Wedding Postage Nightmare - Part Two!
Getting the correct amount of postage on your wedding invitations is important...and also can be a nightmare. While post offices generally do a great job, when determining applicable postage, I have found a lot of inconsistencies.
What are some of the biggest problems I hear brides say they run into? Square invitations, addressing along the shortest side of the envelope (i.e. tea-length French flap envelopes), and the Dreaded Slot...Beware!
I can't stress enough - take your invitations to the post office for final determination on postage. The information below is not intended to be a set of rules that will guarantee adequate postage or your exhaustive, fail-safe guard against insufficient postage...these are just some descriptions and talking points that I have run across along the way that will at least help you get going in the right direction.
1. USPS Website - it's a good source, but it can lead you astray. My suggestion would be to use the "calculate your postage" option carefully -- and GO TO THE POST OFFICE to check your invitation postage prior to mailing.
2. Weight - how much your invitation weighs will in part determine the amount of postage you need to affix to the envelope.
3. Size - size can determine the rate of postage and whether your piece is mailable at all. The post office has minimum and maximum height and length restrictions for a piece to qualify as a letter. Under the restrictions? Not mailable. Over? Think extra postage as you're in the realm of Large Envelopes now.
4. Squares - many cool invitations are square. The post office classifies square envelopes as non-machinable, and at a minimum adds the current non-machinable surcharge to the amount of postage you need to affix. As per the USPS website, the minimum square size is 5 X 5.
5. Non-machinable - what does it mean? For starters, if you hear it, it means more postage! A piece is non-machinable if it must be physically sorted by a person because it can't be sorted through the USPS machines. Some non-machinable characteristics include: square, too rigid, clasps or other closures, address parallel to the shortest side of the envelope (more on this later), uneven surface (more on this later too), length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.
6. Short Siding - a sometimes popular option is to address tea-length invitations parallel to the shortest side of the envelope, using a long French-flap envelope. Again, this is cool and shouldn't be discouraged, but keep in mind that it will mean you need additional postage.
and finally...(hear the Jaws music)
7. The Dreaded Slot - many have fallen prey to the innocent-looking cardboard sheet with the slot. Postal workers look are your slightly thicker invitation and turn for this weapon. Then, casually, with one eye on you and a disapproving look waiting in the wings, they slip your invitation through the slot. If it makes it through the slot - one less additional postage charge...but if it doesn't fit through, it can mean an additional cost to you!
Even the most diligent can fall into postage traps - the best you can do is be prepared, know the terminology, and in true Type-A fashion, check at the post office, then check, check, check again...and then go home with your fingers crossed!
Don't forget about the May 11 postage increase - information and tips are posted below in an earlier message.
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