please on sending out bubble envolopes

i bought a set of seeds from the ebayer. it was delivered to the town away from mine then got sent back.

for what?

they said the postage was wrong on the bubble envolope. you know they stick the envie through that thingy to check thickness. well it went through in new york where he sent it from. got down here it didnt go through and the po sent it back.

my friend just had one of hers returned today for the same thing.


its getting very fustrating to send something. or they ask for the psoatge on delivery. please be careful when mailing thiese things. if its questionable if it will or wont go through that thing just add the extra postage so it doesnt come back.

my poor seeds are on round trip number 2

I was sent my seeds that I won on Ebay and it was delivered to me for 58 cents. No problem.

I took the same exact envelope to the post office to help me with a problem. The post master said they did not know how that went through and it wasn't right.

I was there to clarify the bubble envelope I mailed the week before. I put on the bubble envelope, what I thought was extra postage, only to have it returned to me for extra 15 cents more postage. I was confused.

They told me that they look at any bubble env as a package. I just had a dmail discussion with another DG member today on this exact same issue. It seems that it may vary from post office to post office.

I find this frustrating. I certainly would be embarrassed if one of my trades arrived to a DG member with postage due to them... Otherwise, I was told that a bubble env was minimum $1.13.

Anyone else have such stories...

I take my bubbles to the post office twice a week and have them tell me what I need to put on and in each envelope. Time consuming yes, but I know that they will arrive where they are going and that if I am sending a SASBE the amount of postage enclosed is correct, well hopefull, lol!
Kathy

This is so frustrating to deal with! I didn't realize that a BE could be "cleared" by the post office at one end of the route and then bounced back because the receiving office interprets the rules differently... it'll be interesting to see what happens with all the packets I've been sending lately.

Since an empty BE is a little less than 1/4 inch thick, I've been able to send them out with a single layer of seed packets inside, as long as the seeds were small ones. Sometimes, I tape the seed packets to a piece of paper to ensure that they don't bunch up at one end of the envelope... that helps keep "large envelopes" from developing the "more than 1/4 inch variation in thickness" that makes them qualify as "small packages."

I don't see any way that all BE's can be automatically counted as small packages according to the new definitions -- and neither does my local USPS counter guy.

I'd rather have had them increase the nonmachinable surcharge and do away with the "large envelope" and "small package" distinctions -- it would make things much simpler!

I have just about given up on trading for that very reason. I got a real shock when I sent a priority package that I was told would be 9.40 and they ended up charging 23.00 +. I almost passed out. This just isn't right.

For packages, I've pretty much switched to UPS unless I'm using a flat rate box or mailing something first class (under 13 oz). UPS rates can be calculated online (the most variation I've ever had was an extra dollar for "rural delivery" or something), and they do actual tracking (as opposed to "delivery confirmation" which may or may not ever get scanned into the system), and their delivery times are guaranteed (unlike priority mail).

Sorry, I don't mean to turn this into a general rant... we should get back to the subject of bubble envelopes... but when you're sending larger packages, you might consider all your options. :-)

Even the P.O. employees can't get together on what they should be charging for BE's. Assuming, say a small size BE with only 1 or 2 packs of very small seeds. At one P.O. they charge one price and another charges a lot more. The new system is very confusing and needs to be simplified. Have you seen a sign on the big P.O. boxes and the slots for mailing stuff? Anything over a certain weight, I believe it says, you have to go inside and stand in line to mail it. Homeland Security, the government's new handy-dandy excuse for anything they want to do for any reason under the sun to make people's life unbearably frustrating.

imzadi-

Any chance the envelope you received had delivery confirmation on it? (I will spare you a long explanation of the reason for this question unless it did have DC.)

nope to one and yes to the other. the one with delivery confirmation was 3/4 thick in one place and another different. he sent it and had the reciept saying it was 3/4 think but oh well


the one without it went through the thingy just fine but got sent back.

the po says on the outgoing mail 13 oz or less. in the bin thingy. i know like im actaully gonna weigh a letter to see if its 13 oz or not.

the po system has gotten confusing and bad. its hard to measure a b envie anymore. who knows where it will pass and not pass through now with out getting sent back.

Okay then, I'm stumped.

I just recently sent some seeds out, wrapped in bubble wrap and in a water resistant envelope, and when I checked for postage on the USPS website, they made a distinction between a stiff envelope at one rate and a softer or flexible envelope at a higher rate. I took the package to the PO to check on the rates and the higher rate was the correct one. It's all on the web site but they make it pretty hard to determine which is the correct rate if you are not trained in mail handling.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

LOL... my USPS counter guy (who claims to be trained) told me that rigid envelopes are the ones that get the higher rates as "small packages" and BE's are either regular rate or "large envelopes" depending on their size and thickness. If you stuff a BE so it's more than 3/4 inch thick or thickness varies by more than 1/4 inch, it becomes a "small package."

Aaaaarrrrrggghh! (Charlie Brown cry of frustration)

Nobody knows for sure. This is like IRS rules, which are never uniformly understood by the IRS employees who are supposed to know them.

In the end, I'm going to do what guspuppy does...take them all to the post office. That way, if they say it is wrong, it will be their error. I would hate for seeds that I have promised someone to be getting to their destination the long way around, or worse, be delivered with postage due. Not very convenient, but that way I will be sure, too.

But it is a shame that there is so much inconsistancy...I wish we had Critter's post master! [sigh!]

I have been "battling" (in my mind only) this whole postage-rate thing every time i send someone seeds. Oh,, I have all the PO rates print-outs! But--I will NOT pay $1.13 if I can mail it for .58 cents! But--I also have a small, brass Postal scale. Bought it for $3 at a Senior Center Flea market. It is very old,,,,,maybe antique???? It is a small scale and has 1/2oz--1oz...2oz...weights, so you can combine them all for up to 3oz of weight. Every time I am not sure--I put my envelope (bubble or not) and weigh it. I them put the appropriate postage on them--as for any first class mail.
Since i have curb-side mail pick up, I just stick it in my mail box and hope for the best. NONE of them have ever been returned!!!!

If I took it to the PO, I am sure they would want to collect as much $$$ as they can and charge me $1.13 for the BE.
In my opinion--nothing ventured-----nothing gained! If any of them ever come back--I will pay the extra postage--NO problema! As I said--none of them have ever come back! And--everyone has always received all the seeds i sent them.

Now--being the cautious person I am--one thing I do is scotch tape all the plastic baggies of seeds--equally distributed-- to a 6"x4" index card to keep them from shifting around.

I am sure many different PO's have different rules and reinforcements. Maybe, I am just lucky!

Gita

I weigh mine, too. :-)

I've started using the smaller BE's that I get at WalMart in bundles of 10 (for just under $4, plus tax). The zip-top seed baggies that I use (also from WalMart, in the craft department by the beading supplies, 100 for 97 cents) just fit sideways into those BE's, so I can distribute them pretty evenly and they seem to stay put. With a larger BE, I've started doing the same thing (taping packets to a piece of paper) so seeds don't bunch up to create the uneven thickness that turns an "envelope" into a "small package."

as a current postal worker i have no idea what rates are but i know that when i mail out seeds, which isn't very often i generally use a plain white envelope and thats it. when i do sent bp i go to the couner and they tell me how much it will cost to mail. i used to just put two or three stamps on it but then i went and the clerk said it cost 47 cents so i was overpaying.

for bigger packages i always use ups cause they are much, nuch cheaper and they even wrap the package ofr you if you want and it is still cheaper than using usps.

I have to go tomorrow to send out my seeds...I hope there isn't a line, as I am going to discuss this again with the clerk. I will tell her what I have learned here and see if I can learn anything more...or on a nice day and I am out when the mailman drives on the route...they are all going to be talking about me at the local little post office!

I will look at Walmart, Critter, for the smaller BE, even though I was told any size...they will see me so many times discussing this that they will just mark "Paid" on my BE just to get rid of me!!!

Has anyone ever had to pay the difference on receipt of a BE?

With the bigger seeds you're sending me, you might need 80 cents for a "large" envelope... stick 80 cents postage on a BE and put it in your mailbox; we'll see what happens! It might only be an issue trying to get it past your counter guy... If it comes postage due, that's fine with me, I've got some extra stamps on hand and can stick one in the box for my mail carrier.

Sorry I did not see your post before I mailed them out to you already. That is why I did not experiment and see if you would get them for the lower amount...I would like to know. Thanks for the offer, Critter.

Thanks for the seeds! I'll have fun with them. :-)

You are welcome! I have many little baby basils right now under my lights...thanks to you! I just love the smell...it reminds me that spring WILL come!

I can't wait until mine get a couple of pairs of true leaves -- then it'll be time to pinch... first harvest!!