Is it illegal to put flyer type business cards in people's mailboxes?

Okay I live in Central PA in a rural area about 5 miles from a small city (20,000 people about.) Would it be illegal to go and put my flyers basically stating that if you have appliances and metal, that if you want to get rid of it , into people's mailboxes? I have about 100 fliers in the center console of my truck that I want to get rid of so I can redesign my flyer and I'm looking to get rid of these. I could either drive my truck and have a friend or someone put them in as we go or go for a walk or something. I just want to get the word out around my general area. I need to start getting some inventory to start off my summer. Any help/advice is much appreciated, thanks.

"In 1934, Congress enacted a law known as the “mailbox restriction” that prohibits anyone from placing mailable matter without postage into any mailbox. This law, 18 U.S.C. 1725, gives the Postal Service a virtual monopoly over mailboxes and currently reads as follows:

“Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits any mailable matter such as statements of accounts, circulars, sale bills, or other like matter, on which no postage has been paid, in any letter box established, approved, or accepted by the Postal Service for the receipt or delivery of mail matter on any mail route with intent to avoid payment of lawful postage thereon, shall for each such offense be fined under this title.”

Under current law, a violation of the mailbox restriction law is an
infraction that can be punished by a fine but not by imprisonment. The maximum fine for each offense is $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations."
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I suggest hitting a local mall or shopping center and do the old windshield wiper tag i believe it is legal to do so in most places.

Inside the mailbox- YES illegal.
You may have restrictions in your area about placing on the outside of the box as well. Talk to your local Post office to make sure you are following the correct laws.. they will be happy to tell you.

I'm going to google it quick see what I find about outside the mailbox.

Isn't there something where you can take fliers to your post office and pay to have them distributed?

Just as a follow up, while it is not illegal to put flyers in the newspaper receptacle attached to a mailbox, it IS a waste of time and money. Have distributed thousands that way. They get zero response.

Now door hangers are another story. I've had pretty good response with those.

EDDM is still the cheapest, most reliable way to go.

What does EDDM Stand for? Lol Sorry I'm still learning. So I can put the fliers in the newspaper receptacle?

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Originally Posted by Kochy

What does EDDM Stand for? Lol Sorry I'm still learning. So I can put the fliers in the newspaper receptacle?

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EDDM stands for every door direct mail, a service offered by the post office.

Yes, you CAN put them in the newspaper receptacle. Please re-read what I wrote. I GET that you don't want to spend money. I am trying to save you from wasting time AND money. I am telling you; zero results in paper receptacles.

Oh alright. I'll check in to EDDM

If you do the door hangers that were suggested, wear a decent set of work clothes and wash your car/truck. You want to look respectable.

Oh Alright, I always have my truck clean, I hate when it gets muddy.

through usps direct mail program you can

My ex-partner tried something similar with a doggie-poo business he tried to get started. What they ended up doing was taking the flier and rolling it up and using a rubber band and fastened it to the handle of the door or the flag arm of the mailbox. As long as it's on the outside of the box I don't think they can say anything.

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Now door hangers are another story. I've had pretty good response with those.

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Just be careful with areas that do not tolerate door to door soliciting. Our townhouse community doesn't tolerate it, but then again, there is no way to enforce it either lol.

It is illegal to put anything in or on a mailbox that doesnt have a stamp on it. So hanging a flyer on the flag is also breaking the postal law.

Also I have another question, I usually use a 5 by 10' trailer to take scrap to the yard, since I have a short bed chevy and its stepside, I can't haul much in the bed, so I'm going to be using the trailer alot of pickups aswell, Would I have to register/pay/tax/have a business or any of that crap to put some on the ramp gate about if you have scrap metal to call me or something like that?

You're talking about attaching/painting advertising to the trailer? Check your state laws.

I'm a news carrier in western PA and was told to never put my papers in the mailbox even if a customer requests that I do so. I've seen a few door-to-door promos on my customers' doors. If you're going to deliver them on foot, you could either use pre-cut door hangers, the rubber band method mentioned above or just roll the ad and tuck it in a screen door handle. If the neighborhood has mailboxes on the houses themselves instead of at the street, those sometimes have prongs/hoops beneath them for newspapers and it should be fine to hang your ads from those.

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Originally Posted by Rollerwings

.... If the neighborhood has mailboxes on the houses themselves instead of at the street, those sometimes have prongs/hoops beneath them for newspapers and it should be fine to hang your ads from those.

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Not there, either. That's for magazines.

Were in the country we pop post card size flyers in mail boxes every day

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Originally Posted by cummins

Were in the country we pop post card size flyers in mail boxes every day

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Just because you do it doesn't make it NOT a federal offense.

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Just because you do it doesn't make it NOT a federal offense.

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Maybe it's not across the border, our laws do not apply to Canada,,,

Ever built a house? The post office tells you where you can put the mailbox. Basically it is theirs.
If you put anything in the box it must have the appropriate amount of postage or it is against the law. Federal not state or local.
It is considered to be a form of defrauding the public domain. (ie. no postage).
It is punishable by fine. If I remember it is around 10k.

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Originally Posted by GeorgeB

Just be careful with areas that do not tolerate door to door soliciting. Our townhouse community doesn't tolerate it, but then again, there is no way to enforce it either lol.

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yes there is, its called a warning shot

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Originally Posted by jghilino

yes there is, its called a warning shot

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Or this,,,
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...oKCV1V5eYslmjw

Iv even tape flyers to the groupe boxes lol, they work,

In Toledo Ohio I know that you are not suppossed to but you can put them in doors or on the flags of mailboxes :&

Okay, so it seems you Americans have a slightly militant post office. But around where I live there are group mailboxes that each resident has a key to and so few people actually have a physical mailbox on their house anymore. I have been thinking about sticking some in door handles or porch enclosures, there are flyers for all kinds of things delivered this way all the time. I am liking the doorhanger idea though, it looks more professional IMO.

You can put anything ON your truck that you want to as long as you aren't impersonating a public servant (police, fire dept. etc.). Check with Metalbestos, ask him how his magnet has been doing for him. (im sure other people have them as well, but i KNOW he has one. I know exactly where he got it from ;) )

There is a reason they have those newspaper boxes. Because it is illegal for the newspaper to put their unposted product in your mailbox. I delivered papers as a kid. One of the things they always warned me was to never put the paper IN the mailbox. Well, I never listened... I did it anyway. I never got in trouble. BUT... technically... I could have. But that was also 25 years ago. This day and age, everything you do is punishable by law and if someone sees you... you'll get the horns. Our Gov't is more money hungry than it has EVER been.

Magnets on my trucks have worked pretty well. I've seen a couple of people pull out their phones and snap a pic of the number and a few calls have said "hey I saw the sign on your truck..."

I don't have commercial plates, though and I really can't get a straight answer as to whether or not it's legal to have them. I DO know I see cars and trucks with the magnets and no commercial plates all over the place so...well, I tend to ask for forgiveness, not permission ;)

I actually have a magnet on the side of the van already. As far as I know, at least here in ontario, you can put your info on a magnet or bus card or whatever as long as you don't use anything but your name and contact info.

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Originally Posted by AdmiralAluminum

I actually have a magnet on the side of the van already. As far as I know, at least here in ontario, you can put your info on a magnet or bus card or whatever as long as you don't use anything but your name and contact info.

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well my man... I just did a giant batman decal for the back window of a buddy's truck, and I can assure you... he is not batman. Doubt there will be any legal ramifications.

I know he isn't, I'M BATMAN!

Well I printed off a stack of black and white flyers with a recycle logo background and lists of what I take for e-waste, appliances and metal with my contact info at the bottom. I'm just going to hand them out with my card at pick ups for now and to anyone else who will take them. I'm thinking next time I will go to Staples and get the recycle logo in colour in the background and then print my flyer over top on my own to save on cost.

How important is colour do you think? I realize it makes it more professional looking but I don't have the funds right now to make too many of them.

Why not have staples just print the entire thing for you?

they are going to charge you the same to just do the logo in color. It would be the 1 page full color price. I'd just let them do the whole job instead of paying to print the same page twice.

I haven't actually looked into it, I just figured it would cost more. Thanks, I will have to ask them. I'm just going to make do with the black and whites for now and I'm more thinking ahead to next year when things pick up in the spring.

I've done well with black and white flyers. I have simple clip art effects that work well. Some flyers can do just fine without color.

Mine used to have a hillside with a tree. The hillside was black and the text was white (Not printed area). They looked great! I did print some on colored paper that was given to me, and some on regular, white office paper. Both looked just fine. Sadly, I've had to scale the black back just a bit. I went through a lot of toner cartridges!

At least they came in for recycling. Could be worse.

Take a bucket of rocks, postcard size flyers, and ziplock snack bags and put a rock or two to prevent from blowing away in a ziplock with a flyer and drive around on Sunday when newspaper is in there driveway and throw it out right by it so they will pick up both. It works.

L

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Originally Posted by phred59

You can put anything ON your truck that you want to as long as you aren't impersonating a public servant (police, fire dept. etc.). Check with Metalbestos, ask him how his magnet has been doing for him. (im sure other people have them as well, but i KNOW he has one. I know exactly where he got it from ;) )

There is a reason they have those newspaper boxes. Because it is illegal for the newspaper to put their unposted product in your mailbox. I delivered papers as a kid. One of the things they always warned me was to never put the paper IN the mailbox. Well, I never listened... I did it anyway. I never got in trouble. BUT... technically... I could have. But that was also 25 years ago. This day and age, everything you do is punishable by law and if someone sees you... you'll get the horns. Our Gov't is more money hungry than it has EVER been.

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Mobile advertising can vary from extravagant garages packed with goodies to college students trying to get retail for working laptops .
Either way it is generating leads period (good and bad ) and more importantly advertising . Every time I go to the yard and am in line another fellow scrapper sees that there is a outlet for something he may be throwing in the shred pile .

I have a few supermarkets,post offices and other bulliton board places in that will let you hang a flier .
This flyer should be the most green peace tree hugging interpretation of a animal rescue commercial that leaves the viewer paralyzed with the earths health that they immediately call you to come get every broken electronic they own . More importantly the connections you make will lead to many more . The best advertising anyone can receive is word of mouth from a friend , make sure your polite on time and true to your word . The rest will take care of itself.

Truth seeking moon child -metalbestos