ColdHouse
Bay Area,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, November 13, 2011
The OP is correct.
Right there on the provided envelope I have in front of me it says "any amount of mailable material may be enclosed, as long as the envelope is not modified, and the contents are entirely confined within the envelope with the adhesive provided as the means of closure."
I think that pretty much says it all.
Additional rules are that it must not exceed 70 pounds and "the container flaps must be able to close within the normal folds." I regularly ship out bulky clothing and also receive 7 or 8 yards of fabric in these envelopes, all perfectly within the guidelines. You can use extra tape to strengthen the seams and closures.
They do have thickness rules for standard envelopes, non priority flat rate. The 3/4" Ashley mentioned goes for a standard large envelope, not the letter size Flat Rate Priority one in question.
Obviously the workers at this referred to post office misunderstood: flat RATE, not flat ENVELOPE! They learned they were wrong yet decided to be rude to the customer who proved them so. I've had postal workers change the rules on me several times when I knew they were wrong. When they learned that I was actually right, they acted like they were doing me a favor by adhering to the rules. "It's been that way for months" they said. "Then why did you accept similar items when I was here several times in the last month?" Once I was even told that the rule didn't have exact wording, but she was allowed to decide if it measured appropriately just by feeling it. I told her to just mail it, I'll take my chances on it being returned.
OP -- did you try asking them to show you in their big book of postal rules where it says the envelope has to be flat? Besides, "flat" is impossible as even 1/4" of paper would technically be not flat as the edges would slope down and the profile of the envelope would be more of a pointed ellipse .... flat is a matter of opinion in that case, and the post office is an department of exact weights and measures.
I do all my domestic postage at home through the USPS website and drop it in the mailbox. No need to deal with the employees.
Basically, as advertised .... if it fits, it ships.
ColdHouse
Bay Area,#3Consumer Comment
Sun, November 13, 2011
The OP is correct.
Right there on the provided envelope I have in front of me it says "any amount of mailable material may be enclosed, as long as the envelope is not modified, and the contents are entirely confined within the envelope with the adhesive provided as the means of closure."
I think that pretty much says it all.
Additional rules are that it must not exceed 70 pounds and "the container flaps most be able to close within the normal folds." I regularly ship out bulky clothing and receive 7 or 8 yards of fabric in these envelopes, all perfectly within the guidelines. You can use extra tape to strengthen the seams and closures.
They do have thickness rules for standard envelopes, non priority flat rate. The 3/4" Ashley mentioned goes for a standard large envelope, not the letter size Flat Rate Priority one in question.
Obviously the workers at this referred to post office misunderstood: flat RATE, not flat ENVELOPE! When they learned they were wrong yet decided to be rude to the customer who proved them so. I've had postal workers change the rules on me several times when I knew they were wrong. When they learned that I was actually right, they acted like they were doing me a favor by adhering to the rules. "It's been that way for months" they said. "Then why did you accept similar items when I was here several times in the last month?" Once I was even told that the rule didn't have exact wording, but she was allowed to decide if it measured appropriately just by feeling it. I told her to just mail it, I'll take my chances on it being returned.
OP -- did you try asking them to show you in their big book of postal rules where it says the envelope has to be flat? Besides, "flat" is impossible as even 1/4" of paper would technically be not flat as the edges would slope down and the profile of the envelope would be more of a pointed ellipse .... flat is all a matter of opinion in that case, and the post office is an department of exact weights and measures.
I do all my domestic postage at home through the USPS website and drop it in the mailbox. No need to deal with the employees.
Basically, as advertised .... if it fits, it ships.
Ashley
springfield,#4REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sun, November 13, 2011
http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm100/dmm100.pdf
according to this publication from the USPS, envelopes may not exceed 3/4" So if your packges are an inch thick, you would need to pay additional postage.
Also, the reason you are paying 4.95 as opposed to 3.28, you are shipping it priority not first class. You are paying extra for a faster delivery.