APA Mailer Deadline – Beginning of Each Month

One question that was frequently asked last year was what the deadline was for getting items in the bundle each month. When I inherited the role last January, we just continued sharing the inherited deadline of the 10th of each month without thinking much about it. The submission deadline isn’t spelled out in the bylaws, and, from what I have been able to ascertain, that inherited deadline of the 10th evolved from the section that says the mailer is responsible for “normally mailing the bundles between the 10th and 15th day of each month.” The problem is that the 10th is actually the opening window for the mailer’s deadline to send out the bundles, but it doesn’t take into account the work that still must be done after each member’s packet of 155 items is received. While we try to collate the items all month long as they arrive, there is always a significant stack to work through when it comes time to stuffing and labeling the envelopes.

Even with the help of friends, this means we have to carve a chunk of time from the weekend to complete the bundle assembly, which has meant that when the 10th landed early in the week, we had to wait until the following weekend for our “bundle stuffing party.” Yet still we had people calling and emailing on the 10th asking how much wiggle room they had to get items to us before we packed the bundles. Several times this meant we had things arriving on the Saturday morning or, more often, the Monday following when the bundles were packed.

The truth is the only truly hard deadline is for those members who neglect contributing their minimum four letterpress items to the bundle until November and December (remember you can only contribute 2 items to the December bundle). Any other month late, or very early, items simply go into the next month’s bundle and all rolls on. (Calendar, Treasure Gems, and Tube bundle submissions do not go to the mailer and each have their own hard deadlines.)

This year we will be packing and sealing the bundles on the weekend so that they can be mailed between the bylaw specified 10th and 15th of the month. Of course, getting your items printed and sent in early is highly preferable, and the easiest thing is to say that the deadline to assure items go out is the beginning of each month. For those who thrive on the adrenaline rush of seeing just how late they can send items to us and still have them arrive in time for the bundle, here are the actual dates for the 2022 weekend mailer bundle stuffing parties.

APA Bundle Submission Due By Dates for 2024
January 12th
April 12th
July 12th
October 11th
February 9th
May 10th
August 9th
November 8th
March 8th
June 7th
September 6th
December 6th

Your item(s) must be received prior to these dates, or they will be sent out in the following month’s bundle. Remember that postal services have, and will likely continue, to take longer than in previous years. There is plenty of work for the mailer (and team) to get all your wonderful items out each month; please don’t add your procrastination to their bundle of tasks in 2022.

Why not resolve in 2022 to get your 4 prints in early, so that you have time to leisurely print and share a few more items later in the year?

Your 2022 APA Mailer,
– TH Groves

2021 APA Mailer
Lisa & TH Groves
160 S Dewey Rd
Dewey, AZ 86327-7099 USA
Lisa: (928)642-6590
TH: (480)390-2772
apamailer2021@gmail.com