General Forum

I'm a rookie at this and need your help.  Don't want to go down to the post office to get this figured out because they usually just end up being rude and scolding me.  I guess I don't have the required Bachelor's degree in USPS postage.

See images.  What am I doing wrong?  What would you recommend?  I think my first mistake was believing a youtube video that said under 2oz only needed one forever stamp?

https://i.imgur.com/m3ai8hU.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/S998GM1.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/EsIxcPw.jpeg

I just mailed a 3 oz letter with 1 stamp and got away with it while another 3 oz came back. The mysteries of USPS continues..........

Up to 1 oz is 58 cents

1-2 oz is 78 cents

2-3 is 98 cents.

And this is up to 1/4" thick then?  Should I not write 'DO NOT BEND' on it at all and just let it go through the sorting machinery?

They may be dinging you for the "do not bend" at the bottom of pics 1 & 3, which would require a non-machinable stamp that is good up to 2oz.  Also, just because you put a non-machinable stamp on a letter doesn't mean it won't go thru a machine.

The second photo looks like you may have a couple top loaders stacked in it?  The envelope needs to have some flex in it or they will make you pay as a small parcel.

I understand the 2nd photo getting dinged, but 1&3 is being a bit picky on the clerks part.

My guess is in picture 1 they were saying non machine able. In the other two they must have been too thick and were asking for package rates.

My extensive experience with PWE trading has been successful the majority of the time. I only recall three instances where there was an issue, and neither involved postage.

1. Envelope returned undeliverable to verified address and trade partner admitted postal delivery was an issue to his Georgia address at the time.
2. Envelope never received (or returned) to Canada buyer. He received the second envelope I sent him.
3. Large envelope had some cards in 9-pocket sheets fall out from pockets on it's way to Europe, but it arrived and resulted in me changing the way I package them.

As a disclaimer I must say that no one has informed me that they've had to pay extra postage upon arrival, so that's part of my fact base.

What I'd do is:

1. Follow USPS rate chart as glennchannell posted. I'd read and heard that one stamp up to 2 ounces statement, too, but the odds are against you on that per their documentation. In that first scenario I'd have added the $0.20 extra ounce stamp and sent it.
2. I spread out the cards to provide as even a distribution across the entire envelope. It's not written on the domestic mail documentation that I review, but on the international notice it states, "Pieces that are ... not uniformly thick pay package prices" and that may be what the postal clerk interpreted on item #2.
3. Not sure why item #3 was deemed to need package rate as the description falls within the range of postage you placed on the envelope (in fact, you overpaid in my estimation). I'd use a different post office or drop-box if possible in that case. 

My general practice on mailing PWEs is to pay exactly what the rates state, "weight NOT over..." but I have chosen to not pay non-machinable fees as the majority of what I receive has been put through the sorting machine so if they're not delivering that service, I'm not paying it. That's my only deviation from USPS documentation. But I don't usually interact with clerks, and try to avoid that part of the system, and I feel that's part of what is happening to your mail, maybe this one person stuck on his/her interpretation of their rules is causing you all these problems. I did recently deal with a clerk when PayPal eliminated first class international postage from their options to print from home when they transitioned to ShipStation. The postal clerk bent the envelope to make sure it qualified as regular international mail and didn't need package rates. I cringed, but that's in their documentation for international mail. 

Anyway I hope this helps. If you have any other questions that you don't wish to post in the forums feel free to reach out by email.

As a former postal carrier (retired 12/24/21 !) and frequent trader, here are my views on your packages. The first photo, says "do not bend" making it "non machinable" which requires an 88 cent stamp....you have a 58 on there, need 30 more. Second photo, looks bulky and loose (can see crease line near bottom of envelope, which makes me think contents are loose). The $4 additional needed, means they think its too thick and bulky and has to go at package rate. Also the envelope is not a standard envelope size (a #10 or a #6 3/4), and you have stated  "do not bend" on it, which again makes it non machinable, and you have a standard 58 cent first class on it. The 3rd envelope looks ok, but they again are requesting a package rate, meaning the contents are shifting causing thick bulk, or it is thicker than 1/4". I would take them to a clerk and ask them their reasoning, as it is the only way to understand their process. No 2 clerks do it exactly the same has been my experience. Find one you like and keep going back to them. If in doubt, don't just mail it, because it will probably come back. Also, I have made a cardboard gauge with a 1/4" slot in it for testing shipments. It has to slide easily through, if it hangs up....package rate. Hope this info helps in any way.  ~ Ed

I'm in the area of 800+ PWE mailings. 

One Forever stamp is good up to one ounce, not two ounces.  Are you confusing a Global stamp which is good up to two ounces.

First thing I noticed was you have writing in the "no writing" zone.  No writing below 5/8" from the bottom.  That area is for the delivery bar code to be applied.

The first one is correct. 30 cents for the rigid (non-machinable) surcharge.

Second one, needs 60 cents extra postage for second ounce and rigid (non-machinable) surcharge. But not $4.02.

Last one would require an additional second ounce and rigid surcharge (60 cents) to the Forever stamp, $1.18. You have two Forever stamps, $1.16. So 2 cents short, but not $3.44.

Your letters probably got sent to manual sorting because the machines detected the writing on the bottom. And then a rogue clerk who doesn't know the rules decided to call them packages.  I no longer put "Do Not Bend" on my non-machinable mail. It's like a red flag to ignorant rogue clerks.

It was probably my video that you watched.  I can only relay my personal experience and as with anything your mileage may vary.

I am a few short of 300 PWES sent currently.

About 80% of those were one forever stamp.

4 of them have come back for additonal postage.  The first one I was just seeing how far I could go before they sent it back and it was the first one over 2 ozs so that is where I set my limit.

The next 2 were the same day around christmas and both were just under 1.5 ozs.  I think a human may have somehow been involved in that one because it had not happened before or since.   I put an additonal ounce stamp on them, resent them, and they made it.

I just got one back the other day and when I weighed it again it was just under 2ozs then it ticked to exactly 2ozs.

Like spotrscommish said, If you leave it up to a person then you get what they interpret the rules to be.  I always let the automated machines handle it and I do not believe they take any special instructions that you write on the envelope. The "do not bend" is just for the mailman dropping it off at the house because when you drop it the blue mailbox it goes through the machines until it goes out for delivery. 

My experiece says that if you use standard letter sized envelopes, keep it under 1/4" thick, under 2ozs, let it go through the machines, make it not too rigid, it will go through.  If you want to be safe and put an additonal ounce stamp on all them then it should be within USPS documentation that others have mentioned and never get any back.