General Forum

That amount due means it was Specific to being a package. Over 1/4" thick most likely. I got one of these. It had a hard case inside of a full length envelope.  Keep your PWE's flexible. Stiff as board is not good for the machines. If placed in a card board sandwich then don't tape fully along the top and bottom edges of the cardboard. This makes it hard to flex . Using the sleeved pages in the #10(long) envelope allows the envelope to flex in between the pockets.

Machine friendly.

If needed. Mail 2 envelopes instead of 1 Large,thick "stiffy" lol lol.

Having your own scale does wonders for mailing out from home..

I also have a small digital caliper to check thickness.

I tape the leading edge(rightside) to reinforce it from tearing. I haven't gotten any feedback from traders. So I assume its working good.

donn

Same.  Much less hassle that way.

The woman that works the desk when I take my lunch is a bit of a pain and makes it impossible to ship to Canada but she weighs it all and makes sure everything is shipped correctly.  Never had any postage problems that I'm aware of.

I also go directly to the PO so I know postage is always correct. I've never had a PWE with postage due and probably only had 1 or 2 in over 200 trades damaged despite paying the non-machine surcharge. PO's across this country are amazingly inconsistent. 

As Spaz said a digital scale is inexpensive and I use Pirateship.com and I am surprised at the savings for bubble mailers and boxes.  And I usually add a few ounces to make sure my weight is good.

I think I bought a huge amount of mailer labelers for my printer for $8 on Amazon.  Honestly, just the simplicity of it is worth it to me.

Regards!

In the states, 3oz is the max weight. Otherwise, it will be classified as a package (postage due will be somewhere in the $4-5 range). Use a scale. It is so worth it to buy a $10-15 scale on Amazon. Also, buy 1oz stamps so you do not need two forever stamps on an envelope between 1-3oz. That will save you money too.

The other tips are also pretty good. Keep your envelope flexible -- much more likely to get through the machines and, ironically, much more likely to get through unscathed. I've never had an issue with PWE. If you must sandwich the cards with cardboard, use cereal box cardboard or similar. It is flexible enough to where it shouldn't get caught in the machines.

Actually 3.5 oz is the max weight for a standard letter (max dimensions 6 1/8” x 11 1/2”, max thickness 1/4”).  Next is the large envelope up to 13 oz (max dimensions 12” x 15”, max thickness 3/4”) usually in the $2-$4 range.  If you exceed those limits, then you become a package.

Very inconsistent. I recently received 2 sold cards back with a postage due sticker, and I dropped both of them off with a Postal Clerk at my local PO, who weighed it and confirmed it was under an ounce and put it with the outgoing mail. 

It’s an issue with inconsistent practices at different POs a lot of the time and it is very frustrating.

Absolutely is! I won't go to the PO near my job because they always try to overcharge me compared to the PO a few miles from my house. It's always something. And, rather than argue, I just go where I know they know what they're talking about. 

Not many people talk about the first class large envelope.

This is a good option when it is thicker.

Mark 

I’m curious if anyone who has had PWEs arrive with postage due (not because of the shipper not weighing and adding the extra ounce stamp(s)) did so when a non-machineable stamp was used? It certainly would seem to rule out the issue of it not fitting in the machine. 

Also, what are people’s general opinions on non-machineable vs. first class postage?  I’m still pretty new to the world of PWEs but so far I have only used non-machineable stamps with no issues (knock on wood). I’ve also had people tell me that once it is dropped off at the PO there’s a good chance it is treated like any other letter.