The Postman Always Rings Twice

It was a historic 1930s murder-love-mystery novel: The Postman Always Rings Twice. In 1946, it was made into a movie of the same name starring Lana Turner and John Garfield. A remake with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange came out in 1981. It seems plausible that this novel  and the movies have traumatized generations of print shop owners about the post office – NOT! However, we continue to find quite a few print shop owners with an inordinate fear of anything to do with business mailing and the post office.

“What if they won’t take my mailing?”

“I’ve heard stories about…”

“I lost a good customer when the lettershop screwed up his mailing.”

The expressions of fear and anxiety about mailing and dealing with the USPS just keep on coming up.

If this fear isn’t caused by the novel or the movies, perhaps it comes from horror stories or rumors perpetuated by lettershops. But, why would lettershops want to do this? Could it be that they want to keep the print shops dependent on them for addressing and mailing? Certainly not!

Perhaps, the fear comes from having tried to get a straight answer from the Domestic Mail Manual or “DMM” – the holy grail of postal regulations. There’s a document that’s clear as mud and as straightforward as the tax code.

But, business mailing isn’t all that difficult…with the right help.

Our EZ-VDP brand services eliminate virtually all the anxiety about business mailing for print shop owners. We help you through the entire process from getting a mail permit to dropping the mail at the post office the first time. Read more about how easy the business mailing process can be…

Just this week, we have helped at least five print shop owners do their own mailings for the first time. They're not only still alive but smiling.

There’s something else to consider about mailing. The USPS is struggling financially. The volume of mail continues to drop. Even the most ferocious of postal employees must see the handwriting on the wall. The USPS is doing everything they can to make the business mailing as friendly and easy as possible. They have just completely revamped their website to make information about mailing easier to find (but perhaps not understand). Besides, a friendly word (or maybe even a doughnut) probably gets you a long way with anyone at the post office.

Finally, no postman ever appears or is even mentioned in The Postman Always Rings Twice. The author, John Cain, explained that the title was related to the 13 times his manuscript was rejected. Obviously, he wasn’t afraid of the post office.

Did you enjoy this blog? Get new posts delivered right to your inbox...