Sunday, May 13, 2007

New postal rates... I think.

Tomorrow the postal rates will change in the US. I have missed this completely. I just happened to stumble on the news when checking cnn.com, my way to find out if something has happened in this country after a day without radio or TV or friends stopping by.

Now I've spent more than 10 minutes on the United States Postal Services website to figure out if and how this effects the few letters I'm sending out into the world. And I still have no clue. If it takes more than 10 minutes it's TOO COMPLICATED.

I normally really like the USPS (or actually our local post office, the clerks are so cute and so seriously into this postal thing). But maybe it's just Sunday...

It seems to have something about the size of the letter/package you're sending. And then I will get problems. I just absolutely can not get this inch thing. Oh, well. Good thing they have these very educational pictures to guide you through how to calculate the postage.

In Sweden the postal rate is the same, no matter the size. The only thing they care about is the destination and the weight. That's why all my square shaped invitations to a birthday party two years ago was returned to sender. I had no idea you needed different stamps for a letter-sized and a square-sized envelope...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh dear!
I have a headache just thinking about all this! I am always sending funny little things back and forth to different people in the UK. I hope the postal people at the local post office will be patient with me and my various odd shaped letters and packages!
Baby clothes and small ornaments seem to be the thing that i send the most so I'll have to work this all out!
Oh dear, oh dear!!!!

Annika said...

Yes, I saw that yesterday on the web. Surprise! Complicated is right! why does it have to be so darn complicated? I am always worried when I send out envelopes that look a tad bit odd. Plus that I am no fan of the usps in general...

Anne-Marie said...

I have almost given up on USPS as they are way too complicated. I also looked at their website and you might need a PhD to understand what they are talking about. They do say that they will have some kind of stamp that will "survive" all future price increases. If that is related to size or not I have no idea. Probably the best is to talk to people in the post office - that is what I will do.

Desiree said...

Oj vad knöligt att det ska vara olika porto beroende på storleken på kuveret. Det visste jag inte om. Men det finns mycket att lära sig.

Fia said...

Jag går till posten ganska precis varje dag, det är kul att komma dit. De tittar upp och alla tre hejar glatt då jag kommer in.

Så - jag har inga problem med det nya portot, det är bara att ta med mig det som behöver postas så klurar Jackie, Laura eller Joe ut det åt mig medans vi småpratar med varandra.

Jag har en sådan tur att ha mina gulliga "postisar", det gör att jag inte har något emot att gå dit ofta. Numera så vet jag ju vilka tider jag ska gå så jag slipper att stå i kö. Skulle jag komma och få stå i kö så flinar de lite skadeglatt och undrar vad jag gör där - vid fel tid!

Isle Dance said...

You are not alone. It has always been complicated trying to understand the USPS. Kindly asking questions often brings unhappy USPS employees forward! I placed a bill in the drop box on Saturday, but I believe it is not picked up until today (I did not know about the stamp change then), so I wonder what will happen with that?!

Anonymous said...

Ooops, ny information för mig. Bäst notera detta och lära sig mer alltså. Vad krångligt det verkar...

JaCal said...

Miranda - yes, it's getting way too complicated...

Annika - I always keep my breath when sending things, and make sure the Sender address is clear.

Anne-Marie - I still don't really understand what the change is. From what I can see it seems the basic rates are the same... but I'm not sure...

Desiree - att det är olika porto för olika storlekar är inget nytt - det nya är vikten för olika storlekar. Tror jag. Kanske.

Fia - härligt! Jag gillar att det finns riktiga postkontor här (även om jag fått utskällning när jag skrivit avsändare på baksidan av kuvertet - ajabaja) - de brinner för sina postfrågor!

IsleDance - hopefully your letter will be sent - if it wasn't too heavy... I must be, otherwise, woulnd't we have heard more about the changes??

Anne - ja... när jag är osäker kör jag alltid till posten. Speciellt om det är viktiga brev. Jag skickar faktiskt en hel del med priority eller insurance - inte såå mycket dyrare men känns säkrare...

Anonymous said...

There are different charges depending on size in Sweden as well. If the letter/package is thicker than 3 cm you have to pay an extra fee.
Same goes for length and width, but I don't remember the exact measurements for those. Up towards 30 cm or so I think.

JaCal said...

Ellis - aha! Good to know! I wonder why 3 cm? Because they might not get it through a mailbox? Anyway, welcome here and thanks for commenting!