I sometimes use those smaller bubble envelopes to send out seed. Yesterday, I mailed some seeds and they charged me about double what they usually do for those. They said those are now considered parcels and the charge is not by weight anymore because they are too bulky to go through the machines. I vaguely remember hearing something a while back about a change in shipping charges for something or other. But I've mailed a couple of other BE's lately and was charged by weight as usual. Anyone know about this? I'm wondering if I'll have to use only the regular envelopes instead to avoid the higher charges.
Postage Problem
the post office will have a template through which you should try to pass your envelopes. if they can be passed through the slot on the template, then your envelope should go for the weight only - if it is a standard size envelope ... oh yeah, they've got a template for that too.
if the envelope sticks in the template slot and cannot be passed through AND/OR if the envelope is smaller or larger than what they call a standard sized letter envelope, the post office will assess a surcharge of 17¢ per envelope.
so, if you have a regular business letter sized envelope weighing one ounce or less - with seeds protected between two layers of bubble wrap and IT PASSES THROUGH that template slot - the freight should be no more than 41¢.
if it sticks in the template slot, then it is too bulky and the freight will be 41¢ + 17¢ ... or 58¢.
if it is not a standard size envelope but it passess through the template slot, a surcharge will be assessed for the non-standard size ... and the total will be 58¢
Hmm, the post office here overcharged me then! I mailed several small bubble envelopes a week or 2 back with 1 or 2 pks of seeds inside, and she told me it would be over a dollar. Had to put 2 more stamps on them. I was wondering how everyone else is going to start mailint theirs if the bubbles have gone up.
This message was edited Oct 6, 2007 7:15 AM
I have found (in my latest experiences) that the BEST way to get around all of these charges is this:
IF I'm mailing LOTS of seed (10 or more packs) I take a piece of cardboard and cut it so it fits in the bubble envelope and then tape one under another the seeds to the cardboard. All of this goes into a bubble envelope and most have been costing me around $.82 to mail (that's 10 packs or MORE so price per pack...pretty low).
IF I have less than 5 packs of seeds I do the same thing with the cardboard BUT I use a standard or size 10 regular envelope. I bring it to my postmaster and stand there while I watch her HAND STAMP the postage (this ensures it doesn't go through the sorting machine). This whole "hand stamping" process costs me $.17 so the postage is $.58. Still not bad for 5 or less packs.
I have seen people not get it "hand stamped" and wrap it in bubble wrap in a regular envelope and that has worked too :)
Hope this helps,
Kim
I mailed a few bubble envelopes a couple of weeks ago. 2 were returned to me for additional postage. I took them back to the post office and it cost $1.30 to mail them. The clerk told me that since they were rigid envelopes (they did not bend) and the were larger than her square thing (which was a little bit bigger than a standard envelope) that they were considered parcels. She also said that a regular envelope that did not flex would be considered a parcel. I also inquired as to whether there was a recent rate increase and she said no. At this point, I am not sure what I am going to do. $1.30 is a little steep to be mailing one pack of seeds in a bubble envelope. I have tried wrapping seed packs in bubble wrap and placing them in regular envelopes, but my concern is that some of the seeds that I send are big, like moonflowers seeds, which still warrants higher postage without the extra protection of a bubble envelope.
Hmm, it seems that some post offices are enforcing one rule, and others, different ones! Gets confusing! :-) At this point, I'm thinking I'm going to try for regular envelopes and put bubble wrap on both sides of the seeds. I've heard though, if the envelope is too thick, they still charge more!
It does indeed vary from one P.O. location to another...and from one employee to another within the same P.O. Since I have no desire to wait interminably in a line at our P.O., I go with what seems best to me..lately I've been using regular envelopes as per Lazlo's post above...seeds between 2 layers of bubble wrap and if it's more than one packet of seeds, I spread them out and tape them to the wrap so as not to have the packets all bunch up in one slot. I also just stick them in the mail slot. The two times that I wasn't sure of the postage I stood in line which gave them the opportunity to dither about what the rate should be. I have never had any returned for postage due. I hope no one has received them as 'postage due'...I've not heard from anyone of this happening.
Sherry
While we are on the subject of post offices and postage rates... Has anyone tried the U.S.P.S. Click-N-Ship service? I would like to use this to print the appropriate label and postage a package and just put them into our building's outgoing mailbox for the mailman to take away.
However, all I can find about this service uses official post office envelopes and boxes. Can I just pack two T-shirts (an example), pack them in an empty Corn Flakes box, wrap it neatly in brown Kraft paper, weigh it, print the postage complete with shipping label and all and put that into the mail?
My local post office says it should be possible but I can't find the appropriate section on the U.S.P.S. web site.
Help, please!
Sylvain.
My P.O. told me yesterday that the words "hand cancel' on my envelope was now being considered parcel, and charged me $1.13. I'm not writing that on the envelope anymore. lol
~Lucy
well charge here was 12 for hand stamp i do not go in i put postage on way goes. no coming back but i wrapped in small small pks. wrap brown paper around so small its nothing. square lay pks. on it wrap the seeds wrapped taped in bubble wrap then the sQuare brown paper cheap and smaller.about same way kim above does..
This was the smallest size of regular BE that is sold, nothing in it but two packets of seeds. She didn't try it in any template. Also no "hand cancel" or any other instructions were written or spoken by me. I think the different P.O.'s and employees are just winging it and each doing their own thing. I'd be willing to bet that the local country P.O. people are not going to charge the higher rate on us unless the bosses make them, but I usually mail those in the city. I guess I could just try putting stamps on one BE and wait and see if it comes back.
You would think since this is a federal organization, the rates (and rules) would be the same all over wouldn't you?
You would think.
In my case with the returned envelopes, I had $.80 postage and gave them to my mail carrier. After a week or so, they returned to me with a notice that they needed additional postage. These were smaller envelopes, and one contained 1 pack of seeds and the other just stamps and a return label. Up until this time, I did not have any problems with envelopes being returned. I think that $1.30 is excessive for what was in the envelopes. So, of course, I am wondering what changed in the past couple of weeks.
I agree. Ridiculous.
I've noticed an increase too.
This is bad. A week ago my son got a bday card from his grandmother with in the same state we live in. It was a regular size bday card and had 2 - .41 cent stamps on it. It wasn't heavy or anything. He got a notice that he owed the P.O. 53 cents and had to come pick it up and pay the extra postage. Thier explaination was it was too rigid or something. I could bend it easily though. Crazy!
Oh guys, Being in the country has nothing to do with it... they even put mine back in my box because I got tape over the stamps.. there were enough stamps too.. so, they wrote on the stamps and I had to redo the bubble envelope (and it was an SASE) boy that made me mad.. I could have ordered the seeds by the time I had finished.
NO breaks here in the country.. that's for sure. Don't I wish..
A.
Maybe it all depends on what kind of mood that particular mail carrier is in that day! :-)
I've been having the same experience with inconsistency in rates lately. I mailed a couple of packs of seed in a 6x9 bubble mailer the other day and was charged $.80. The postlady told me the rates are now based on weight, size, and envelope thickness (less than 1/4" is small envelope, 1/4"-3/4" is considered a 'large envelope', over 3/4" is automatically a package)
When I got home later the same day I had received seeds from someone I traded with. They had used the same exact size envelope I had, also with just a couple of packs of seed in it, and had posted it with $.58... and it made it to me with no postage due. I am keeping that envelope as evidence for the next time I go to the p.o. !
edited to say: The trade I referred to with the $.58 postage just happened to be from Lazlo :-)
This message was edited Oct 6, 2007 8:56 PM
I have been using the small bubble envelopes and the postage has been consistently $1.13. (Usually I send less than 10 seed packs and nothing heavy though some seeds have been a little bulky.) I have received some trades where folks tried to send them in regular envies and the machines either crushed the seeds or ripped and shoved them right out of the end of the envie even with bubble wrap around them.
What I have been doing to make it worthwhile is send several seed packs so I don't feel like I could order or buy them in a store for cheaper. And most of what I have been receiving from folks here on DG have been good at germinating because they are so much fresher than commercial packaged seeds and I get more seeds too from generous folks here. So even if I spend more for BE, it's worth it to me personally.
I do think it is a rip-off that the price more than doubled in May of this year. But I was told that with the internet that folks are not mailing as many letters as they used to. So the USPS has to make up the loss somehow. That's how it goes I guess ...... It's just too bad that all of us gardener who do seed trades are probably paying for the USPS shortfall. :-P~~~~
This message was edited Oct 6, 2007 9:56 PM
Yeah, but just think how much Priority business they've picked up since the advent of eBay. So that whole "fewer letters" thing doesn't wash with me.
As for Click n Ship, I think it's only available for Priority class & higher but it's still a great service. But if you have at least one Priority box out for the carrier, you can also leave regular-post boxes.
The only way to figure the ins & outs of that system is to use it a few times.
Click-n-Ship is a great system, providing you have an accurate scale; we do. It works well, too. I have ordered Priority mail envelopes from the post office free of charge, along with customs forms when I send something to Canada. I opened an account with USPS in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail.
I'm very happy with the whole thing but these Priority Mail rates are just outrageous. We mailed a souvenir T-shirt (Cozumel) to a friend in Canada the other day. The T-shirt cost less than the postage. I was just wondering if I could send it "regular mail" and still print my postage label. Our post office always has a line of at least people and you can stand in line a good 20-30 minutes. I just don't want to go there and stand i line when I can do the whole thing at home. Also, postage through Click-n-Ship is less expensive.
I'll give the post office a call tomorrow. I have something to ship to Maine this week. In some cases, the flat rate boxes are great, specially when your parcel is a bit on the heavy side. I'll get the hang of this yet.
Thanks.
Sylvain.