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I searched the USPS website on mailing restrictions because I get such different mailing restrictions from different post offices. Some make me pay extra if I include any type of hard bling & some don't. Or sometimes it's just a bow that might make them charge more. I didn't really find anything specific to cards.
Someone recently told me to turn the card inside out (I included a note explaining why) & 'padded' the bling a little with a tissue & it went through with no problems.
What do you all do? Any advice?
Thanks!
if I make a card with bling, buttons or lots of layers I always expect to pay extra, and to protect the card I usually mail it in a padded envelope. If I want to save on postage (Christmas cards) I make sure the design is light and not bulky. Really the choice is up to us when we make the card, give the post office more money or not! I am Canadian and the clerks have this handy little plastic thingy with a slot, if the card is too thick looking they will slide it through the slot, if it catches, ka-ching! extra postage, really need one of those to check first at home,lol
I searched the USPS website on mailing restrictions because I get such different mailing restrictions from different post offices. Some make me pay extra if I include any type of hard bling & some don't. Or sometimes it's just a bow that might make them charge more. I didn't really find anything specific to cards.
Someone recently told me to turn the card inside out (I included a note explaining why) & 'padded' the bling a little with a tissue & it went through with no problems.
What do you all do? Any advice?
Thanks!
Here's a good link to check out at the USPS website:
Basically, if your envelope is ok as far as size goes, you can send it 1st class mail. Square envelopes are considered non-machinable and cost extra. What you need to be careful of with cards and "bling" is that it doesn't make the envelope thicker than 1/4", because then the envelope won't go through the postal machines and you will need to pay an extra non-machinable charge.
The weight of an envelope is a whole other thing. Most of my cards go with only one first class stamp with no problems.
I put an extra piece of cardstock over the front of the card and place it to the back side of the envelope. Also, if there is a "bump" from an embellishment, even if it is not more than 1/4" thick, I try to put the card in the envie so that the bump is on the other end from the stamp, since that part goes through the machines first.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Thanks for replies - mine are never more than the 1/4" & always fit through the slider thing - it's the hard little bling or the knot in the bow that will make some offices charge more & some don't. It's just not consistent. Maybe I need to quit asking - but I would hate someone to have to pay postage on their end! :-)
I like the idea of putting another piece of cardstock versus turning the card inside out - will try that next time.
Thanks again! I'm open to more ideas too if there are any out there!
Thanks for replies - mine are never more than the 1/4" & always fit through the slider thing - it's the hard little bling or the knot in the bow that will make some offices charge more & some don't. It's just not consistent. Maybe I need to quit asking - but I would hate someone to have to pay postage on their end! :-)
I like the idea of putting another piece of cardstock versus turning the card inside out - will try that next time.
Thanks again! I'm open to more ideas too if there are any out there!
For what it's worth, I quit asking at the counter. It seemed to depend on which clerk you got that day, whether they said extra postage or not.
I do the system I mentioned above, with the extra piece of cardstock over the front. I send most of my cards to my family and close friends, and I've asked them if they ever receive my cards postage due. They say they never have. I just put my stamps on and drop them in the mail chute at the PO, not at the counter.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Like Bugga said, it depends on which clerk you get on any given day I've actually gotten envelopes from family that they took to their post office to make sure the postage was correct and my post office decided that the envelope was really a package and charged me an extra $2 to pick it up. And one year my mother did Christmas cards with small buttons - most went thru fine, but she got 3 of them back for more postage. Why only those 3? Makes no sense.
I've had good luck with the extra piece of cardstock - I run it thru a crimper and that seems to help cushion some of the bling. I also have a mess of that really thin foam packing material (it's about 1/16 of an inch thick) that I cut to a little smaller than card size and use that to cushion the bling without adding enough thickness to be a problem.
The reason they charge more for the"bling" or hard embellishments is that those type of things catch on the machinery. Those envelopes need to be hand cancelled or something like that.
I save foam sheets that things are wrapped in to place over the card front to keep the bling from ripping the envelope.
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I avoid the counter if I can. Really big or fancy cards I will mail in a bubble mailer but there are a lot of cards I know will go through if I just drop them in a box. Like others have said, some clerks are nicer than others and let more slide so to speak :-)
I had one lady once that literally almost tore the envelope open with her fingernail by scratching over and over where I had a TINY embellie that should have gone through no problem. In fact I think it was just something popped up on a dimensional. She grilled me about "WHAT IS THIS?" like yelling at me while scratching at it. I was so mad. She acted like I was trying to mail lighter fluid or something. I explained it was a hand made card and she didn't seem to "get it". Sigh…..
That being said, I have NOT been mailing cards, bad stamper!!!!
Oooo I like the crimp card stock idea too!
I'll have to start saving more packaging I think!
My friend had her whole stack of Christmas cards returned to her this year for more postage! She had a few cards with more bling & she had added more postage to those but they never looked through the stack - just returned them all! Not a happy card maker!
Thanks for all the input & ideas!
It doesn't even matter if you ask at the counter-- I got a card from someone that had clearly been taken to the counter. Her clerk clearly determined it qualified as a large envelope and put postage on it accordingly.
My post office determined that "large envelope" was the wrong class and asked me for a dollar and change-- the difference between the large envelope rate and the package rate.
Now, this is not a huge deal in the overall course of my life and I just dug out change from my change jar and put it back in the mailbox, no big deal, and I would never mention it to the sender. But even asking the counter isn't foolproof.
I was instructed to add 23 cents for a regular sized envelope that had to be hand cancelled. I've been writing "Hand Cancel" on the envelopes, adding the postage, and I've had no problems. Anything hard to the touch with dimension qualifies for hand cancelling. For oversized envelopes without bulk I also add 23 cents or another Forever stamp on the really big ones, and have had no problems.
My post office is fickle - one day cards with bling will be fine, the next day the exact.same.card won't. And they don't send them through and have the recipient pay the extra postage, they return them to me. :( I found this out the hard way last Christmas - one bunch of cards went out fine, the group of the same cards I sent the next day from the same post office showed up back in my mailbox with a note for more postage.
Now I try to stay away from excessive bling on my Christmas cards...
Sometimes I stick a sticker or a piece of tape over that bump on the backside of the envelope. Then the little bead, or whateever I have won't poke through the envelope and raise a fuss.
Advice needed for mailing cards....
