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Seed Mail

What is Seed Mail?

PostGrid's Seed Mail feature is a premium quality assurance product that helps
ensure your mail campaigns are delivered on time and meet our quality standards.
When enabled, we automatically send sample pieces from your mail orders to
independent monitoring addresses across the United States, providing you with
peace of mind that your mail is reaching recipients as expected.

Key Benefits:

  • Independent verification of delivery quality and timing
  • Geographic coverage across all US states
  • Real-time delivery tracking and reporting in your dashboard
  • No setup or maintenance required
  • Mailing costs are fully credited - you only pay the monthly platform add-on

How Seed Mail Works

The Process

  1. Automatic Sampling - Every business day (Monday-Friday) at 5:30 AM UTC,
    our system analyzes your recent mail orders from the previous business day.

  2. Intelligent Selection - We select representative samples based on your
    configuration, ensuring diversity across states, mail types, and
    characteristics that matter to your business.

  3. Duplicate Creation - For each selected piece, we create an identical
    duplicate order (with sensitive information redacted) addressed to a verified
    monitoring location in the same state as your original recipient.

  4. Instant Credits - You receive automatic credit for 100% of the seed mail
    cost, with email confirmation each time seed mail is placed.

  5. Delivery Monitoring - Delivery tracking information is automatically
    captured and available in your dashboard, including arrival dates and drop
    dates for each seed mail piece.

What Gets Sampled

Seed Mail only samples orders that are:

  • In READY or PRINTING status
  • From the previous business day
  • Letters or postcards (other mail types coming soon)

Supported Mail Types

Currently Supported

  • Letters - All sizes, colors, envelope types, and add-ons
  • Postcards - All sizes (4x6, 6x9, 6x11) and paper types

Coming Soon

  • Self-mailers
  • Additional specialty items

Configuration

To activate Seed Mail, your PostGrid account manager will configure sampling
rules tailored to your mail volume and types. Configuration is stored at the
organization level and can be customized for different mail types.

Email Notifications

Credit Notification Email

Each time seed mail is placed, all configured recipients receive a confirmation
email:

Subject: PostGrid Seed Mail Credit Notice

Hi there,

PostGrid has placed 8 pieces of letter seed mail, which has been
automatically credited to you. Stay tuned for updates on the
progress of these mailers!

Delivery Tracking

You can track seed mail delivery in your PostGrid dashboard:

  • Use the seed mail filter to view only your seed mail orders
  • View delivery details including seedDeliveryInfo with arrival date and drop
    date
  • See the reference to the original order via seededFromOrder in the raw data
    section
  • If you have the enhanced reports feature enabled, you can query and
    download comprehensive reports summarizing all seed mail sent

Pricing and Billing

Seed Mail is offered as a monthly add-on to your PostGrid platform subscription.

How It Works

While seed mail orders appear in your account and are processed just like
regular mail, you receive automatic credits for 100% of the mailing costs,
including:

  • Base mailing costs
  • Page count charges (for multi-page letters)
  • Size premiums (for larger postcards)
  • Mailing class rates
  • Paper upgrades
  • All applicable add-ons

Credit Line Items

Credits appear on your invoices with the description:

Credit from Seed Mail order with ID {order_id}

This means you only pay the monthly Seed Mail platform fee - the actual mailing
costs are credited back to your account.

Geographic Coverage

Seed Mail monitors cover all US states and territories where PostGrid delivers
mail. The intelligent sampling algorithm ensures representation across:

  • High-volume states in your mail mix
  • Low-volume states for comprehensive coverage
  • Different USPS processing regions
  • Various delivery zones and transit times

Quality Assurance Value

What We Monitor

  • Delivery Timing - Confirms mail reaches destinations within expected
    timeframes
  • Print Quality - Verifies colors, alignment, and print clarity match
    standards
  • Physical Condition - Checks for handling issues during processing and
    delivery
  • Address Accuracy - Validates address processing through USPS systems
  • Complete Delivery - Ensures all components arrive (inserts, return
    envelopes, etc)

How This Protects You

When seed mail reveals issues, PostGrid's engineering and operations teams are
immediately notified. This early warning system helps us:

  • Identify vendor problems before they impact large volumes
  • Detect processing errors or equipment issues
  • Ensure USPS service levels are being met
  • Validate print quality across different mail types
  • Confirm your mail reaches recipients as expected

Frequently Asked Questions

Setup and Configuration

Q: How do I enable Seed Mail?

A: Contact your PostGrid account manager to discuss your mail volume and get
configured. Setup typically takes < 1 business day.

Q: Can I customize what gets sampled?

A: Yes. Your account manager will work with you to configure grouping properties
that match your most important mail characteristics.

Q: Does Seed Mail work with white-label configurations?

A: Yes. Email notifications will use your organization's configured branding.

Operation

Q: When does seed mail get sent?

A: Every business day (Monday-Friday) at 5:30 AM UTC, based on eligible orders
from the previous business day.

Q: What if I don't send mail every day?

A: No problem. Seed mail only runs when you have eligible orders to sample. On
days without qualifying mail, no seed mail is placed.

Q: Can I pause seed mail temporarily?

A: Yes. Contact your account manager to temporarily disable or adjust your
configuration.

Pricing and Billing

Q: What does seed mail cost?

A: Seed Mail is offered as a monthly platform add-on. While seed mail pieces
themselves are fully credited, the monthly Seed Mail service fee provides you
with continuous quality assurance and delivery monitoring.

Q: Will seed mail affect my invoices?

A: Yes. Your invoice will show the seed mail orders and their corresponding
credits. The mailing costs are fully credited, so you only pay for the platform
service.

Q: How quickly are credits applied?

A: Credits are applied automatically as seed mail orders are created and will
appear on your next invoice.

Privacy and Security

Q: Will my customers receive seed mail?

A: No. Seed mail pieces go to independent monitoring addresses, not to your
customers.

Q: Can seed mail contain sensitive data?

A: Seed mail uses your actual mail content to ensure accurate quality testing,
with specified fields redacted for security reasons. If you have concerns about
specific campaigns containing sensitive data, discuss which this with your
account manager. With this being said, these pieces of mail will never actually
be opened after reaching the destination.

Q: Who sees my mail content?

A: Seed mail is delivered to verified monitoring addresses operated by our
trusted delivery tracking partners, who are bound by confidentiality agreements.

Monitoring and Reporting

Q: Can I see seed mail delivery results?

A: Yes! You can view seed mail tracking in several ways:

  1. Dashboard Filter: Use the seed mail filter on your orders dashboard to
    view only seed mail pieces
  2. Delivery Details: Each seed mail order shows delivery information
    including arrival date and drop date in the seedDeliveryInfo object
  3. Order Reference: Seed mail orders include a reference to the original
    order they were sampled from via the seededFromOrder field in the raw data
    section
  4. Enhanced Reports: If you have the enhanced reports feature enabled, you
    can query and download comprehensive reports summarizing all seed mail sent,
    including delivery statistics

Q: What happens if seed mail shows delivery problems?

A: If you notice delivery issues with your seed mail, reach out to your PostGrid
customer success team. Our operations team will launch a thorough investigation
to identify and resolve any delivery problems.

Q: How do I know seed mail is working?

A: You'll receive email notifications each time seed mail is placed. You can
also view seed mail orders in your PostGrid dashboard using the seed mail filter
to see all sampled pieces and their delivery status. Credits will appear on your
monthly invoice.

Technical Details

Q: What if there aren't enough orders to meet my sampling configuration?

A: The system samples as much as possible from available orders. If you have
fewer groups than configured, all available groups are sampled.

Q: Can seed mail handle high-volume senders?

A: Yes. The sampling algorithm scales to any volume, selecting representative
samples regardless of how much mail you send.

Q: Does seed mail work for international mail?

A: Currently, seed mail only supports US domestic mail. International support is
planned for the future.

Getting Started

Step 1: Contact Your Account Manager

Reach out to your PostGrid representative or email [email protected] to
express interest in Seed Mail.

Step 2: Discuss Your Mail Profile

Your account manager will ask about:

  • Typical mail volume and frequency
  • Mail types you send (letters, postcards, etc)
  • Important characteristics to monitor (color, size, class, etc)
  • Email addresses for notifications

Step 3: Configuration and Testing

We'll configure seed mail settings tailored to your needs and run a test to
ensure everything works correctly.

Step 4: Go Live

Once confirmed, seed mail automatically begins monitoring your mail quality
every business day.

Step 5: Monitor Delivery

Watch for email confirmations, use the seed mail filter in your dashboard to
view seed mail orders and delivery tracking, and review credits on your monthly
invoice.

Best Practices

Notification Recipients

  • Include billing/finance contacts to track credits
  • Include operations managers to stay informed of QA activities
  • Consider including customer success team members who track mail performance

Configuration Strategy

  • Start with broad grouping (fewer properties) and refine based on results
  • Focus on properties that impact delivery or quality (class, size, color)
  • Balance sampling breadth (more groups) vs depth (more samples per group)
  • Adjust based on your mail volume - higher volume allows more groups

Monitoring Results

  • Review notification emails to confirm seed mail is running
  • Use the seed mail filter in your dashboard to view seed mail orders and
    delivery tracking
  • Review credits on your monthly invoice
  • Contact your account manager if you notice gaps or unexpected patterns

Support and Resources

Need Help?

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Account Manager: Contact your dedicated PostGrid representative
  • Dashboard: View seed mail orders and delivery tracking at
    dashboard.postgrid.com
  • API Documentation: api.postgrid.com/docs (for API integration details)

Updated 4 months ago