Tagging mailboxes with flyers!

[nlminc]

I know you'll beat me up on this! I also know it's illegal.........except here in GA where the law on soliciting mailboxes seems to have been thrown out the window.

Couple of guys I know in the area have done this and have picked up quite a few landscape and maintenance jobs. One guy picked up over 30 accounts in his first try! In the past I always advertised in the sub division news letters(monthly) or direct mailings with very little results while I see other LCO getting accounts from littering mailboxes and driveways. This year, I'm going to plaster mailboxes because it seems to be the acceptable form of advertising around here. Yesterday I found a window cleaning co. business card IN my mailbox.....2nd time from them.

I stopped my mail woman 2 weeks ago and asked her what the deal was. She told me she didn't care if people advertised on her route so long as they didn't obstruct the box. She even told me to give her my flyers and she would put them in the boxes on her route!!!! She told me she did it for a neighbor of mine who has a pest control business.

I picked up a new customer last summer. She told me she saw my ad in the news letter from her sub division but called the guy who placed a flyer on her mailbox because she figured I would be more expensive. He decided to go out of business and he referred me to her. As it turns out I gave her the same quote $45.00/week for her 4k sq. ft lawn as the company that littered her mailbox. I told her I disagree with the idea of littering mailboxes and driveways and her response.........everybody does it and you should too! This is from a couple in a 500k home.

Starting in February I'm going to hit the newer sub divisions with my flyers.......don't like it, but it's the way to advertise in North Georgia!

[KrayzKajun]

good luck!

[daveintoledo]

your right, they cant touch you.... its only a FEDERAL offense..hahaahhahaha

they will pick you to make the example of..... you dont need to follow any rules, your special...:rolleyes:

or you call the post master and start making the complaints.... i know i am legal, and if i got that crap in my mailbox id go to the top if i had to too have it stopped and the violators prosicuted...

[tjsquickcuts]

People just dont learn....guess it just depends on your area....I know of a house cleaning company, and a few LCO that have been cited and fined, and one guy who was charge with a Felony for a repeat offense.....What ever floats your boat, ....just hope you have it in your budget for fines....

[nlminc]

your right, they cant touch you.... its only a FEDERAL offense..hahaahhahaha

they will pick you to make the example of..... you dont need to follow any rules, your special...:rolleyes:

or you call the post master and start making the complaints.... i know i am legal, and if i got that crap in my mailbox id go to the top if i had to too have it stopped and the violators prosicuted...

Huh? Where did I say they could not touch me or I said I was special? Oh.it's you're and not your. :rolleyes:

[nlminc]

People just dont learn....guess it just depends on your area....I know of a house cleaning company, and a few LCO that have been cited and fined, and one guy who was charge with a Felony for a repeat offense.....What ever floats your boat, ....just hope you have it in your budget for fines....

True, it does depend on your area. In Roswell they have a no hand bill law. In order for that law to work the homeowner has to place a "no hand bill" sticker on their mailbox! Like I said in my first post they don't enforce it here in Cherokee County. I see it everyday when I'm working in the sub divisions I tend to. My mail carrier even said it's no big deal and that she would place my flyers in the boxes for me. I'm tired of supporting these sub divisions news letters when the "other" LCO are getting the calls from placing their ads on mailboxes or throwing a bag with the flyer on the driveway. I've lived in other parts of the country where this would never fly with the USPS.

[gqnine44]

Fliers on mailboxes is how I established my company years ago. Never had a problem or a single complaint. I dont think your gonna do any hard time, no matter what DaveinToledo says. :) Go for it.

[tthomass]

I've debated doing this just as a matter of keeping my logo in front of people but don't know how the law works on this. I've heard not in the box (duh) bt you could behind the flag or between the box and its post. Then I hear all of that is a nono.

There's fliers everywhere here.......I don't want to jam things into peoples doors and door hangers are more expensive that can be a substantial amount when dealing in the thousands. A mailbox is also faster vs walking up to every door etc.

[mikefromny]

some people on this website are so uptight .. i have been watching this website for about 2 years or so now and i can say this topic comes up quite often and always gets the same responses from some of these people like YOUR GOING TO JAIL , FEDERAL OFFENSE ,this and that ...let me tell you guys something i do landscaping part time and i am a full time mail man for usps , when i see stuff like this and as for any other mail man ..you think we actually care? if its brought back to the post office (by some ******* mail man to report it they bring the flyer back and give to the postmaster , he thank gives a warning call..THIS IS VERY RARE) so im NOT by anymeans telling you take your chances but you people act like your gonna see postal police pull up and arrest the damn guy .. this is similar to when the topic of IRS and accountants come up and people are like OMG if you make one mistake and dont show that you made .50 cents more your going to be in pinstripes?> honestly guys ...people make mistakes do you see them all in jail , some of you need to just relax and enjoy life , rather than wait for any chance to jump onsomebody when they have doorhangers or tax question ..trying to scare them

[GreenN'Clean]

Its not illegal if you put the Flyers on the flag on anywhere outside the mailbox, It's if you put it into the mailbox is when it becomes a crime. If you going to hand out Flyers I would take them to the door its more professional then sticking them on the mailboxes. Id say 9 out of 10 people grab it off there mailboxes and straight into the trashcan. I mean when i see something on my mailbox thats what I do. I prefer to run ads in the local newspapers it seems to work best for me. Some have had good luck with Flyers but me personally I haven't.
Best of luck to you!!!

[Lawnworks]

some people on this website are so uptight .. i have been watching this website for about 2 years or so now and i can say this topic comes up quite often and always gets the same responses from some of these people like YOUR GOING TO JAIL , FEDERAL OFFENSE ,this and that ...let me tell you guys something i do landscaping part time and i am a full time mail man for usps , when i see stuff like this and as for any other mail man ..you think we actually care? if its brought back to the post office (by some ******* mail man to report it they bring the flyer back and give to the postmaster , he thank gives a warning call..THIS IS VERY RARE) so im NOT by anymeans telling you take your chances but you people act like your gonna see postal police pull up and arrest the damn guy .. this is similar to when the topic of IRS and accountants come up and people are like OMG if you make one mistake and dont show that you made .50 cents more your going to be in pinstripes?> honestly guys ...people make mistakes do you see them all in jail , some of you need to just relax and enjoy life , rather than wait for any chance to jump onsomebody when they have doorhangers or tax question ..trying to scare them

I guess I am just bad luck then. A couple years, the post service sent me 50-100 of my flyers back to my house and said I would be fine $250(something close to that anyway) for every flyer that was put on a mailbox. They might have been blowing smoke... I guess it is all in how your area is... I would do if you could get away w/ it.

[Mow Mony]

We do some mailbox advertising but it all depends on the style of mailbox.

We do not stick them behind the flag or in the box itself. We usually wedge it in the frame of the mailbox, or next to the mailbox if it is an brick/wood enclosure, or under the handle it is a wood one.

Most neighborhood that require homeowners to havea specific style mailbox are nicer looking and have place to wedge it in, neighborhoods with random boxes we put them on the doors.

We have never had a problem or a complaint in the last 5 years...

We also try to do the advertising later in the day if it is for mailboxes, between 3 and 5:30pm, after most mailroutes are done but before the homeowner gets home and grabs the mail...

[tinye]

ever thought of using a plastic peg similar to fert tags left after a service is done. Use that peg, clip out two holes in your flyer(I use a doorhanger) and poke it in the ground next to the mailbox. A lot of the houses we service have huge entrances and it takes forver to get to the door.

[ATVracer]

Since most of you do not have a clue about Postal Service regulations I will be happy to spell it out. It is ILLEGAL and a FEDERAL offence to place flyers on, attached to in any way, and inside a mailbox. Since this is a federal law it supercedes all local and state authority. Sure you might get away with it a few times, but remember you can be fined and multiple violations can result in jail time. If your mail carrier actually said that they would deliver them, then they are an idiot. I wouldn't want to throw away a 40-50K a year job to do some tightwad,lazy LCO a favor. I do work for the Postal Service and am a delivery manager so I know what I am talking about. I have seen people fined hundreds of dollars for doing this. If you need more information the law is called "Private Express Statues". Have a good day!


PS-The only exception to this rule are the mailboxes that have seperate newspaper receptacle built into the box. Only then can you place a flyer into the newspaper portion of it.

[mikefromny]

If your mail carrier actually said that they would deliver them, then they are an idiot. I wouldn't want to throw away a 40-50K a year job to do some tightwad,lazy LCO a favor.


your not a mail carrier than , becuase that 40k job atleast in new york SUCKS :laugh:

but this guy is right , im a mail carrier and i would never pass out anything for somebody as for the flyers in the boxes , i seen everything from doorhangers, flyers , business cards for lcos , cleaning companys .. i never report and nobody in my office does either i guess its different all over but still some of you act like its the end of your life if you get caught , relax dont be such a tight ass get the panties out of a bunch and enjoy life :hammerhead: :dizzy:

[gqnine44]

Since most of you do not have a clue about Postal Service regulations I will be happy to spell it out. It is ILLEGAL and a FEDERAL offense to place flyers on, attached to in any way, and inside a mailbox. Since this is a federal law it supercedes all local and state authority. Sure you might get away with it a few times, but remember you can be fined and multiple violations can result in jail time. If your mail carrier actually said that they would deliver them, then they are an idiot. I wouldn't want to throw away a 40-50K a year job to do some tightwad,lazy LCO a favor. I do work for the Postal Service and am a delivery manager so I know what I am talking about. I have seen people fined hundreds of dollars for doing this. If you need more information the law is called "Private Express Statues". Have a good day!


PS-The only exception to this rule are the mailboxes that have seperate newspaper receptacle built into the box. Only then can you place a flyer into the newspaper portion of it.


Wow...do you know the speed limit is 65 mph on the highway? Do you ever exceed it? Lock me up dude...there was a time when I put fliers on mailboxes...I probably have put tens of thousands on mailboxes. Would you like my address so you can come and arrest me??? Like most people with any common sense know...it may technically be a federal offense but there are probably about 6 of you government unionized workers who care enough to do any about it. Get a life dude. Anyone who is started a business should consider "taking their chances" and stick them on mailboxes.

[Lawnworks]

You will get a couple of warnings before you get fined... I would do it till then. And if the fine is only "hundreds of dollars" even better... if its thousands(I think it is) it is a little different.

[gqnine44]

And if the fine is only "hundreds of dollars" even better... if its thousands(I think it is) it is a little different.

What are you talking about? The SWAT team comes and they throw you in jail without even the courtesy of a trial. You will spend the rest of your life in a cell with someone named Bubba.

[CoreyD]

put fliers in the newspaper box..... if they dont have a newspaper box then go and put one in their front door handle thats how I do it.... and its not illigal to do it with a newspaper box