perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on Apr 18, 2016 16:58:30 GMT
I'm so mad I could scream. Last week I sent out a targeted post card mailing to a very specific neighborhood I had sold a house in recently. Since it was such a small number of post cards, it was cheaper for me to just do the work myself. I specifically asked for post card stamps at the post office. I assumed since I asked for post card stamps they would sell me stamps that were of sufficient value to mail a freaking post card. Nope. I'm getting cards back today marked insufficient postage. Are you kidding me? That's a couple of hours of my time, paper and ink wasted, not to mention the $20 postage I spent mailing the stupid things. And then the worst part: are the people I mailed these to being asked to pay to get them??? The very idea that my business would be put in such horrible light makes me want to cry. I put a lot of work and time into this in an effort to promote my business and try to get people to see me in a good light and consider hiring me as the real estate agent. Not only will they not choose me now, the story about how they were asked to pay money to get my advertising is going to spread and make me look awful. I'm new to this business. I can not afford to get a bad reputation at this point. I'm ready to strangle the idiot at the post office that sold me the wrong stamps. No she wasn't new. She's been at that post office for years. No I didn't mumble. She repeated what I asked for and so there was no communication break down. No my post cards are not too heavy or the wrong size. They are standard size and actually slightly lighter than average. I can't even do anything to fix this. I intend to go yell at the post office idiot and I don't expect to even get my money back on the wrong stamps she sold me. That won't unmail these postcards.
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
Jun 26, 2014 2:34:35 GMT
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Post by luvnlifelady on Apr 18, 2016 17:03:36 GMT
Wow, sorry that happened to you. It is frustrating to deal with people that aren't doing their jobs correctly and that then makes you look bad.
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,840
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Apr 18, 2016 17:13:54 GMT
I would respond to these potential clients that there was a miscommunication with the post office that was beyond your control, buy sending a note card in an envelope and the message that was on your post card.
Quick recovery in a professional manner will show you in a good way.
Next time, always buy the stamps that are normal amount. This will save future problems with postage.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on Apr 18, 2016 17:17:13 GMT
I shouldn't have to pay for first class stamps to send post cards. When you are sending out dozens to hundreds it makes a huge difference in cost.
Next time I'm hiring a mailing service.
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Post by Clair on Apr 18, 2016 17:19:04 GMT
Was your postcard too big. There are size regulations when using postcard stamps.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Apr 18, 2016 17:22:24 GMT
All you have to do is put the right amt on. Like the amt due, is it like 2 cents of something, just add the 2 cent stamp to the postcards and resend them. They havn't gone to waste at all.
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,840
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Apr 18, 2016 17:24:12 GMT
I shouldn't have to pay for first class stamps to send post cards. When you are sending out dozege difference in cost. Next time I'm hiring a mailing service. No, you shouldn't have to, but right now to recover from this situation, you should do it. Starting a business is expensive.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Apr 18, 2016 17:29:11 GMT
I manage all the outgoing mail at work. There are specific regulations regarding size and weight and handy easy to use tables at USPS.com. Be an informed business owner. The post office sold you stamps. It's ultimately up to you to use the correct postage. If you had taken your postcards to the post office they could have helped make sure your mail was correct at that moment.
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Post by BeckyTech on Apr 18, 2016 17:29:31 GMT
All you have to do is put the right amt on. Like the amt due, is it like 2 cents of something, just add the 2 cent stamp to the postcards and resend them. They havn't gone to waste at all. No she can't. They've already been stamped with the "insufficient postage" stamp. It would look ridiculously unprofessional to the recipient to receive such a mailing. Technically I suppose she could, but no, basically, she is out all the money for the paper, printing, and postage. I don't blame her a bit for being royally ticked off.
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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 18, 2016 17:30:11 GMT
Oh my gosh that would be so frustrating. I work in a doctor's office and we send out hundreds of post cards each month. We address and stamp them ourselves and just ask for "postcard stamps" at the post office. We haven't run into any problems. It's ridiculous that you weren't sold the proper postage. Please come back and update us with what the post office has to say.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 18, 2016 17:34:31 GMT
That stinks. Having learned that lesson the hard way myself, did you actually bring one of the mail pieces with you to the PO when you bought the stamps? If so, they should have been able to tell you immediately how much each piece should cost and sell you the correct postage.
There are pretty strict rules as far as how big it can be and how much it can weigh for each classification. If the postcard wasn't true postcard size (smaller than 4.25"x6") then it would go at a higher rate. Most of the real estate postcards we get here are the big half sheet size, full color glossy, thick cardstock ones that are 5.5"x8.5" and those do cost more to mail.
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Post by jemali on Apr 18, 2016 17:36:30 GMT
How much postage did you have on each one? The postcard rate actually decreased from 35 cents to 34 cents on April 10th so it seems funny you would have had insufficient postage on them.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 30, 2024 10:28:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2016 17:38:02 GMT
Vent away. The service at the post office has become ridiculous.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 18, 2016 17:40:53 GMT
I'm sure the stamps sold to you were sufficient to mail a post card - I'm guessing your post card was not the correct size. The USPS is extremely specific about the size that qualifies as a post card - down to the thickness. Did you bring your mailer with you? I highly suggest anyone mailing anything in volume to bring it to the post office - my cousin learned that the hard way with 350 wedding invitations. BTW congrats on selling the house - I'm sorry your marketing plan didn't work out.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 18, 2016 17:42:21 GMT
Vent away. The service at the post office has become ridiculous. I have the absolute best post office. I was just thinking this morning about how great they are - the only silver lining in mailing my taxes today!
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,788
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Apr 18, 2016 17:49:06 GMT
If you had taken your postcards to the post office they could have helped make sure your mail was correct at that moment. Nope...not at my post office. They won't weigh anything. I was directed that they sell postal scales for $50 or I could purchase one on Amazon. perumbula-I work in a real estate office. It's not my job to do the cost analysis of our mail campaigns but I execute the actual mailing. We have had great service from SendOutCards.com I'm sure it's not the cheapest route, but we have had good customer service and they're good quality.
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taysmommy03
Shy Member
Posts: 41
Aug 17, 2014 20:24:22 GMT
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Post by taysmommy03 on Apr 18, 2016 17:50:00 GMT
Oh my gosh! My post office vent seems so small comparec to this. I can't even. I hope that you get some kind of resolution to this.
Since the rate decrease I have heard nothing but complaints about the postal service. I called my post office because I wasn't gettingany mail. Seriously I went from 4 or 5 pieces a day to nothing about the time of the rate decrease. Now I am finding out the mail I sent out isn't making it where it's supposed to go. Very frustrating!
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,247
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Apr 18, 2016 17:56:23 GMT
Can you take one of the returned postcards in and ask what was wrong with the postage? You need to know if it's the wrong size or something else. Then you'll know if they sold you the wrong postage or if the postage was wrong because your postcards weren't the standard ones in some way.
And, I'd be interested in seeing if all of them get returned - since they were going to the same neighborhood, I'd think they'd all go through the same post office. I say this because I've had different post offices or postal substations (like at a grocery store) handle things in different ways.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
Jun 29, 2014 12:11:41 GMT
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Post by M in Carolina on Apr 18, 2016 18:02:07 GMT
Perumbula, I feel so bad for you. My dad was a real estate broker, developer and an auctioneer. He sent out mailers all the time. He would hire extra people to address and stamp the mailers--sometimes full colour "postcards" and sometimes folded sheets that had to be put in envelopes and have address label stickers put on.
Our local post office was amazing. They gave us some of the really nice post office bins, and suggested that we get a postage machine that would print the postage--the business postage stamp kind where you get a personalized number that takes the place as a stamp.
Not all our mailers just went to our local zipcode. The post office expects you to sort all the pieces going to the same zipcode together.
I just tried to mail a birthday card to my SIL and had the stupid card returned 3 times. The first time was because I thought my stamp was a forever, and it was 3 cents short. The card did come back.
I don't think the post office asks the recipient to pay the shortage anymore. They didn't for my SIL.
We would put in all our addresses into a computer program and print them all out on the Avery label sheets. Then my dad would hire some people to come in and put the labels on the mailers. You'd think grownups would know to put the label on straight and take pride in their work.
Even though I was 12--15, I had to also keep an eye on the other people and make sure they just weren't slapping the labels on the mailers willy nilly.
Some of the mailers were four colour graphic designed cards printed by a local company. They could also print the postage on it as well. That helped a lot!
I also think that there might be some Etsy shops that would print you some really nice address labels if you needed something like that.
I wish you the best! People don't understand all the work it takes to advertise yourself and keep your listings looking good, keeping your car looking nice to chauffeur clients around, etc. when you're in real estate. I hope you do well!
The top agents I knew had their faces on their signs and the magnetic signs on their cars, had the best mailings, did open houses, etc---they paid attention to the details.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 18, 2016 18:08:50 GMT
If you had taken your postcards to the post office they could have helped make sure your mail was correct at that moment. Nope...not at my post office. They won't weigh anything. I was directed that they sell postal scales for $50 or I could purchase one on Amazon. perumbula -I work in a real estate office. It's not my job to do the cost analysis of our mail campaigns but I execute the actual mailing. We have had great service from SendOutCards.com I'm sure it's not the cheapest route, but we have had good customer service and they're good quality. So if you hand a piece of mail to your post office personnel they won't put it on the scale and tell you what you owe? I can sort of understand if you had a variety of pieces that you weren't sending at that moment and just wanted them to courtesy weigh they could refuse. But I don't see how they could refuse to actually put the correct postage on a piece of mail you're mailing.
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Post by padresfan619 on Apr 18, 2016 18:17:23 GMT
Well according to just about every podcast I listen to, stamps.com is great for small business owners!
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
Jun 26, 2014 2:34:35 GMT
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Post by luvnlifelady on Apr 18, 2016 18:19:00 GMT
I manage all the outgoing mail at work. There are specific regulations regarding size and weight and handy easy to use tables at USPS.com. Be an informed business owner. The post office sold you stamps. It's ultimately up to you to use the correct postage. If you had taken your postcards to the post office they could have helped make sure your mail was correct at that moment. I don't think the OP did anything incorrect. She asked the people that should know for a postcard stamp. How would she know it's the not the right one? If anybody should know, it would be the post office.
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,788
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Apr 18, 2016 18:25:14 GMT
Nope...not at my post office. They won't weigh anything. I was directed that they sell postal scales for $50 or I could purchase one on Amazon. perumbula -I work in a real estate office. It's not my job to do the cost analysis of our mail campaigns but I execute the actual mailing. We have had great service from SendOutCards.com I'm sure it's not the cheapest route, but we have had good customer service and they're good quality. So if you hand a piece of mail to your post office personnel they won't put it on the scale and tell you what you owe? I can sort of understand if you had a variety of pieces that you weren't sending at that moment and just wanted them to courtesy weigh they could refuse. But I don't see how they could refuse to actually put the correct postage on a piece of mail you're mailing. I go to the post office for work about once a week. I generally have 5-10 letter sized envelopes that need to be mailed. The last time I went in they refused to weigh them and told me to get a postage scale. Our postoffice sucks. We now drive them to the postoffice in the next town over (10 minutes away) to the sweetest lady you have ever met who is just happy to have something to do.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Apr 18, 2016 18:28:58 GMT
My point is we don't know that her mail piece qualified for a postcard stamp. Obviously there was a miscommunication between the OP and the post office. She can blame to post office, but it's her business being impacted. If you are doing a mass mailing (for your business no less) it's best to have the correct answer to start. That's why you bring in your mail piece and say, "How much to mail this?" Or you go to the USPS website and get the details on mailing. It's very cut and dry regarding size and weight.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Apr 18, 2016 18:32:46 GMT
The po refusing to weigh your mail makes no sense unless you're just asking them to weigh it and not mail it. That might be an issue if you're using them to get the weight and using a different service to actually mail.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 18, 2016 18:36:20 GMT
So if you hand a piece of mail to your post office personnel they won't put it on the scale and tell you what you owe? I can sort of understand if you had a variety of pieces that you weren't sending at that moment and just wanted them to courtesy weigh they could refuse. But I don't see how they could refuse to actually put the correct postage on a piece of mail you're mailing. I go to the post office for work about once a week. I generally have 5-10 letter sized envelopes that need to be mailed. The last time I went in they refused to weigh them and told me to get a postage scale. Our postoffice sucks. We now drive them to the postoffice in the next town over (10 minutes away) to the sweetest lady you have ever met who is just happy to have something to do. That is crazy! I'm glad our post office is awesome.
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,788
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Apr 18, 2016 18:36:42 GMT
No...I was buying the postage there and everything. You'll (general you) just have to believe me that they have horrific customer service. It's not exactly convenient for me to take them elsewhere and I did end up ordering the dumb postage scale to do it myself. It just pisses me off that they're such jerks about it.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 18, 2016 18:38:34 GMT
I manage all the outgoing mail at work. There are specific regulations regarding size and weight and handy easy to use tables at USPS.com. Be an informed business owner. The post office sold you stamps. It's ultimately up to you to use the correct postage. If you had taken your postcards to the post office they could have helped make sure your mail was correct at that moment. I don't think the OP did anything incorrect. She asked the people that should know for a postcard stamp. How would she know it's the not the right one? If anybody should know, it would be the post office. She either needed to know if her mailer qualified for a postcard stamp or bring it in to be measured. You can't ask for a postcard stamp and then put it on a piece of mail that is NOT postcard size and blame the post office - well you can, but you're really not justified in doing so. Now if she brought the mailer in and they gave her the wrong postage - outrage is warranted.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Apr 18, 2016 18:41:51 GMT
Go back with cards in hand and demand a refund!
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,247
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Apr 18, 2016 18:56:04 GMT
Or you go to the USPS website and get the details on mailing. It's very cut and dry regarding size and weight. [ You would think this to be true, but it's not always so. For example, there is nothing on the USPS web site that specifies a minimum size for a package. I took six packages in to the post office, all sealed and addressed, in the same small boxes I've used before. I had left space for the postage sticker to go on the tops of the boxes. One clerk started to process the first box, and the other clerk stopped him by saying "those won't go." When I asked why and said I'd used that size box before, I was told that the sticker they print has to fit on the top of the box, along with the address and return address. I questioned why that was a problem and the postmaster told me they had "made their postage stickers bigger" - and seriously, the ones they printed out were about 4 x 6 inches! If this post office were using the same size stickers that other places used (and that they USED TO USE), they would have been much smaller and would have fit easily into the space available. How was I supposed to know they had changed the size of the postage sticker and that it would be so much bigger than other places? I ended up having to put each box into a big floppy envelope, re-address them all - and then pay about half again as much as I expected because those bags started at a price higher than it would have cost to mail the boxes. And yes, I did ask the next time I mailed a package (at a different location) if there is a minimum size, and was told there is not. The sticker they printed out there was the size I expected. So because one post office changed the size of their postage stickers, there IS, effectively a minimum size if you mail from that post office, even though it doesn't tell you that anywhere on the web site.
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