One of the main challenges in answering this question can be the fact the USPS.COM web site (which many of us rely on for address lookup help) may show the address in question as being valid when in fact it is not currently being posted to the USPS CDS (Computerized Delivery Sequencing) database. Basically, the USPS site is confirming the validity, not the deliverability of the address!

Here is a sampling of the different reasons an address may not appear on our Resident file:
-The address is currently unoccupied (vacant)
-The address is new construction and hasn’t been added to CDS yet
-The address is on our permanent suppression file
-The address is temporarily undeliverable (e.g. storm/flood damaged areas)
-The address is permanently undeliverable (e.g. condemned, shut down)
-The address does not receive mail service (e.g. many businesses, retail locations)
-The address is a “throwback” (resident receives mail at a PO Box)
-The address is in an exclusive gated community that refuses bulk mail delivery

In short, there are many different scenarios that affect the deliverability of an address and whether it will appear on your mailing list. We’re happy to help investigate your particular address dilemma – Just let us know what help you need!

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

The simplest way to think about seasonal addresses is as “non-permanent”. There are approximately 900,000 addresses coded as “seasonal” by the USPS. Rather than widespread and spotty, these addresses are pockets of the country where in general the population increases significantly – but not permanently – on a seasonal basis… typically the winter or summer months.

No matter the time of year or geographic location, seasonals are addresses where the resident does not permanently reside. Most of us are familiar with the “snowbirds” who winter down in the sunny southern parts of the country like Florida, however seasonals crop up in many parts of the country at different times of the year, such as summer vacationers in Nantucket, winter skiers in Aspen and so on.

The challenge in working with seasonal addresses usually comes down to timing. For these traveling households the permanent address is never coded as seasonal and the corresponding seasonal address is never coded as vacant. That is why for affected areas it is critical to consider the impact including seasonal addresses may have on your mailing list deliverability. For instance, a mailing to apartments on the Jersey Shore in the middle of winter could greatly increase the amount of undeliverables if seasonal addresses are not excluded! Mailers really need to remember that “seasonals” are an address type that will not be coded as “vacant” when not occupied.

Compact’s Resident List site allows you to review seasonal counts and include or exclude seasonal addresses in any list order. For zips that include seasonal addresses we also provide you with the months they are typically occupied as well – in short, our online tools allow you to make the most informed decision possible regarding these addresses. For further discussion on “seasonals” and the impact they might have on your mailing, give us a call!

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

Technically there is no way for us to provide you with a “duplicate” address. Each address record we output has been designated as a separate USPS delivery in walk sequence by the postal carrier. These are delivery points or receptacles that service multiple families or businesses. Although the address field is the same, each address will have its own unique walk sequence number in the file.

Sometimes referred to as “Drops” or “Drop Stops”, duplicated addresses can be found in several different scenarios, for example:

Duplex
Fourplex
Boarding House / Fraternity
SFDU with a rental unit attached
Apartment Buildings / Lobby Drops
Gated Communities
Simplified Routes

Some data processes performed on the data after it leaves Compact may flag these records as “bad” or even remove them from the list output. It is important to remember that doing so will invalidate the USPS Qualification paperwork we have provided with our data as well as affect the saturation level attained in each route. The individual addresses included in the piece count that determines whether a route is “Saturated” does indeed include all multiple deliveries present on a given route. So, in certain circumstances removing these addresses could drop the saturation level of a route down to high density or basic rate.

The bottom line is, every address we provide is deliverable as is! In most cases your mail preparer should not be doing anything to alter the enhanced carrier route walk sequence files. Multiple drops do not mean the data is bad or inaccurate, in fact just the opposite: we would not be providing you with a complete route listing if we did not include the drops. For more information about the workings of the Walk Sequence Saturation data, please give us a call!

Thanks,
Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

Automation-Compatible Mail
Mail that meets postal specifications concerning design, size, machine readability, and characteristics so that it can be scanned and processed by automated mail processing equipment.

Address Correction Service
If mail cannot be delivered as addressed, this service allows the sender on request, using the appropriate ancillary service endorsement, to obtain the addressee’s new (forwarding) address (if a change-of-address order was filed), or the reason the mail cannot be delivered as addressed.

Automation Discount
A postage reduction offered to mailers who barcode their letters and flats and meet addressing, readability, and other requirements for processing on automated equipment.

Bulk Mail
Mail that is generally rated for postage partly by weight and partly by the number of pieces in the mailing. A rate discount is given based on the mail preparation work done by the mailer and the place of mail deposit. To qualify as bulk mail, there must be at least 200 pieces or 50 lbs. of mail. While first class postage increases with every ounce, standard mail gives you the same low rate of postage up to 3.3087 ounces. Delivery is slower.

CDS (Computerized Delivery Sequence)
A postal product that contains all addresses. A customer of the USPS may participate in this product if they have at least 90% of the addresses in a particular ZIP code. Once certified, the USPS uses the CDS product to maintain the customer’s data.

Carrier Routes
A group of addresses to which the USPS assigns the same code to aid in mail delivery. These codes are 9 digits – 5 numbers for the ZIP code, one letter for the carrier route type and 3 numbers for the carrier route code. For example “98001C001”.

Carrier Route Sortation
The practice of sorting mail by carrier route to qualify for reduced postage rates. The term is a general descriptor of the available rates for this type of preparation, which include Enhanced Carrier Route Standard Mail, automation carrier route First-Class Mail, carrier route Periodicals, and carrier route Bound Printed Matter

CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System)
A USPS approved process which improves address deliverability and standardization.

Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) Rate
A rate available for Periodicals, Standard Mail, Parcel Post, and Bound Printed Matter that is properly prepared and entered by the mailer at the postal facility that serves the delivery address on the mail.

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
Postal Service manual that contains the basic standards and rates for domestic mail services.

Drop Shipment
Typically the movement of a mailer’s product on private transportation from the point of production to a postal facility closer to the destination of those pieces.

Delivery Point Barcode (DPBC)
A POSTNET barcode that represents the ZIP+4 code generally and the last two digits of the primary street address number (or post office box, etc.) and a correction digit. The DPBC allows automated sortation of mail to the carrier level in walk sequence.

Destination Entry
The process of transporting and depositing mail at the postal facilities that serve the addresses on the mailpieces in a mailing. The mailer receives additional discounts for destination entry mail. After your mail is verified and postage is paid at the facility where you hold your permit, you can take your mail to one of three places to receive a destination entry discount: a destination bulk mail center (DBMC) (or destination area distribution center [DADC] for Periodicals), a destination sectional center facility (DSCF), or a destination delivery unit (DDU). The discount you receive depends on which of these locations you choose.

ECR (Enhanced Carrier Route)
This is a subclass to standard mail. ECR has 3 rates: Basic, High Density and Walk Sequence Saturation.

Fulfillment
The actual process of stuffing envelopes, setting up a mailing list, and shipping out a mailing piece. Following up on and tracking a mailing is also part of fulfillment.

Indicia
Imprinted designations on mailpieces that indicate postage payment (e.g., metered postage or permit imprint).

Machinable
The ability of a mailpiece to be sorted by mail processing equipment. (Compare with nonmachinable.)

Merge/Purge
To combine more than one mailing list (merge), and then delete any duplicate entries (purge).

National Change of Address (NCOA)
An address correction service provided to mailers by the Postal Service through its licensees. The licensees match computerized mailing lists with change of address data, and NCOA provides current, standardized, and ZIP+4 coded addresses for all residential and business movers before the mail enters the mailstream.

Nonmachinable
Mail that cannot be sorted on mail processing equipment because of size, shape, content, or address legibility. Such mail is normally processed manually and could be subject to a surcharge.

Periodicals
A class of mail consisting of authorized magazines, newspapers, or other publications formed of printed sheets that are issued at least four times a year at regular, specific intervals from a known office of publication.

Postage Statement
Documentation provided by a mailer to the Postal Service that reports the volume of mail being presented and the postage payable or affixed, and that certifies that the mail meets the applicable eligibility and addressing standards for the rate claimed.

Presorted Mail
A form of mail preparation, required to bypass certain postal operations, in which the mailer groups pieces in a mailing by ZIP Code or by carrier route or carrier walk sequence (or other Postal Service–recommended separation).

Saturation
Refers to the level of penetration a mailing list has into each carrier route. The more deliveries on a route that are included, the better the saturation rate will be.

Seasonal Address
An address that is coded as “Seasonal” by the USPS is one where the occupant does not permanently reside. Typically these are vacation homes or addresses in areas with large increases in population during certain seasons of the year.

Sectional Center Facility (SCF)
A postal facility that serves as the processing and distribution center for post offices in a designated geographical area, defined by the first three digits of the ZIP Codes of these offices. Some SCFs serve more than one 3-digit ZIP Code range.

Simplified Addressing
An alternative addressing format used when delivery of identical mailpieces is requested to every customer on a rural route or highway contract route, or to all post office box customers at a post office without city carrier service. Instead of listing a name and address, the mailer may use “Postal Customer.” Simplified address may also be used by government agencies for official mail sent to all stops on city routes and post office boxes at post offices with city delivery service. s available for discount mail.

Standard Mail
A mailing service (class of mail) that comprises the subclasses of Regular Standard Mail, Nonprofit Standard Mail, Enhanced Carrier Route Standard Mail, and Nonprofit Enhanced Carrier Route Standard Mail. Circulars, printed matter, pamphlets, catalogs, newsletters, direct mail, and merchandise can be sent as Standard Mail.

Tray
A container used by the Postal Service and mailers to hold letters and First-Class Mail flats. It is used as a basic unit of mail quantity for purposes of preparing mail to qualify for discounted postage rates.

Walk Sequence Mail
Walk Sequenced mail is provided in the exact order in which the carrier walks or drives each route so the carrier does not need to sort the mail, which saves the USPS time and money. This savings is passed along to the mailer in the form of the lowest postal rate.

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

So… when should you use a Consumer List versus a Resident List?

Use a Consumer List if:

-You want a household name on every record in your list

-You require that certain demographic criteria have been confirmed on the household level such as age, income or presence of children

-Importance of targeting your list outweighs the importance of postal discounts

-Importance of targeting your list outweighs chance of slightly lower deliverability

-You are mailing first class and/or don’t mind that the file will need additional presort processing to achieve automation discounts.

-You need a list that includes phone numbers for telemarketing purposes

Consumer List Example: A luxury car dealership has a specific demographic profile for households who are likely to buy their cars: Age 40+ with a $100,000+ income within 25 miles of the dealership.  They also want the mailing to appear as personalized as possible, so showing household name on each piece is important.

Use a Resident List if:

-You want the highest possible postage discounts for sortation and saturation

-You want to make sure you blanket or “saturate” a geographic area by mailing to every available address

-Importance of postal discounts outweighs the importance of targeting your list

-Importance of highest possible deliverability outweighs the slightly lower deliverability of a targeted list

-You want a list that is already properly sorted and ready for mailing including appropriate postal paperwork

Resident List Example: A local pizza parlor knows that most households within 2 miles of their store will consume at least one pizza every 2 weeks. Using the Resident List they will saturate every address in the neighborhood with a coupon mailing.

Contact us for any other questions you may have on the details of the different list types!

Mary McCarty

List Services Manager

The best part by far however is the updated mapping. Make sure to take a look at this awesome new tool, especially if you want to see the future of the mapping resource for the Resident site. The new map features you see now on Consumer List are coming to the Resident site, so stay tuned!

Some of the new map features include City selection, County selection and Zip+4 (street level) selection as well as new display options for these selects. Not only can you create a custom selection on the map using our editing tools, you can now combine it with other select types (such as zip, route, etc.) all in the same order, even in the same segment!

Let us know if you would like some help exploring how this new functionality can help you create more meaningful Consumer List selects for your customers. We’re here to help!

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

Over the years we have fielded many questions on this feature and I thought it would help to compile them all in one location for everyone’s benefit. Following is a collection of the most frequently asked:

Q: How does the radius calculation work?

A: Our address data is organized by carrier route within zip code. The radius tool determines which whole routes are applicable for a given radius by running a ranking process that measures the distance from the origin to the center point of possible routes. Those with the shortest distance receive the best ranking result. The Radius tool may include routes that seem to be further away than the desired distance, especially in very rural instances. However, the tool has determined the most densely populated portions of a route and if at least 80% is within the requested zone, it may be selected.

Q: Should I run my radius by Distance or Quantity

A: It depends on the requirements for the specific radius request. Some radius runs need to reach a certain quantity regardless of distance, so the “Quantity” select will compile the closest number of records to the origin address or route using whole routes. The Quantity radius will select the farthest route to cut off to the desired quantity. In other cases “Distance” may be a more important factor rather than quantity. The radius tool will run distances of anywhere from 0.10 miles to 99 miles.

Q: How does the Drive Time radius work?

A: Rather than determining the closest records to an origin by estimating distance “as the crow flies”, the Drive Time radius uses a navigation technology database behind the scenes to calculate addresses within the shortest drive time of an origin. For instance: a long curvy residential road may result in a longer drive time than a straight thoroughfare. Drive Times can be anywhere from 1 minute to 30 minutes from the origin.

Q: What does “Origin Route Rank Not in Top 3” or “Origin Route Not in file” mean?

A: During the Radius processing, each potential route receives a ranking which is based on a measurement between the origin of the radius and the center point of each route. Sometimes the origin route itself does not receive a ranking that is in the top 3 shortest distances. In some cases, selections for the radius run may result in the originating route not be included in the radius result. For instance: a radius select is run excluding business listings but the only listings in the origin route are businesses.

Q: Why won’t the Radius Tool find my address?

A: In order for the radius tool to perform on the address level, a given address needs to be considered valid by the USPS. It also needs to be currently receiving postal delivery to be included in our system. In addition, zip+4 and latitude/longitude coordinates for each address must be available behind the scenes for our processing to function. If any one of these variables is not in place, the address may not be able to be used. Often the best solution is to find a nearby address or to run the radius from the zip & appropriate route instead of an address.

Q: Can I drop duplicates between my radius segments?

A: If multiple radius segments have been set up in an order a “Dedupe” button will appear in the top box on the Job Summary screen. Using “Dedupe” will eliminate duplicate route listings between radius segments by determining which segment using the route has the shortest distance and keeping the route in that particular segment.

Q: Can I use demographic selects to narrow down my radius?

A: Yes, a radius can be filtered by our available median route demographics of age, income, home value and % of households with children.

Q: Can I edit the results of my radius?

A: Once a radius has been run, it can be rerun at any time. Also, the results may be modified using the standard Job Summary interface used in all list orders.

Let us know if your radius question wasn’t answered here… we would be happy to cover any additional questions you may have or provide further demonstration!

Mary McCarty

List Services Manager

For the same affordable walk sequence data pricing, Neighborhood Prospector uses a “Zip+4” based selection process and a simple “click & connect the dots” interface. Lists can now be created that are more geographically targeted and fine tuned then ever available before. It really is as easy as 1-2-3!

Take a look and find out how this new tool can benefit you and your customers. We’d be happy to give you a quick tour and rundown on this exciting feature at any time, just give us a call!

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

The first thing you’ll notice is a new centralized “list portal” page that enables an easy log in to any of the list sites.  Log in once, and you have access to all 3 list types: Resident, Consumer & Business.  No more logging in and out and entering passwords multiple times for different bookmarked sites!

Also, we’ve really worked hard on speeding up and re-engineering our Business List site. Basically it’s a brand new experience, so if you haven’t been there yet you should check it out – not to mention the fact we are giving you 50% off the purchase of Business Lists between now and the end of July! Don’t miss out.

We’ve spent a lot of time over the past year asking you what kinds of changes are needed with our sites and services overall: Here’s what you asked for: You want an easy, intuitive, user friendly interface for putting together your list counts and orders while maintaining the smart, sophisticated level of selection tools and functions that Compact is recognized for.  So that is what this site redesign and overhaul is all about.

But we’re not done yet! Stay tuned because there are more exciting changes coming, changes that will make life easier for you.

Finally, if you have any issues with the new Portal Site, the re-launched Business List site or the new home pages for all of our major lists, then don’t hesitate to contact us here in Seattle, or our Dallas office – we’re standing by!

~m

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager