Post # 1
Member
1843 posts
Buzzing bee
I just went to the post office to find out how much postage I would need for my invitation suite. I knew I was over the 1 oz. rate and was expecting to pay 61 cents per invite. I have a raised pearl embellishment on my belly band around the invitation suite and this causes the postage to be charged an additional 20 cent up-charge, so 81 cents total.
Just a friendly reminder to all to make sure you take an example of your invite to the post office to make sure you’re paying accurate postage.
Post # 3
Member
5797 posts
Bee Keeper
Wait, you showed them the invite before putting it in the envelope?
Post # 4
Member
1843 posts
Buzzing bee
No … I handed them the closed shut envelope and they felt it and could feel the pearl through the envelope. If it’s not a flat surface, you have to pay the upcharge (that’s what she told me anyway).
Post # 5
Member
5797 posts
Bee Keeper
@milesbella: Oh boo, I would’ve have taken them to another post office to see if I could get away with a 61 cent stamp. A very cute, but expensive embellishment
Post # 6
Member
1843 posts
Buzzing bee
This is from the USPS website. I’m assuming mine qualifies for “clasps, strings, buttons….” and thus, is non-machinable (which costs an extra 20 cents)
Letters that meet one or more of the nonmachinable characteristics below are subject to the nonmachinable surcharge.
- It is a square letter
- It is too rigid – does not bend easily
- It has clasps, string, buttons, or similar closure devices
- It has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter
- It contains items such as pens that cause the surface to be uneven
- The length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5
Post # 7
Member
210 posts
Helper bee
Another word of advice – make sure the post office recalibrates their scale before they weigh your invite. I took a sample invite to have it weighed and they very helpfully told me a weight that was actually lower than it really was. So when I returned to the post office with a huge bag of stamped invites, they said, “Oops! You need more postage.” Cue total freakout in the post office.
Post # 8
Member
309 posts
Helper bee
Ugh same thing happened to me this week– unfortunately I had already stamped half of them. Now half have the wedding cake stamp, the other have the rings and a goat stamp! boo.
Post # 9
Member
7173 posts
Busy Beekeeper
Is it more than a 1/4″ thick? I had a wax seal on the inside my invites (sealing my pocket fold) – I took it to THREE post offices – because I didn’t believe the first one. If it goes through their 1/4″ inch lot (they have this cardboard cutout thing) it should be fine with the 61 cents.
2 postal workers told me I’d need the 81 cents… but the 3rd told me I needed only 61 (because it was flexible and went through the 1/4″ slot without issues).
I’d try mailing one at 61 cents and see what happens. Granted – the pearl might snag their machines – since it would sit up much higher… but, I still vote test run!
Post # 10
Member
310 posts
Helper bee
I dont mean to hijack your post but i absolutely love your invitations. Are they DIY or did you purchase them somewhere?
Post # 11
Member
246 posts
Helper bee
I had a different issue, well many issues with the post office, me and Canada Post are not friends right now, lol. I took my invite and reply card in and they said that the envelope for my reply card was too small and I would have to pay $1.21 beacuse they need to be special handled. No way I was doing that so I increased the size of the reply card by 1/2 inch. But at least I found out before they all got returned to the sender.
And..your invitations are beautiful!
Post # 12
Member
3866 posts
Honey bee
Hmmmm… This is a good thing to be reminded of! We’re not doing anything quite as fancy as that (ok, that and I’m just lazy, lol), but that “too rigid” has me wondering! lol.
Oh, well, I plan on at least getting the pocket folds done EARLY! Though we aren’t mailing ’em out till summer. Our STD’s, however, will go out soon, since a lot of our friends have to mark their calendars a year ahead of the date.
and I LOVE the suite! I’d SO keep every piece if I got that in the mail! (I have no clue where the invite for a friend’s wedding go to, lol)
Post # 13
Member
609 posts
Busy bee
I definitely would not have thought to do that! That would be one of those small details I would have over looked! And those invitations are really cute! I’m curious to if they were DIY?
Post # 14
Member
1843 posts
Buzzing bee
@jenny8283: From a previous post:
I got the invitation kit at Target for $39.99/50 invites (which included the invite, outside envelope, RSVP, RSVP envelope and pearlized pocket envelope). I had maps made by Etsy Seller, “lilacsandlace.” She originally was going to charge me $3 but she had them done w/in 24 hours, so I paid her $10. She emailed me the file and I printed them off myself on heavyweight paper. I had extra heavyweight paper so I did the Accommodation Sheet myself and printed it on the same heavyweight paper. The contents all go together in the heavyweight pearlized pocket envelope. Finally, I bought a patterned piece of 12×12 paper from Hobby Lobby and cut it into strips to use as the belly band and put a pearl applique sticker on the front.
I made 150 total – cost breakdown:
3 boxes of invitation kits – $119.97
250 sheets of heavyweight paper – $15.00
Maps – $10.00
Bellyband paper – 50 cents/sheet (will probably need 10 sheets) – $5.00
Pearl Appliques – $2.99/27 stickers – $16.60
TOTAL – Approximately $167
Cost per invitation – $1.11
