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I recently mailed bulky Christmas cards and I asked the very nice people at the post office how much extra it would cost per card.
I was told that if they won't go through the machines for cancelling (or if I don't want them crushed), it is 20 cents extra - good to know, plus they actually sell 20 cent stamps.
Second ounce stamps are only 17 cents (so that doesn't work!) - so I bought some extra 20 cents stamps so I don't have to stop to buy the postage when I mail my cards.
At least they won't get returned to me for "extra postage!"
Yup! I found out the hard way! Mine were all returned yesterday for 20 cents more postage. Darn post office!!!
And did they make you "re" stamp the 44 cents as well as the 20? I've gotten returns where they have already stamped over the postage stamps and therefore cancelling out what I've already spent. Then I have to restamp the original amount as well as the extra charge.
I just really try not to mail bulky cards. If I have little blings on my cards, or even a small knot from a thin ribbon, I add something in there to even out the bulk. I found some thin spongy stuff, much like the cushion that comes with CTMH stamps, that I cut up to cover the front of a card. It has some give to it and doesn't add much bulk overall. My P.O. never seems to have a problem with it. The stuff I bought I found at the Daiso store (Japanese Dollar Store) at the mall and is actually intended to provide a cushion layer between dishes.
I had bulky cards and mailed them all from my home mailbox with the .44 and the .17 extra making them...61 each. They all arrived safely at their destinations without addtional postage due. It all depends on your post office...
blessings.
I had bulky cards and mailed them all from my home mailbox with the .44 and the .17 extra making them...61 each. They all arrived safely at their destinations without addtional postage due. It all depends on your post office...
blessings.
Better safe than sorry then and include the full 20 cents since you never know when you'll get a stickler at your PO or at the other end who slaps a "postage due" notice on it!
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I just put a regular stamp on mine and then send it to our little post office. I send the post master $5 or so every now and then and she just keeps it for when I need extra postage on my cards. It's nice that way because I don't even have to deal with it.
I just mailed my Christmas Cards. 61 cents each.....$25+ for postage total. The only 61 cent stamps they had were wedding cake ones. I doubt anyone getting my cards will notice.
Mine have no extra bulky items, just several layers from the die cuts. I don't put embellishments that are 3D on my cards. Just not my style.
My post office (i have a great one!) checks my cards, verifies they will go through the machine no trouble...then I come to find out the destination post office decided it needed more postage and charged my receiver the difference...
Grrr. That one really bites. Especially when it's to grandma! LOL!
so now if I even THINK it's going to be an issue, I just get the extra stamp...
__________________ Lisa~ Mommy to two precocious farmboys
And did they make you "re" stamp the 44 cents as well as the 20? I've gotten returns where they have already stamped over the postage stamps and therefore cancelling out what I've already spent. Then I have to restamp the original amount as well as the extra charge.
No... the mailman just rubberbanded them all together and stuck them back in my mailbox with a post-it note stating that I needed 20 cents more per card. The strange thing was that I didn't get them all back... I'm missing about 8 of them and I'm hoping they just slipped through to their destinations as is. But with my luck, they are laying on the mailroom floor somewhere until after New Years, when I'll get them back in my mailbox too! :rolleyes:
I just put a regular stamp on mine and then send it to our little post office. I send the post master $5 or so every now and then and she just keeps it for when I need extra postage on my cards. It's nice that way because I don't even have to deal with it.
I don't get it, I sent my boyfriend to get .20 stamps today, and he was told there's no such thing. He only got .17 stamps. I checked the USPS web site and they don't have .20 stamps for sale either??!!
That's what I do. I have some odd CS that I cut in the A2 size and run it through my Cuddlebug to make some more "bumps" and add that to the front of the cards. No problems -- at least none that I know about :>)
Wanda
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novell
I just really try not to mail bulky cards. If I have little blings on my cards, or even a small knot from a thin ribbon, I add something in there to even out the bulk. I found some thin spongy stuff, much like the cushion that comes with CTMH stamps, that I cut up to cover the front of a card. It has some give to it and doesn't add much bulk overall. My P.O. never seems to have a problem with it. The stuff I bought I found at the Daiso store (Japanese Dollar Store) at the mall and is actually intended to provide a cushion layer between dishes.
We have a new guy at the post office in our little town and he charged me 44 cents extra. I knew that didn't sound right but I was so late getting my cards out I didn't feel like arguing. Next time I will! Thanks for the heads up!!
I don't get it, I sent my boyfriend to get .20 stamps today, and he was told there's no such thing. He only got .17 stamps. I checked the USPS web site and they don't have .20 stamps for sale either??!!
I asked for 20 cent stamps and was told the same thing. I ended up with 2 10 cent additional on each card. Now I'm just hoping the get there before Christmas!
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
― Spider Robinson
Well, mine were plenty bulky--cracked glass on pop dots plus a few layers of DP and cardstock (you can see it here). I put one of those forever stamps on each one and mailed from my mailbox. So far so good. I've heard from several people who received them with no trouble. Honestly--we should probably worry about our sanity if we ever DO figure out the post office! :p
Ladies.....It seems silly to me to get so hung up on a size .5, 1.3, 2.5 or what ever. It's just easier to take the cards to the Post Office and ask at the desk for each one (if they're different). That way you know for sure. If we take the time to create the cards whether you like tons of embellishments on them or are more conservative, that's the price we pay for our creativity.
Mine were all 61 cents for each Christmas card and I was given wedding cake stamps for the postage. I doubt anyone will notice and I don't care....it's only a stamp and if it's the correct postage, that's all that counts! By the way....I mailed my Christmas Cards on 12/21.
My cards are my gift to those I send to. I don't give presents anymore.
For the future, ask your post office to get you one of the cardboard measuring guides--First-Class Mail Shape-Based Pricing Template-- and check your cards before you mail them. Not only does this have the guidelines in easy-to-follow steps, but it has a template to measure your envelope to see if it is a standard size, and it has the slots to pass it through to see if your card makes it too thick. I've have NO trouble since I got this. There was no charge when I got mine--but whether that is true or whether my postmistress really liked my cards, I cannot say. But get one and it will solve a lot of your questions.
__________________ Yes, I am aware that I have glitter on my face! My Gallery My Blog
Deb, I read about that template here on SCS before and asked the woman at my post office for one, and she looked at me like I was from Mars! I've since moved, so maybe I'll try the new post office.
My question is what do you do to make sure your cards get hand cancelled? Do you just write "please hand cancel" on them? One of my special Christmas cards for immediate family was missing a button this year because the machine they ran it through ripped it off. I put two stamps on it in case it was too big, but I didn't think to request that it be hand cancelled.
When I contacted the post office, the guy told me 20 cent stamps, but when my DH came home from the PO, they were 10 cent stamps!
Sorry for the confusion!
I don't take the chance of having them returned to me or the recipient having to pay extra, so I'll just put on the extra postage!
Plus, my husband just delivers the cards to the window and asks them to be hand-cancelled. We live in a small town so there isn't a line of more than 2 people most of the time!
i went to our local PO a few days ago requesting the template. she showed me hers, said they had two for their office. but they didnt sell them, i would have to get one online.
so, i went home and i called and told my story and was transferred a few times....in the end.....no....no order for that template...only the local PO can order them. so i called my PO and the nice person working there mailed one to me the next day.
it is made of heavy flexible plastic, has sizes on it and a slot to see if the envie will fit. i love it ! i think smaller town PO's are able to be more accommodating cause they arent crushed on a daily basis?
i'll see if my valentines fit thru. yes, i have made 9 already. and i dont send to 9 people for valentines day ! i will take pix of them and post today. hope they are blingy thinnies. i used the button bits set from PTI (this is my "go to" set this year. love love love it) and punched out sparkled self adhesive fun foam to substitute for buttons !!
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I had a bulky card..well the only bulk was a button and my post office said it would cost $1.20!!!! I mailed the same kind of card from another post office about a week later and they said, "No, it should have only been 20 cents more." I'm not mailing from my rip-off post office again!!!
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
i hope these are able to go thru with standard postage....will have to put them in envies and try my new slot template from PO. havent finished cards yet, need sentiments etc....
i love PTI's Everyday Button Bits.......instead of buttons, i punched out glitter fun foam....using sizzix , sizzlit and CB dies. the stuff was self adhesive to boot.
i went to our local PO a few days ago requesting the template. she showed me hers, said they had two for their office. but they didnt sell them, i would have to get one online.
so, i went home and i called and told my story and was transferred a few times....in the end.....no....no order for that template...only the local PO can order them. so i called my PO and the nice person working there mailed one to me the next day.
it is made of heavy flexible plastic, has sizes on it and a slot to see if the envie will fit. i love it ! i think smaller town PO's are able to be more accommodating cause they arent crushed on a daily basis?
i'll see if my valentines fit thru. yes, i have made 9 already. and i dont send to 9 people for valentines day ! i will take pix of them and post today. hope they are blingy thinnies. i used the button bits set from PTI (this is my "go to" set this year. love love love it) and punched out sparkled self adhesive fun foam to substitute for buttons !!
I think people have said in other threads before that the slot in a Fiskars cutter (I think most of us at least started with that!) is the same width. I don't tend to put anything on the front without cutting some protective card or bubble wrap to protect it.
Mailing Bulky Cards - Good to know!
