Skip to content
Direct Mail Servicesbuyer's guide

Questions to ask, with a worksheet

Ask every vendor the same questions and write the answers in the same place. Differences jump out once they're side by side.

Report
T-07
Checked
2026-11-07
Vendors named
None
Question
1. In-house vs partners
2. Proof and error policy
3. Turnaround to drop
4. Line-item quote
5. Postage at USPS price?
6. Extras (rush, changes, delivery)
7. Mail class and sort level
8. Whose permit
9. Mailing paperwork
10. List cleaning and access
11. Cleaned list returned?
12. Who owns design files

About the work

  1. Which of these do you do in-house: design, data, printing, addressing, presort, mailing?
  2. What proof will I see, and what happens if I find an error after approving it?
  3. What's your turnaround from approved proof to mail drop?

About the money

  1. Can you break the quote into lines, with postage separate?
  2. Is postage billed at the USPS price, and when do I pay it?
  3. What costs extra: rush, changes, printed proofs, storage, delivery?

About the mail

  1. Which mail class and sort level will you use, and why?
  2. Whose postage permit is it?
  3. What paperwork will I get showing when and how many pieces were mailed?

About my data and files

  1. How is my list cleaned, and who else can see it?
  2. Do I get the cleaned list back?
  3. Who owns the design files?