I have had the hardest time getting my seeds mailed!! I have gotten in seeds that were just wrapped in paper, some in bubble wrap, and some in that heavy manilla envelope in a plain white #10 envelope and all have been ok in my mailbox.
Well, I went to mail out seeds and the postman will not let mail them out. He says, "THEY HAVE TO BE IN A BUBBLE ENVELOPE. This envelope will tear. Well, if it tears, why do they sell them. I know they tear open. But this man tell me they will NOT hand stamp them. I have my seeds wrapped in bubbles. And not just a little piece I try and fill the envelope so that it doesn't just flop around.
What else can I do.....Bubble envelopes get expensive after about 10-15 trades. And I've been getting plenty. Any helpful suggestions are welcome.
POST OFFICE TROUBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cine, I think your postman has a problem! I just mailed some seed out in a regular envelope (padded, of course). I don't bother putting hand stamp on the envelope. They will still be sent through the sorting machines. do you identify the envelope as having seed enclosed?? Maybe if you just send it like a letter, they will accept it. I also re-use the bubble envelopes I have received in trades. Sometimes I cut them in 1/2 if they are large. (box tape does wonders!) If you use a padded envelope, don't use the sticky gum stuff on the flap, just tape it closed, so it can be re-used easier. Is there another post office near enough to use? I hope you find a way to get your seeds sent out. Julie
Cine,
I have been using envelop inserts cut from Post Office priority mail boxes. I cut windows in the inserts and tape the small seed packets in the windows.
This will be under the 1/4 inch thickness limit and will go through the cancelling machines. The only reliable way to get an envelop handstamped to take it to a PO window and watch them do it or to use postage meter tapes.
I have had no complaint yet about damaged seed using the above method while I have had complaints using bubble wrap.
We have the same problem with some of the workers at the Post Office. They won't accept the envelopes if they are puffy. I just have my Son take them with him to work and mail them at another Post Office or just have them dropped in a postal box and they get there fine. You would think they own the Post Office the way they act.
This has been an ongoing problem for the three and half years that I have been trading. Some offices will take them and some won't. Some clerks will take them and some won't. I solved the problem on my end and haven't had any problems or complaints. I buy a large box of 6x9 manilla envelopes at Staples and a roll of bubblewrap. I put the correct postage on and drop them in the box. Most of the time I don't put my return address on the outside, but on a note inside instead. None have gone missing, none have come back, none have been refused and I haven't heard any complaints. The size and color keep them from going through the sorters. They look and size up just about like padded mailers. Generally a 45 cent stamp will mail 1-4 packs of smaller seeds or 1-2 packs of larger seeds. Larger seeds and amounts need 55 cents in stamps. If in doubt, you can take it in and have it weighed and they won't give you grief if you use the larger envelopes. Instead of having a lump in the middle, tape the seed pkgs side by side on the bubble wrap and fold it over the top and tape it closed. Honestly the postal people are not supposed to accept the fat small envelopes because they will rip and the contents will jam the sorters. So we pad them to keep them out of the sorters and they won't take them. It is kind of no win. LOL The big envelopes do work. Good luck!
Michele
Hello,
I had one of the post guys do the same to me here, but to his own demise he should have read the postage rules that is exactly why they charge the 11 cents extra for the puffy envelopes.
They can get in big trouble from the higher ups if they do not stay within their own guidelines.
Stand up and tell them, sometimes people will not do there job unless they are made to.
I figure we pay the rates they ask the least they can do is accept there own rules .
Tired of being told they can't lol they will.
LOL it seems I have no more problems with the post office here anyway.
Cathy
I think it’s actually at the discretion of the clerks. I know they should be more consistent so everyone knows how to mail – but they aren’t. Badseed’s suggestions are very good. The larger envelopes with bubble wrap seems to best the way to go. Nowa days the letter size envelopes will go on a machine …. even the FAT ones. If the window clerk feels your envelope might be damaged on the machines… or will cause damage to the machines… they can refuse it. Seeds spilling into a machine can cause a lot of costly problems.
my envelopes are flat, meaning no lumpy middles, becaues I do use the bubble wrap. I try to go at different times to see if this guy will be gone. And just my luck, HE'S ALWAYS THERE!!
I've been buying the 6 by 9 bubble mailers and cutting them in half, cross-wise, and making two of them. I tape the ends shut, and my PO has yet to complain. 'Course, they'd have a hard time doing so, since I drop them into a public box with no return address!
I don't have very many PO problems, as long as it is at our little local one. My mother-in-law, however, lives in a larger town, and had all kinds of problems. Usually with the same employee. I told her next time to get his name, make sure and ask him how he spells it and make sure he sees her write it down. Next step, ask him who his immediate supervisor is, and who THAT supervisor reports to. If he managed to get through that with dry pants, then you call the supervisor and explain the situation, ask for the post master if you have to. They can be pretty hard on an employee who is being rude or abusive to the customers. She doesn't have any problems at all, now. The hard thing for some people is that you have to be assertive and control the situation. Remember that we aren't begging for a favor, we are paying customers, and as such we deserve respect and courtesy! Okay, packing up my personal soapbox now, lol. Oh, and I mail in regular envelopes and have never recieved one in bad shape. Hope this helps!
Martela
I'm new to Dave's Garden, but not to trading ~ been trading for three or four years. I've tried every way imaginable to mail seeds, have received seeds in all sorts of envelopes (some torn or with crushed seeds inside) and have researched the sorter machine problem ~ even found a video at the library on how the post office processes mail, complete with video of a sorter in action! LOL! If the envelope is a regular size or a legal (long) regular size, they will try to jam it through the sorters no matter what you write on the outside or how thick it is. Sometimes it goes through okay and sometimes it doesn't. Frequently, the sorters grab two or three or more letters at the same time, so if a padded envelope is one of those two or three, it has a much greater chance of tearing and gumming up the whole works.
After all this, I mail my seeds exactly the way Badseed does (Great minds think alike, eh, Badseed? LOL!). Been doing it that way for two years and have yet to have one come back or get a note from the other trader that it came torn or not at all. It's honestly not any more expensive, either. I added up how much I spent the first year on trading supplies, then added the extra $$ for postage/bubblewrap/envelopes I had to cough up to remail trades that never made it or arrived damaged. It was about the same as what I would have spent on 6"x9" envelopes in the first place. AND I don't have to put in any extra time re-sending things! (Yes, I'm a lazy gardener at heart! LOL!)
I have to agree that your mailman has a definite problem. I mail all kind of ways. Some times there are tubes in the regular white envelopes.I have never had a problem with the mailman taking them. I go to the post office and they know they are seeds etc. never a problem. Those of you who have gotten seeds from me know I wrap in crazy ways sometimes. If it were me I would talk with the head of the postal service in your area. This person is giving you a hard time and he should not. We do pay the extra 11 cents for the thicker envelop. Janet
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Just found this page to ask a question about policies or any other issue regarding the USPS:
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If anyone does this, let us know how it goes!
I had the same problem, Cine - I mailed out 4 envelopes on the same day - all in #10 envelopes with the seeds wrapped in bubble wrap. Only 1 was returned to me with a rubber stamped message that "odd shaped items must be in padded envelopes" .... I popped it into a small brown envelopes and mailed it back out with no problem.
A lady at the post office gave me a hard time once because she said that mailing seeds is how bugs and disease are spread across the country and that she couldn't accept it. So, I told her that I wanted to see where it was written that you cannot mail seeds. She then "made an exception" and mailed them. The next time this guy gives you a hard time, demand to see where it is written that such things must be mailed in bubble envelopes. Usually, they will back off because there is no such thing. Hope that helps.
i got told that there were 'restrictions' on seeds, ie some can be invasive etc, but that you could send them, the customs people are able to open and check if they think there could be a risk. i went to the large post office in the city of durham and they were a bit funny about it, they weighed them for me, but would not take them over the counter - she just told me to post them and that she didn't 'ok' it. the sub post office where i live has no problem with my mail and he doesn't even ask, so i go there now.