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Location: Lake Bonaparte, NY and New Port Richey, FL
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Wish me luck....mailing clear envie Christmas cards!
Last year I had no trouble mailing my Christmas cards in clear envies (from my home in northern NY). Ok....this year I take a sample to my PO in Florida and am told they are fine....just bring them all back in this USPS cardboard carton. The next day, doing so, I am told by another worker that each one will have to go as a package because they are "slicks"....$1.57 postage. What???? The 1st worker then denies having told me they were OK to go the day before. So, after reading many threads on here, I've done as many others and just given them to my rural carrier (who gladly took the 2 bundles). My story....I was told at the PO they were fine to go!!!!!
So, wish me luck in that no one has to pay extra postage to get them....LOL
I have been told that if the addresses are black on white sticker labels, they are ok. When mailing lots I mail them in small groups from different mailboxes, or on different days.
__________________ ~Vee
It's not who you know-it's whom you know.
Location: prolly in my 'rubber room'... in the mid-west
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vee
I have been told that if the addresses are black on white sticker labels, they are ok. When mailing lots I mail them in small groups from different mailboxes, or on different days.
Cathy H...I have used only clear envelopes for all my cards for about 4 years now....I had one of 40 returned for more postage at Thanksgivng. I just peeled off the sticker they put on it, it came off easily and threw it back in the mail box. It was delivered just fine the second time around and I never added any additional postage...isnt that a hoot. OP I am glad your cards all made it. I never add an additional stamp. The card that came back for more postage was one of the few that were local too. It is weird how none of the mail guys give you the same answer.
Blessings.
I just received a Christmas card in a clear envelope. The card base was white, and she just used the back of the card for my address (and her return address in the corner). It arrived fine, with just one 42 cent stamp.
I think if you put them in your mailbox, it seems to be okay. The trouble seems to be when you go into the post office and take them to the counter. And it seems you different answer at every post office, from each postal worker. Example: I had read that square cards needed extra postage. I took a stack of square cards that I needed to mail to the post office. The postal clerk told me they just needed regular 42 cent stamps, so that's what I put on them, and they all arrived at their destination. Yet I've read stories on here where others had to use extra postage. Go figure!
__________________ Carla
The more we thank, the more we discover we have to be thankful for.
I take them into the postoffice and the nice guy there hand stamps them and sends me on my way. If I drop them in a box they come back to me asking for more postage.
I pretty much only use the clears, and I think that I've only had 2 people tell me that they had to pay a $0.17 (I think) fee. I just stick them in my mailbox and they go fine.
I put over 50 in my box this am with clear envelopes as usual. So far I have only ever gotten 1 back and that was just at Thanksgiving. I love that the stickers they put on the returned one peel right off leaving the label intact..I just put it in a diff mail box with no additional postage and it arrived just fine. go figure...Blessings.
I have only used clear envelopes for the past 5 years and I mail out a lot of cards. I have never paid extra postage nor received any back. I always drop them in the drive-up big blue USPS mailboxes. If you take them up to the counter you'll get a different answer every time.
I have mailed about 150 Christmas cards a year for about 8 years. All in the clear envelopes. I have learned to put out about 8 or 9 only per day in the mail box for the carrier to pick up. It is not enough to make anyone give them a second look.
If I take them to the post office and ask a clerk she will tell you 70 to 90 cents EACH! If I drop them in the post office slot at the post office, they will package them all up, send them back and demand $1.57 each for them. Learned the hard way.
Just get them ready and mail a few per day with your own carrier. I have never ever gotten one back that way. It is a don't ask, don't tell, and they will go just fine.
Isn't it interesting that these highly paid people are so poorly trained that you can ask 5 and get 5 different answers? You just have to outsmart them, and LOL, it is not that difficult.
I've sent a lot of them out in the clear envelopes and have never gotten any back. No one has said that they had to pay for extra postage either. I love it when I get one in the mail in the clear envelopes! It's so exciting to me!!
Wow you would think that the P.O. would have a set rule/answer for the clear not just what day it is kind of rule. My bff always sends to me in clear envelope and I have never had to pay extra.
__________________ ************************************************************** Deborah "Imagination is more important than knowledge" ~ Albert Einstein
here is my clear envie / holiday cards story: i had went to our local post office, she told me that the cards were fine to mail. no extra postage. so a few days later i mailed them off. 2 days later i go back to pick our mail at the post office & she hands me all of the cards i had mailed out. she was told they all needed an extra .22 on them. i tried not to make any of the cards bulky or bumpy, but need extra postage anyway. i am having a hard time selling cards or even having anyone want to make cards this year. now esp. with having to put .64 on each card, i can see i will not be selling any.
uote=tara1601;12365629]why do you use clear envelopes?[/quote]
I can't explain why the PO charges a different rate based on the day, person you ask or how many you put in the box. I am appalled that sometimes they say it's $1.57, same as for a package! oUCH!!
But I can explain why people like to use them...they are so cool and it's so fun for everyone along the way to be able to enjoy your art work! But now a little story...I mail cards to my in-laws in the clear cards and one time my FIL asked me, "why do you wrap your cards up in Saran Wrap to mail them?". lol!
i had never used clear envies to mail cards before, i just thought it would be different & i liked the idea of others seeing my cards along the way. next time i will stay away from any ribbon or anthing that that adds bulk to the card. just one layer cards i guess. maybe i will sell more if i just do the single layer cards. i had heard some people complain about having to add the extra postage to handmade cards.
thats a neat idea!! so where to you put the mailing address and the return address?
I just use labels, that way the card isn't messed up. The clear ones work great!
I also have never gotten one back either for insufficient postage (and i don't put any extra on to start with either)
Good Luck!
__________________ Living in the land of "The Walking Dead"
aka: 25 miles south of Atlanta and 100 Years away 2013 Goals:
Feb - 5 SB pages(6/5)YTD SB Pages: 7
Thank you all for sharing! I specifically just logged in to see if there was anything special that I needed to do before I sent out my Christmas cards in clear envies. Hopefully they will all go out ok!
Marco paper has some wonderful ones. I have mailed them for years and only had one sent back. I use Avery 8160 labels for my address and just stick a return address label.
__________________ ~Tori Pink Cat Studio's Digi DT Member * GD Whiff of Joy Stamps - April/May 2010
Check out my Blog! - The Fishy-Scrapper's Chronicles
i had never used clear envies to mail cards before, i just thought it would be different & i liked the idea of others seeing my cards along the way. next time i will stay away from any ribbon or anthing that that adds bulk to the card. just one layer cards i guess. maybe i will sell more if i just do the single layer cards. i had heard some people complain about having to add the extra postage to handmade cards.
The problems with embellishments come from the fact that they are bumpy, and give the envelope an uneven thickness. To counteract this, just run a quarter-sheet of cheap cardstock (non-SU! white is perfect for this! ;)) through the Fiskars crimper and slide it into the envie on top of the card front. Presto! The envelope is of an even thickness, and embellishments like brads and buttons won't serve as spots where the postal sorting equipment can snag and tear the paper.
__________________ 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"
A very interesting debate. We have the same problem in Canada. The people in the post office have no idea what costs what, depends on the day. I have always been a fan of mailing things from the box as much as possible.
Here is my secret from university so shhhhh... I was always a few cents behind on the stamps so I would always put the return address either as the same address or the neighbor of where the card/letter was actually going. It was too much work to figure out where to return it to, so they always got there....
Location: Lake Bonaparte, NY and New Port Richey, FL
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Susan...I cut an additional piece of white cardstock to put against the back of the card (inside the clear envie) and place my address and my return address on that. You must put the postage stamp on the outside so it can be cancelled....HTH.
Here is my secret from university so shhhhh... I was always a few cents behind on the stamps so I would always put the return address either as the same address or the neighbor of where the card/letter was actually going. It was too much work to figure out where to return it to, so they always got there....
Hmmm, if folks this side of the border are cheating the system like that, it may explain at least part of why our postage rates go up so often! :rolleyes:
__________________ 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"
Wish me luck....mailing clear envie Christmas cards!
