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Post by patin on Dec 8, 2018 8:35:51 GMT
I live between 2 small towns & use whichever post office I'm near when I need to mail things. I make all of our cards & yes I like to add bling or layers or ribbon or a bow or....
Whenever I take them to have them weighed or measured I am amazed at the various price quotes. Today I took a lot of my 2Peas card exchange creations. Anything that a slight lump/bump the Postal lady told me I needed to add .21 to the regular 1st class stamp (total .71) as they were unmachinable.she assured me she would hand cancel each of those envelopes. She didn't weigh any of them. I have paid .92 in the past, & .96 & as I recall square envelopes were a ridiculous amount, so I have quit making square cards. I am going to the other PO tomorrow to mail another batch of cards,along with a couple of packages. I will update my experience there. Just wondering if anyone else has experiencedd this?
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Post by Restless Spirit on Dec 8, 2018 20:54:04 GMT
Lets just say I was feeling a little bit grumpy after my last Post Office visit on Friday. I had 4 (3 for the US, one to Canada) A2 cards to mail. (I, too, have mostly stopped making square cards because of the mailing cost). Yes, I did have some bling and lumps and bumps - but.....
The PO lady weighed the cards (.8 oz for the US cards, .7 oz for the Canadian) and passed them through a 'slot' in cardboard template to check the thickness. They all fit just fine - but - she told me I had to add another stamp to the US cards and the cost for mailing the international card was $2.30.
I'm going to make my next batch as flat as possible and go to a different post office and see what it costs. The international cost seemed awfully pricey. $2.30 for 0.7 ounce card. Yikes. Flat is definitely the way to go if you have a lot of cards to mail!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,451 
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Post by scrapnnana on Dec 8, 2018 22:59:59 GMT
Lumpy cards cost .71 cents to mail. If the cards are too stiff to bend, they charge you the price of a package (over $3), though, so I'd be happy with the .71 cents.
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Post by warrior1991 on Dec 11, 2018 14:49:41 GMT
My local post office said that even envelopes that are stamped "hand cancel" are run through a machine, so he said no way to avoid that. He told me that post offices aren't suppose to use that "hand cancel" stamp anymore.
The ladies at my post office love that I donate my cards so they always try to give me a deal when they can, but they have stopped doing that as the post office on the other end might charge the receiver the extra missed postage and no one wants that.
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Dec 12, 2018 1:12:43 GMT
Last year, some of my pea swap cards were lumpy. I had them hand cancelled, which they did at the counter, and it cost the extra fee.
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Post by joblackford on Dec 16, 2018 0:11:02 GMT
Post offices are definitely variable! I asked about customs forms for small overseas parcels and the guy said I could use the short form, but only here because the other post offices in the area would probably make me fill out a long form. A lot of the bendiness and bumpiness rules are subjective. If you put the stamps on and toss them in the mail without talking to anyone it's usually fine - no one has ever told me they've had to pay the difference, and I've never had to pay to receive a card. I usually add the nonmachinable/extra ounce stamp if I put anything stiff or noticeably bumpy on the card but sometimes I haven't and it's been fine. I'd love to spend some time behind the scenes to see what really goes on with those sorting machines! ETA: I got my Pea swap card from you today patin ! safe and sound:) |
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Post by patin on Dec 17, 2018 2:51:32 GMT
Thanks@joblackford. I have been holding my breath that anyone might have to pay the extra. Yes I went into the "other" PO with my cards & the "newish" clerk told me - no they are not overweight. I asked if they were over -thick/ lumpy & she said no, so saved myself about $10. Then I was concerned... but I think you are right- they aren't going to bother at this time of year.
I went in with my personal cards (they are the smallest envelope size allowed) the card has a raised with fun foam panel with a rhinestone heart & a photo inside the card & yep they still went for 1 stamp. WEIRD!
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Post by joblackford on Dec 17, 2018 19:36:41 GMT
Thanks@joblackford. I have been holding my breath that anyone might have to pay the extra. Yes I went into the "other" PO with my cards & the "newish" clerk told me - no they are not overweight. I asked if they were over -thick/ lumpy & she said no, so saved myself about $10. Then I was concerned... but I think you are right- they aren't going to bother at this time of year. I went in with my personal cards (they are the smallest envelope size allowed) the card has a raised with fun foam panel with a rhinestone heart & a photo inside the card & yep they still went for 1 stamp. WEIRD! Yeah, I checked your card after I replied here and there's no way the one I received should cost extra! The embellishment/lump was small and soft and the envelope flexed perfectly, wasn't overweight. That must have been be a really strict postal person. Only one of the cards I've received from anyone had an extra stamp on them but plenty had bumps and rhinestones and dimension. |
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