I LOVE sharing my seeds and plants with others ! I will admit,with what is going on in the World right now ... I am starting to worry some.
Would really like to hear some ideas on how we can INSURE our safey ? Continue to ship and recieve SAFELY ??
NOWeedSZ
You worried too ?
Just as you always have. Don't let the terrorists have a victory by making you fear to go on with your normal activities.
Only open mail you feel you are expecting, if it looks unusal and you are not familar with who sent it be careful in opening things, or contact the source and see if they really meant to send it to you.
I always use a letter opener and carefully open things now and if it is junk mail I don't open it at all, and throw it out in my burn pile.
Nothing wrong with being careful these days, there is a lot to think about with all the terrible things people are doing to scare us. But lets face it, this is really nothing new, these things have been happening all along it is just being covered more because of the 9-11-01 attacks.
Mike
Make sure you put a return address on your mail - and your mail has a return address. Things they tell us to look out for at the PO are - foreign mail with NO return address, mail that has been post marked in a different city from the return address, anything leaking, and mail that has excessive postage on it. If you take SASEs from traders make sure they don't send you metered postage. If it's metered in Utah and you mail it from Florida it could cause suspicion. I know people think postal workers like to treat packages like footballs .... but I would say it'd be a good idea to mark LIVE PLANTS or FRAGILE SEEDS on packages. Boxes with plants will sometimes leak water - seeds might feel like a powder in an envelope. If the contents is marked there shouldn't be any problems.
Hello all,
I've just started putting "Dave's Garden site"
or "DG's site" under my return address (on plants and seeds that I'm sending out),
so that the recipient doesn't have to worry.
I'm hoping that it helps a little.
Oscarsdotter :-)
I agree a return address must be on the package...I have recieved..and sent with no return address..I will always put it on the envelope and not in, from now on. Also, try and make the package as uniform as possible. Anything lumpy and bulky will probably be looked over really well...
Heather
Thank you everyone . I don't 'freak out' when these sorts of things occure.I've been Military for many years.Lots of trianing !!
All these precautions you've shared are wonderful.I do however have an additional question ...
SASE's and R&R's . Many of us have been here for sometime.Others are new.I am concerned with WHO and WHAT hands these trades filter thru on thier way down the line.
There is a posting out right now on a forum.Sounds wonderful ! Would really like to partake.I am concerned ... SASE goes like this : "You send me (so many packs of seeds),I sort them,resend out seeds marked with YOUR NAME ,to other traders.I will send you back YOUR SASE MAILER with equal amounts of seeds."
Should I be worried about this or not ? Not just for my sake.What happens IF my concern turns out to be FOUNDED ??
NOWeedSZ
I'm not sure of which post or which forum, but if it's Trudi (Poojer) you do not have one thing to worry about. I do know she's got one going. I got some really wonderful seeds from when she did this at the start of summer. (Poojer, hope you don't mind my using your name, if you do, I'll edit!!!)
Hi, Poppysue!!
I have a problem with one of your statements:
"mail that has been post marked in a different city from the return address"
I live in the country, outside of the city that is posted on my envelopes. I do not live in city limits.
Yeah!! Lots of room to plant!!
I do not go thru that town as much as I go thru other towns because it seams to be the wrong direction and is so small... there is no shopping. OUCH!!
Anyway, I often stop at a post office, in another town, on my way shopping to mail out packages or envelopes.
My question: Is everyone going to throw out what I send them? I should hope not!!
A suggestion: Maybe we should put on the back of the letter or package, "DG" or "GW" or the initials for whatever site we trade from. I do know that some packages that have other written info on the outside as to what is inside, plant-wise, sometimes are more abused. I do not know if the postal workers that processed those envelopes got frustrated or what. But, it is a fact, not all post offices charge the same or treat a package the same...no offense to those who do!!! But, I have had the same type of letter processed totally different. Some post offices have a board thru which they put thicker-looking letters thru. If the letter touches or won't go thru, it costs more to mail.
I have yet to find out if that is a legal piece of postal equipment because some of the post offices say they have never heard of such! The thing is, if it was just one office using the system one way or the other, you would think it was for their convenience. But, I would say the number is split. So, there is a problem somewhere. So, does the postal service train and use different items in some of the post offices? You would think if they did, the others would be aware of it. Those who do not use the board are usually shocked when I mention the board! They say there is no such postal equipment and the others say there is.
Oh, well!! Just food for thought.
Hope everyone will trade with me and not throw away my trades to them!
chrm,
Yes, the Post Office does put the letters thru a machine and if it is over a 1/4 inch thick it cost more. My Son has had several arguments over this for me at the Post Office.
They say the little seeds in an envelope is over a 1/4 inch thick so I measured it and 98% of the time it isn't.
I don't think another town in the same city would be a problem. But another state is a different matter, which is what would happen if you used a meter strip someone sent you.
As for the little thing they have rigged up to measure, I think most POs have something like that, whether it's a ruler, or what. I know we did where I worked. It is just to save you the trouble of the mail coming back to you for extra postage.
The PO can only do so much, the rest is up to us. Tell your traders that your package will be postmarked 'whatever town' or something. Hopefully by spring trading season, all this trouble will be gone, and it will be back to normal. It's still up to us to communicate with each other about our trades.
I put a minimum of 45 cents on seeds I send out, it's not that much more for the peace of mind. And with bubble wrap, mine are always over 1/4".
Charmann - My post wasn't meant to defend the PO and their service - just trying to help with those that are concerned with mail safety. As far as the non-standard surcharge for "Fat" mail and which offices enforce it ... that's another matter. Ask for some complaint cards at the window the next time your there. The charge exist - and all offices should enforce it. People try to mail all kinds of things in standard envelopes - from candy to jewelry to "corn starch".
Your mail is handled by fewer and fewer human hands every year. In most cases the only humans that will actually hold your letter and read the address is the window clerk (if you bring it there) and your mail carrier. Machines do the rest. And yes ... 99.9% of the time that includes any damage. I might be a postal worker - but I'm also a postal customer. Believe me - I want my seeds and plants to make their destination as safely as possible too.
Hey Guys !!
Look this wasn't intended to 'start trouble'.I was ONLY concern about having a 'feeling' , NOT mentioning it , and someone end up hurt ! Thats all.
Postal workers ? Face it , It's NOT JUST up to them to be AWARE . WE have to be Smart !
I am GLAD one trader-posting was mentioned . Now that I have someone that KNOWS it is safe...I will be involved.I only hope THEY will remain safe.
Thanks !
NOWeedSZ
Just personally EMAIL (not post) each person you are about to trade with. Agree on a "code" you can write on the outside of the envelope along with your return address. That way you will KNOW who you are trading with.
For the more nervous, use a code, return address and only trade with gardeners you traded with in the past. Surely none of those have gone "nuts" in the past year! ;-)
In addition to butrbean's suggestion (excellent one, by the way): PUT YOUR RETURN ADDRESS ON ALL PACKAGES AND ENVELOPES!
I know some folks have left it off in the past, but it's one of the flags that arouses the suspicion of postal workers, and I know that I'm reluctant to open something without a return address.
I think the next time I need address labels printed, I'll have my DG name put on them, too. That should help alleviate any concerns when my packages and envelopes arrive at their destination. In the meantime, I try to always give my DG and "real" name in e-mail correspondence with traders, so my packages have a familiar name on them when they arrive.