 x 7 postcard does not qualify. Typical EDDM pieces start around 6.25 x 9. Because postage is the same across the EDDM size range, a larger piece costs the same to mail, so designing to the small end of the range gives up space for nothing.
Retail or 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.
The honest comparison
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.