I recently invested in a bike figuring I would hand out postcards to save $$ on postage. I know that it's not ok to put them inside of mailboxes, but I'm wondering if anybody knows if its ok to prop them next to the mailbox crevices, or prop them up via the red flag-things on the mailboxes.

I went out today on my first round in an area and already had one lady call telling me she was thinking of "turning me in".

With postage so high these days it's harder to get a good return on your $$ sending them all by direct mail. If anyone else distributes flyers by hand I'd appreciate any comments.

Thanks. -Grant

Don't ya just love people like that. Just think she wasted her time and yours just to call you up and ***** that you put a card on her mail box. Most people would just toss it in the trash, nope not her. Had to pick up the phone and call ya. That's sad. She needs more things to do in her free time. Maybe senior day care, I hear they do wonders there with hard pasta, colored paper and some glue.

Hey Grant,
Don't worry too much about that. I do whatever I can to get my flyers out. I post them in grocery stores if they let me. I also pick a neighborhood and saturate it by putting flyers in between the door knob and door frame. I even put them on windshields at the mall, Walmart, Target or whatever parking lot I can.

Another thing I do is team up with other small businesses in my area and offer to pass their flyers for a very small fee. This is to help pay for my flyers or brochures and besides I’m already passing mine out anyway. I realized this is a little over board, but I have had a tremendous response. Remember, if you don’t have customers, you will not be in business long, so don’t let one crabby old lady discourage you.

Thank you,
Bigrich aka Richard A.

What has been said is true, the woman needs a life. However years ago I handed out phone books and was told it is illegal to leave then at the base of streetside mailboxes. I doubt it would even be enforced but as you know, there are wackos out there. I'm looking for a better way to get flyers direct to peoples houses also. I use doorhangers but could get over twice as many out if I didn't have to walk to the front door. I say a guy who put a few pieces of gravel in a baggie for weight and walked by tossing them on porches. I was thinking about using indy packs of redhots candies instead of gravel and maybe advertising a red hot deal. Another of my silly ideas, but some of them work.

Its definitely illegal to put anything on a US mailbox. Once it is installed, an individual rural delivery mailbox is considered part of the postal system and is governed by postal regulations. Same for a wall mounted mailbox on a house. Dont mess with it. I got a call from the postmaster several months ago informing me that the fines are substantial. At the time, I was putting postcards between the flag and the box on the outside.

I believe it's ok to put them in the newspaper slot/boxes, but only some people have those. I'm also trying to avoid walking up to the porches. When I do that I'm only getting around 70 an hour handed out as houses are kind of far apart, when by bike I can more than double that.

Thanks all again for the helpful advice. I went out today again and avoided anything touching the mailboxes. Where possible I put them on porches or the newspaper slots. Many homes I skipped due to time it would have taken to get off my bike and walk to the porch. I was able to deliver about 100 in 1 1/2 hours. Yesterday was 150 in 1 hour, but at least this way I'm not upsetting anybody. Unfortunately I wasn't in good enough shape to stay out on my bike any longer. Lots of hills here and I'm no Lance Armstrong!

I like the idea about making a one page black and white flyer. I've been doing full color postcards up until now, but even though I do it myself the toner is still expensive, and it takes forever to print out flyers on postcard stock as they keep getting jammed.

Bottom line is I need to get more jobs scheduled to make some $$! I need to start marketing to commercial accounts too...
Thanks all. -Grant

Something I have been doing a little research on.
Google Flyer distribution.

Depending on your area there are companies that specialize in doing this on a large scale.

Rates seem to be alot less than mailers.Be sure to check their reputation with the BBB before commiting.

Thanks for the thoughts Bill and Bigrich. I like hearing about new ideas and what's working for people. I sent inquiries to a couple of flyer distribution folks and the one I got back so far charges .35 cents each, but that includes the printing, formatting, and distribution. They have a 5000 minimum which makes it fairly steep. I figure that's about what I'm spending on my postcards when I send them myself-- .24 postage, plus paper and toner on my printer. Maybe I'll find an outfit that charges a little less.

How much success have you had handing out flyers on cars? You mentioned you go to malls, Wal Mart, etc. That's an easy way to hand them out for sure... if it works. Have you gotten complaints from anyone claiming you're "littering" or anything?

PS: The other day I put in a request to the post office for the official law about mailboxes, here is the response they sent me:

Thank you for visiting our web site. I understand that you would like to know if you can hang items from a mailbox.

No part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any item that does not contain proper postage. This includes items or matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle. Any mailable matter found without postage is subject to a postage due charge. You can find more information at the following link:

http://hdusps.esecurecare.net/cgi-bin/hdusps.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=7453