Domestic bulk mail discounts

We offer five discount services to business customers who send large volumes of mail in the Republic of Ireland. Prices for these services depend on the volume of mail you send. The more you send, the greater the discount you are entitled to.

If you post bulk mail at a time, you can choose between the following discounted services:

• Speed
• Eco
• Impact

We offer a further two discounted options for very large volume mailers:

• Budget - for those posting more than 5,000 items
• Pre-Sort - for those posting more than 10,000 items

Contact your Account Manager, or call us on 353 (1) 705 7600, to find out which service is best for you and to set it up.

Choosing a service

Your choice of service will be determined by factors such as your:

• Delivery target
• Mail preparation
• Time of mail presentation
• Volume requirements
• Type of mail

The key features of the five discount services are as follows:

Delivery target

Delivery times range from next day with our Speed service to three days with the Budget, Impact and Pre-Sort services.

If you are a franked mail customer and wish to use the Eco service, which offers a two-day delivery option, please bring it to the attention of the acceptance officer who will issue a discount docket at one of our designated offices. Your mail should be dated one working day later than the actual posting date. Mail should be franked for the full amount and the value will be refunded retrospectively.

If you wish to use the Speed service, with next day delivery, please bring it to the attention of the acceptance officer who will issue a discount docket at one of our designated offices. Mail should be franked for the full amount and the value will be refunded retrospectively.

Mail preparation

When it comes to preparing your mail, you have three options:

• Machine sort
• Manual sort
• Pre-sorted

To be sorted by machine, your mail must be capable of being automatically read and processed by our automated equipment, to a level in excess of 85%. It must also conform to our size and weight dimensions.

Even when post can be processed automatically, it may not be automatically sorted. For this, the mail must be machine readable. The automated equipment can only read the address if it is full, accurate and conforms to a specific font with specific spacing.

Mail which cannot be dealt with automatically, because of size or address styling, must be processed and sorted manually and must conform to our standard dimensions.

Pre-sorted mail is presented already sorted into 151 sorts specified by our pre-sort requirements. For infomration on these specifications, please contact us on 353 (1) 705 7600. 

Time of mail presentation

To avail of the discounts, all mail must be presented by 3pm at a designated acceptance office or mail centre.

If you choose the Budget service, mail must be presented at one of our three mail centres.

Volume requirements

To meet the volume requirements, you can combine letters and large envelopes of various weights in order to exceed the 200 item threshold only.

Packets of different weights may also be mixed to reach the 200 item packet threshold.

To avail of the discounts for posting more than 2,000 items at a time, the mailing must be made up of items of a single format only such as letters only or large envelopes of similar weight.

What it costs

Your discount is determined by the service you choose and the volume and type of item you are posting, depending on whether you are sending:

• Letters 
• Large envelopes
• Packets 

Letter rates

Size and weight

Letters must be no larger than C5, which holds an A4 sheet of standard paper folded, and must weigh no more than 100g.

Large envelope rates

Size and weight

Large envelopes cater for flat items, such as an A4 sheet of standard paper, and must weigh no more than 500g.

Packet rates

We currently do not process packets by machine.

Size and weight

Packets must weigh no more than 1kg. Heavier or larger items will be classed as parcels.

• Minimum - 100mm x 70mm x 25mm, with a tolerance of 2mm
• Maximum - Length, width and depth combined of 900mm with no dimension exceeding 600mm, with a tolerance of 2mm
• Roll-shaped packet - The length and twice the diameter shall not exceed 1,040mm and the greatest dimension shall not exceed 900mm

How can I speed up my deliveries?

We have created a guideline to Bulk Mail sending to assist with processing times. For more information, see our Guide to Speeding up your Post (PDF, 2000KB).

How do I pay?

You can pay for our bulk mail discounts in one of two ways.

If you are sending between 200 and 2,000 items, you can get your discount through Meter Mail by simply franking your items with the full rate of postage. The value of your discounts will be refunded retrospectively at the end of each quarter.

Customers who post more than 2,000 items must arrange their discounts through an Account Manager and will need to sign a Bulk Discount Customer Arrangement (PDF, 98KB). They can avail of the discounts through Meter Mail or through our prepaid post licence, Ceadúnas.

A cheque, cash or postal deposit account docket must accompany all Ceadúnas mailings. If you choose the Ceadúnas option, the amount you pay at the time of posting is net of the discount.