Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) Retail is a USPS service that delivers your card to every address on the carrier routes you choose, with no names, no mailing list and no permit. Postage is $0.26 a piece, effective July 12, 2026. The card must be flat-size, which rules out the common 6 x 9, and each mailing needs at least 200 pieces. Print and postage together run roughly $0.36 to $0.61 a piece if you handle it yourself.
What EDDM Retail is
You choose carrier routes, and the Postal Service delivers one piece to every address on them. The pieces are addressed to “Postal Customer” in place of a name. You don’t buy a list and you don’t need a mailing permit. The trade-off is control: you can’t use names and you can’t skip homes.
The price is $0.26 a piece, effective July 12, 2026. USPS has raised mailing prices each July in recent years, so check the rate before you budget a year.
Size, weight and quantity rules
An EDDM Retail piece must be what USPS calls a flat. It has to be more than 10.5 inches long, or more than 6.125 inches high, or more than 0.25 inch thick. The maximum size is 12 x 15 inches and the maximum weight is 3.3 ounces.
| Card size (inches) | Qualifies? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 4.25 x 6 | No | Not more than 10.5 inches long or 6.125 inches high. This is the largest card that mails with a postcard stamp. |
| 6 x 9 | No | 6 inches is not more than 6.125, and 9 is not more than 10.5. |
| 6.25 x 9 | Yes | More than 6.125 inches high. |
| 6.5 x 9 | Yes | More than 6.125 inches high. |
| 6 x 11 | Yes | More than 10.5 inches long. |
| 8.5 x 11 | Yes | Passes on both height and length. |
Ask your printer for the finished size after trimming, because that is the size that counts.
Each mailing needs at least 200 pieces, and you can send no more than 5,000 a day per ZIP code. A starter farm of 250 to 500 homes (the usual practitioner range) fits both limits.
How to send an EDDM mailing
- Pick your routes. Open the USPS online EDDM mapping tool. You need a USPS.com account to place the order. Search an address, city or ZIP code, and the tool lists each carrier route with its residential address count and cost. You can pick more than one route.
- Print the cards. Each piece carries the EDDM Retail indicia, a postage mark that takes the place of a stamp, above and to the right of the address block. Printers that sell EDDM cards usually have a template.
- Bundle them. Stack the cards in bundles of 50 to 100, no higher than 6 inches. Put a facing slip on top of every bundle with the number of pieces written on it.
- Pay. Pay online with a credit or debit card, or pay at the counter when you drop off. Print the forms that come with your order, including PS Form 3587.
- Drop off. Take the bundles and forms to the Post Office that serves the routes you picked.
The mapping tool can also filter routes by age, household size and income, using Census data. For real estate mail, leave those filters alone and choose routes by location, turnover and price. Choosing who gets housing mail by who lives there can raise fair housing problems. USPS can change its steps, so read the instructions on usps.com before your first mailing.
What it costs
Printing a large card runs roughly $0.10 to $0.35 a piece, depending on size, paper and quantity. With $0.26 postage, that is roughly $0.36 to $0.61 a piece if you order the cards and drop them off yourself. Full-service companies that design, print, bundle and deliver the mailing charge more.
An example for a 500-home farm:
- Postage: 500 × $0.26 = $130
- Printing: 500 × $0.20 = $100
- Total: $230 a mailing, or $0.46 a piece
- 12 mailings: 12 × $230 = $2,760 a year
EDDM vs. addressed mail
Postage figures are USPS prices effective July 12, 2026.
| Point | EDDM Retail | Addressed mail |
|---|---|---|
| Postage a piece | $0.26 | $0.65 postcard stamp (card no larger than 4.25 x 6 inches). $0.82 letter stamp for letters and larger cards, such as a 6 x 9. Presorted First-Class postcards run about $0.45 to $0.50. |
| Who gets it | Every address on the routes you pick | Only the addresses on your list |
| Personalization | None. Addressed to “Postal Customer” | The owner’s name, and a message you can vary |
| List needed | No | Yes |
On 500 pieces, that is $130 in EDDM postage against $410 in letter stamps (500 × $0.82). The letter price has a size limit too. USPS says a letter can be no more than 11.5 inches long and 6.125 inches high, and First-Class postage for larger pieces (flats) starts at $1.69 as of October 2026. A 6.25 x 9, 6.5 x 9 or 8.5 x 11 card is over that height, so addressed mail usually means a smaller card.
When addressed mail is the better choice
- You want owners only. EDDM reaches every address, rentals included, and it misses an absentee owner who lives somewhere else. The ZIP market profile shows the mix of owners and renters.
- You want to skip recent sales. With a list, you can leave out homes that just sold or are on the market now.
- Your farm is small. Under 200 pieces, EDDM Retail is not available. A list also lets you mail one condo building or half a route.
- You are sending a letter. A “thinking of selling?” letter needs a name on it.
You can use both: EDDM for the monthly card and addressed mail for a few letters a year.
Try it: Farm ROI calculatorProjects five years of a farm: cost, closings, profit and the break-even year.For what to print, see farming postcards and letters. For the full plan, read real estate farming: how it works and what it costs.
Common questions
How much does EDDM cost per piece in 2026?
EDDM Retail postage is $0.26 a piece, effective July 12, 2026. With printing at $0.10 to $0.35, a mailing you handle yourself runs roughly $0.36 to $0.61 a piece. Full-service vendors charge more.
Can I send a 6x9 postcard with EDDM?
No. An EDDM Retail piece must be more than 10.5 inches long, more than 6.125 inches high or more than 0.25 inch thick, so a 6 x 9 card does not qualify. A 6.25 x 9, 6.5 x 9, 6 x 11 or 8.5 x 11 card does.
What is the minimum number of pieces for EDDM?
EDDM Retail needs at least 200 pieces per mailing and allows no more than 5,000 a day per ZIP code. You don’t need a mailing permit.
Updated October 2026. General information for real estate professionals, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, platform rules and program terms change, so confirm them at the source.