How To Mail Magazines With USPS

The cheapest way to mail magazines through USPS is Periodicals, a mail class built for magazines, newspapers, and newsletters. It only pays off in bulk, and you have to apply for the mailing privilege first with Form 3500. If you're sending a handful of copies, skip Periodicals and use Ground Advantage or Priority Mail instead.

What Periodicals is

Periodicals is a discounted class for publishers who mail the same title on a regular schedule to a real subscriber or requester list. The discount is real, but USPS expects volume, so it's built for a print run going out to hundreds of readers at once, not a one-off.

When it's worth applying

If you mail magazines regularly and in bulk, Periodicals is the cheapest option and worth the setup. If your volume is small or occasional, the qualification requirements and per-mailing minimums won't pay off. In that case a single copy ships fine on Ground Advantage or Priority Mail, priced by weight and distance.

How to set it up

1. Fill out Form 3500 to apply for a Periodicals mailing authorization.
2. Submit it at the Post Office or Business Mail Entry Unit that will accept your mailings. Once it's approved, your Periodicals account is active.
3. Fund the account or arrange payment, and confirm current Periodicals rates with USPS since they change by weight, piece count, and distance.
4. Bundle and label each copy with the recipient address and your return address, and wrap the bundles in protective material so they survive transit.
5. Drop the mailing at the accepting Post Office or BMEU and keep the receipt as your record.

Once the account is set up, you can repeat the process on whatever schedule your subscription cycle runs.