BUBBLE ENVELOPES and postage rates

oh I understand now.

Has anyone had any experience with bubble envelopes for international mail lately? I was going to do a trade with Tuinkabouter in The Netherlands. Z

Since I seldom mail more that--maybe 2--bubble envelopes, none have ever come back. I NEVER take them to the PO--as I know they will sock-it-to me! I have curb-side P/U. Just weigh them and put them in my mail box.
Even when I trade seeds--I just ask for 2-42cent stamps. They always go OK.

If one is mailing only a couple of packets of seeds--you can cut a 5"x7" b-envelope in half and send it in that. Saves money too. Small BE's now cost 99cents each! If on sale--they might be 59cents. One simply MUST include that in the cost of mailing anything!
Many times I also send seed packets (unless the seeds are bulky) in a regular 3x5 envelope. I put 2 index cards on either side to keep it flat--and off they go.

It helps to have a Postal Scale--that will let you weigh your letters.
I bought one for $3 years ago at a flea market....It will weigh things up to 4oz.

I suppose mass mailings of BE's will always get someone's attention......

Gita

How's this one? I received a fairly large BE folded in half and placed in a small business sized envelope today for a SABE seed trade. The small business sized envelope with the BE inside got here for 83 cents!!!!!!

I sent it out with some seeds-very lightweight - and had told the person sending for the seeds to put $1.17 on it so to make sure she would get it. Didn't want to take chances that the seeds wouldn't get where they were going.

How much sense does this make? The 83 cents postage, by the way, looks like a post office stamp of some kind.

Linda

Does anybody know how to get 18 cent electronic delivery confirmation on first class parcels?

I've learned recently that if I do DC at the post office, it's 70 cents, but the counter guy said if I printed it ahead of time it would be only 18 cents.

The problem is, it doesn't look like you can print First Class postage any more on Click & Ship (you get a choice of priority mail, 2 day, overnight, etc -- but not first class).

Try using Shipping Asst. You can download this from usps website.

Did you all know the postage is going up again? It is going to be cheaper to drive them there. :)

Congress gave the post office permission to raise the rates annually without needing permission to do so. It is supposed to save money not to have to petition every time they want to raise the rates.

Save money for who? It isn't the little people.

Since when do the little people count except to pay taxes and buy stamps LOL

Thanks, Lilli. I'll look into that.

Kathy you are so right.

On the philosophical side of all this---How cheap it really is! Don't complain!!!!

--WHERE else in the World can you get guaranteed delivery of a letter for only 42 cents?
And feel assured that it will get there. To their home mail-box? Safely!
--NO ONE pilfering it! Trashing it! Keeping all the contents....
--NO ONE steaming it open to remove any cash sent! This is common in many countries
you send thing to. I know--it has happened to me!
--Delivery to your home. You do not have to drive to a PO to get your mail.
Even in some areas in the USA--you have to do this. My Sister lives in Alaska--and she
has to drive about 5 miles to her local PO to P/U her mail. BUT--It will be there-
guarantee!

I don't like the raising price of stamps either--but I think we all need to be grateful about the safety of mailing anything in the USA--and knowing it will get to the recipient safely.

I hope you all realize how little we, actually, pay for this privilege.

Gita

I too have delt with the inconsistancy of the Post Offices. One day 82 cents, the next 1.50. They need to get it right.

I have 2 post office I frequent. One always charges me what seems to be higher rates than the other, but when I use them, packages seem to arrive at their destinations much faster than the other. I use them alot. I don't mind paying for the better service.

I've had mail take 3 weeks to arrive at its destination from my towns post office. Twice when I was paying for an ebay item. The sellers didn't believe me at first that I had mailed out the payment, but when they received the payments, they were always stamped with the date I had told them I had mailed out the payment.
Also, many times I receive packages later than what you would normally think. Many times 'priority' takes 5 to 6 days to reach me.

I find it interesting the small Post Office areas popping up ... Meijers, one in a gas station here too. I wonder how the Post men and women feel about these.

toofew

I don't have a problem with the postal rate increases--seems like a fairly regular occurance since I was a teenager in the 80's. Gas and wages etc didn't only increase for the consumer over the years. I believe I read somewhere that this was the first year that the USPS operated in the red. Not a good thing when so many things are still dependent on that service. I'm for the 4 day delivery week although I'm hoping it doesn't result in a bunch of layoffs--I don't want anyone to become unemployed.

I, like most here, have the biggest issue with the consistant inconsistancies of the rules and the employee' interpretation of them from one PO branch to another. I know the weight of the mail does matter when loading an aircraft--figuring the ratio of feul to weight of shipment and distance but the average stamp/service buying customer doesn't care about that when they are waiting in line to mail their stuff. Simplification would be nice. How is it that media mail is laid out on such simple terms and everything else is so nitpicky.

Gita....there is NO such thing as guaranteed delivery, not here or anywhere else in the universe, not with the P.O. or any other mail/shipping company or agency. Stuff happens and things don't arrive. There is misdelivered mail. I've gotten other people's mail and other people got mine, not uncommon here. Cases of employees who sometimes stole mail or just kept it for some reason, not common, but it happens. I DO have to go to the P.O. to get mail addressed to my local address on a regular basis. Signature required, package too big for my little community box, gotta go 15 miles, there and back. Happens a lot. We don't get any discount because we live in the country and it's inconvenient for them to deliver to the houses. So I don't feel so special compared to other countries...and I've lived overseas.

For small seeds this has worked 100% for me. I use small plastic bags and tape them in the middle of a standard enevolpe. Won't work for big seeds or large amounts but for a single trade or two it works well. The machines only touch the upper and lower part of the enevolpe but doesn't crush the middle.

Give it a try bet it will work.

If anyone out there got crushed seeds from me say something. When I first started doing this I would ask people how the seeds showed up and everyone said just showed up just fine.

I also give my mail lady seeds so I'm sure she won't be giving me a problem with anything I send out from my box within reason. That old saying of who you know does work.

I have receive my seeds that way and it's fine and I do use that technique, but sometimes I forget to check to make sure they are OK.

CoreHHI---WOW! Who knew? Now we all do. 100% is good enough for me.

And, to everyone else on this thread. I think the USPS has their Nerve to up their prices in this economy. And, i guess it's coming again soon. Geez---and they are government, too. Or, are they now?
And, Critter, I understand your dilemma and surprise when they quoted you the price. You just must have wanted to pick up the pieces and stomp out, but at the same time you were there to get the job done. Been there, done that. It just gets harder and harder to lead a simple life.

Yeah, even though it was just a few bucks, after all the time I'd spent packing seeds, I was bummed by having anything not work out!

Thanks for the tip on the USPS shipping assistant. I downloaded it, and it does look like I'll be able to print first class postage now with 18 cent delivery confirmation. I hope so, as that will make me feel better about sending out any purchased seeds. (I worry less about trade packets, since I know I can generally replace the seeds if they get lost, which almost never happens.)

I've been printing shipping labels from a link through PayPal. I think it was posted at my book trading site by someone who has a seller's account since I can't seem to get to it through my regular account. I just saved it to my favorites and it will prompt for sign in to your account and take you to the screen where you key in the address and choose the type of postage service and pkg size/weight if necessary. Of course for the books everything is media mail:) DC prints out on all of the labels there too--don't remember if there is an additional charge or not--didn't seem like it though.
Once you enter all the info and are ready--you just click to pay from paypal and print.

I like that I don't have to whip out the credit card since it's through the paypal system. An email is sent to you as well in reference to having printed a shipping label. I believe there is a reprint option available for a certain amount of time as well.

If anyone who has paypal would like the link dmail me and I'll send it to you.

What does anybody know about stamps.com? Thanks.

Very cool! I just discovered that payments to my new premier paypal account have a "print shipping label" link. The only First Class mail option is for parcels, but that works fine since as I said at the top my local post office has decided all BE's are parcels. Delivery confirmation is automatically added for 18 cents. Hooray!

For small simple seeds - like tomatoes and peppers I use something really very simple and easy - buy the thickest Christmas cards when they go on sale after the season and - and tape up to about 6 plastic envies in there spaced out over the area in the card and they will be fine. They must be a flat, small seeds - nothing big bulky or such but I was able to trade with several folks this way for a regular stamp - and seeing a lot of my seeds have been tomatoes peppers and wildflowers it worked out great for me and saved a lot of money.

Good idea---I always have old Christmas cards left since I have such a short list now-a-days. Besides, gardeners will get either an early or a late greeting depending on when sent.

I wish (or maybe I don't, haha) that all the seed and plant companies would take paypal.

Here is a good tip. Did you know you can turn envelopes inside out & use them over again? (not the bubble wrap kind), Just retape or glue. Yeah, I know it sounds cheap but I do that with cardboard boxes, also. Anywhere I can save $$$$$ so I can indulge more in my greenthumb hobby.

And...............Breaking federal laws here! Any uncanceled stamp I receive on my mail gets cut off and soaked off...and used again!

Catch me if you can!!!!!!!

Hey Gita, last December, I took Priority mail boxes, turned them insideout & successfully mailed packages over to my UK penpals. Until one smart Post Office mgr caught on & my DH brought the last box back. I wrapped it in heavy brown paper & they had to take it. LOL. Why should I pay priority mail prices when regular airmail is muchcheaper?