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Just wondering how many of you out there get cards or RAK with postage due?
I have been getting hit up for anywhere from .12 to .37 lately. for everything that comes. This week alone I got several birthday cards all with postage due. The senders HAVE no idea. That the .37 stamp is not enough.
Just woundering if it's just my post office They seem to be hard on us stampers.
So by writing this I hope it will make all of think about the receiver of that card and have them weighed before sending them off. I bought a scale to help me as I now wonder now many of my cards some one had to pay extra to see.
Cindy
Cindy,
There was a post about this earlier. When you send the postage for your swaps you should send at least one extra stamp because the swaps from the other people my be heavier than the ones that you did. That would be either due to more layers or more embellishments.
the P.O. is probably charging the 12 cent surcharge if there are embellishments which make the card " bumpy", it's due to the automatic sorting machines detecting "odd shapes"
Someone told me that if you fold the card inside out, the postage machine has no problem. I know it doesn't look the same, but otherwise it's an extra charge.
__________________
Mary Kay
"Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think." Buddha
Not to hijack this thread, but I had an embarassig thing happen to me. My husband's family is from a small town. When I sent our wedding invitations, 4 invitations went to this small town and they all were charged "postage due". :oops: No one else had that problem. I just think that someone in that small town post office didn't have anything better to do than weigh every piece of mail (by the way I did have them weighed and was told that one stamp would be fine).
Someone told me that if you fold the card inside out, the postage machine has no problem. I know it doesn't look the same, but otherwise it's an extra charge.
It's not the smoothness of the card or envelope but the thickness. If you add embellishments they will probably charge regardless. There is a template that the USPS uses to determine the thickness. If the envelope won't fall through the slot in the template (without pushing) there will be a .12 cent surcharge because it will need to handled differently than through the regular machine.
Just wondering how many of you out there get cards or RAK with postage due?
I have been getting hit up for anywhere from .12 to .37 lately. for everything that comes. This week alone I got several birthday cards all with postage due. The senders HAVE no idea. That the .37 stamp is not enough.
Just woundering if it's just my post office They seem to be hard on us stampers.
I went to the post office today to mail some cards and packages. They told me it because it won't go thur the machine and therefore they need to charge more. So to be safe I got some extra stamps (postage) and this way if I have anything that I think is to wide or lumpy...or just plain heavy. This way the person I'm RAKing won't get charged for my mistake.
According to my good old PO they told me anything over 1/4 inch thick - Anything in a Clear envelope or ODD size - including 6 x 6 or shaped. Can not go thru their automatic reader which is .12 Extra - Anything that weighs over the oz or whatever for a regular stamp would also get extra postage.
I personally weigh all my own stuff with a $20 scale i bought at office max - when in doubt i always add .12 to it.
I had several cards in clear envelopes that I took to the PO to purchase postage since I had read so many posts about them requiring extra postage. The postal clerk insisted that it was based only on weight and was .37 no matter what kind of envelope it was in. They have never questioned the thickness although I know that is a factor. I now put on extra .12 cents just in case.
I have a postal scale that I use to weigh packages. I usually print my own postage or use the automated postal center in the PO lobby. A while ago when I used the automated postal center the package weighed the same as on my scale at home. But, the machine couldn't print postage and I had to take the package to the counter and their scale weighed the package 3 ounces heavier than the automated center. Now I always pad the weight by about 3 ounces just to be sure.
I just received a RAK yesterday and got hit for the $.12 post due for a "thick" envelope- it was just a yard of folded ribbon. That is forgiveable mistake by the sender.
I've also been hit for about $2.60 from a swap beacuse the hostess used priority mail tape on the envelope for some reason and of course, did not put priority mail postage on the envelope. That was NOT forgiveable.
I do wish people would attention to the postage rules.
I went to the post office today to mail some cards and packages. They told me it because it won't go thur the machine and therefore they need to charge more. So to be safe I got some extra stamps (postage) and this way if I have anything that I think is to wide or lumpy...or just plain heavy. This way the person I'm RAKing won't get charged for my mistake.
Mail which cannot be sorted or scanned by machines must be dealt with by a real, live human (though that may be debateable!). Humans expect to be paid for their labor. Machines don't. Thus, mechanically sorted/read mail is cheaper for the USPS to handle.
I would have asked them to weigh it again. I was once in line at the PO with the money for the package and when they weighed it, it was more money than I estimated after weighing it at home. So I stepped out of line to scrounge around in my purse for more money. When I got back in line and they weighed the package again, they told me a different price (what I originally thought it would cost).
So bottom line is that their scales are not always right.
Oh - and if you just write "hand cancel" on a lumpy envelope instead of taking it to the post office for them to hand cancel, NO ONE will read your instructions.
(Mail which cannot be sorted or scanned by machines must be dealt with by a real, live human (though that may be debateable!). Humans expect to be paid for their labor. Machines don't. Thus, mechanically sorted/read mail is cheaper for the USPS to handle. )
(Rainsong)
Thank you for your post, BUT! I was telling others WHY! it cost MOREto mail.
Now that I'm using more ribbons, bows, fibers, brads, and beads, I have been putting a thin layer of either thin bubble wrap or foam that was used in packing other materials, on top of the front of my card, sliding it into an envelope, and then putting an extra 23 cent stamp on it. That's the "Second Ounce" amount. I didn't know about the 12 cents for thickness. I'll make sure to get some of those next time I'm out. I have a pretty good scale when something might be too heavy.
You should see me scrounging foam! LOL. I guess if I didn't have any, I'd consider a folded tissue on top of the embellishiments.... just trying to protect my card.
I'm trying to save up for my Christmas cards too, I'm putting beads on lots of them!
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
I've never had this problem, at least I don't think I have. I've never had anything come to me postage due in any kind of wrapping, and I've sent many cards out with embellishments. Usually I put on it to hand cancel. No one has ever told me they had to pay extra for a card I sent to them. If they did, I hope that they would have told me that just so I would know.
__________________
“Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else.” – Fred Rogers
Postage Due?
Cindy T
