Apologies for Postage Due

[Holly Cooper]

My sincerest apologies for the tamales candy cards which arrived postage due to some of all on my list of folks I owe mail to.  They were 6 inches by about 3 1/4, which is not too large, but the smaller dimension was less than 3 1/2.  There were some mylar confetti pieces, tape and ribbon stitched on the cards.  Did they get charged extra because they were an odd size? Anyone have theories?  I'd like to not make a mistake like that again.

[Holly Cooper]

I was wondering after I got the first message about postage due yesterday if there were ways I could get less scrutiny by the mail folks... I put the cards out on my home mail box.  My mail carrier has gotten to see some interesting and odd things go out this summer.  Maybe he's tired of dealing with it? Maybe if I dropped mine in a big box down the street it would be better.  I believe in supporting the USPS, I think most of us do. We have mail delivery at bargain prices, really.  But I really thought just using a regular first class stamp would have been adequate for an odd sized piece.  They charged 35 cents extra.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Yah, it sounds like you'll have to get creative with the boxes. Post offices and even postal workers in the same office differ in how lenient they'll be, I've noticed (I'm pretty new at this); some would let the 1/4" go, and others, who knows why not. One guy at the post office here not only refused to hand-cancel my stamps but also complained that I'm using too many of them!  I didn't notice how much more expensive your "odd-shape" piece would be, but remember being amazed by the price when I ran into this challenge. Good luck!

[Holly Cooper]

No, Nancy, don't get lost.  I appreciate the comment.  I knew about the dimensions and that I was a bit small, but I wanted to believe that they wouldn't notice.  I mean 1/4 inch off??  That's a stiff penalty.  Well, next time I'll know.  But I was hoping to use the Hot Tamales boxes again, however they aren't 3 1/2 inches.  I could use the side, but then there's a fold I might have to try reinforcing. Hmmm...

[Nancy Bell Scott]

By smaller dimension, I mean the minimum height. It's 3 1/2, and you say yours were 3 1/4, yes? So that causes the cost to go up. It would be classified as "odd shape." If I'm not getting the problem, you can tell me to get lost now :--)

[Nancy Bell Scott]

It's the smaller dimension that was the problem.  When you go outside their min or max in any direction, the cost automatically goes up:  http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm100/tips-measure-letters.htm

[Holly Cooper]

Thanks, Nancy. 

I did look there, that's why I thought I might be OK. Silly me!

They give a minimum ( 5 x 3 1/2) and maximum (6 x 4 1/2) size.  I thought since I was bigger than 5 x 3 1/2 I would be OK.  I really didn't expect that the extra charge, if there was one, would be so much.  I mean, why would they charge more than for a first class letter? I don't mind paying extra, but how do we figure out how much other than going to the P.O.? For those of us who work outside the home this can be tricky.  Plus I dislike doing business with people who don't make eye contact. 

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Hi Holly, yes, they charge extra for odd size. This page on the USPS site will help you figure the cost of anything you send. I use it constantly as do no doubt many others:  http://ircalc.usps.gov/