Courtesy reply mail, or CRM, is a type of mail in which a business sends pre-printed, self-addressed envelopes or postcards to customers, who then affix postage stamps to the envelopes or postcards and mail them back to the business.^[1] Alternatively, the business can disseminate the envelopes or postcards with stamps already affixed, similarly to metered reply mail. Front of an envelope mailed in the U.S. in 1906 contains postage stamp and address. ... British postal card, used in 1890 A postcard or post card is typically a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope and at a lower rate than a letter. ... A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ... Metered reply mail, or MRM, is a type of mail in which a business sends pre-printed, self-addressed envelopes or postcards to customers, with postage prepaid on the envelopes or postcards with a postage meter. ...

Courtesy reply mail differs from business reply mail in the manner of payment of postage, namely, by stamp when the mail is sent, rather than by the permit holder when the mail is received. Courtesy reply mail is typically used when a response is practically guaranteed, e.g., bill payments. Freepost is a postal service provided by various postal authorities, whereby a person sends mail without affixing postage, and the recipient pays the postage when collecting the mail. ...

In the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies that the envelopes or postcards for courtesy reply mail should be printed with a FIM A code. The POSTNET bar code can be printed on the envelope or postcard; alternatively, it can be printed on a payment coupon so that the bar code is visible through the window of a window envelope when the payment coupon is inserted. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States Government (see 39 U.S.C. Â§ 201) responsible for providing postal service in the United States. ... The Facing Identification Mark, or FIM, is a bar code designed by the United States Postal Service to assist in the automated processing of mail. ... POSTNET is a barcode symbology that is used by the United States Postal Service to assist in directing mail. ...

References

1. ^ "Encouraging Customers to Reply", from the USPS