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The Seed Exchange

wanted: trading usa to canada- postage question

11 years ago

I know this topic has been done before, but apparently some of the policies have changed at the post office. I haven't traded seeds in a few years but when I did I never had trouble sending bubble mailers to Canada. However, when I tried last week the lady at my small local post office acted offended that I was asking to her mail my small bubble mailer to Canada. She said "that isn't an envelope, it is package. Packages need to have customs forms. That has to be done online or through the main post office in (nearby city)" She was very condescending like I should have known this, but silly me assumed that I could do the customs form at my own post office.

So, I went home and tried to do it online. Post office lady had told me that my 1.5oz bubble mailer would have to be mailed as a package, not an envelope, so I tried to print a postage online, but the cheapest option for shipping a small package to canada on the usps website was $27.50! I re-packaged it in a #10 envelope with thin pieces of cardboard and tissue paper for padding and stability... but I really prefer bubble mailers. I took it into town to the main post office and they charged me $1.10 to mail it and did not ask me to fill out a customs form.

Did I miss something? Isn't there a cost-effective way to send bubble mailers to canada? It isn't like it is overseas!

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Comments (4)

itzybitzy_gw
11 years ago
Mmh... I had my first(and last) "trade" with Canada:( I payed $2.37 for a standar size buble envi,with no questions asked and it arrive!!.The problem is that I did not have a good experience with the trader. But I did get a rude e-mail saying to chillax is not heart medication:( Hope you get a better luck!

P.S They probably are going to ask you to post this in the "conversation area"...just guessing.
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
11 years ago
So long as it meets the size requirements listed below, it can go as a Large Envelope Rate.
Dimension Minimum* Maximum
Height 6-1/8 inches 12 inches
Length 11-1/2 inches 15 inches
Thickness 1/4 inch 3/4 inch

She said "that isn't an envelope, it is package.

{{gwi:11053}}

Sheesh!!! It is the same old problem that has been going on for years and years, ie postal clerks not knowing that a padded mailer can go as a large envelope so long as it meets the size and weight criteria. The USPS continues to overcharge customers rather than properly train all of their employees. Amazing!
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Sue, I will be emailing.... and HOW! I went to send 4 little packets of seeds in a #000 bubble mailer today at the same PO I was so proud of just a couple of posts above, and a (male) jerk/clerk insisted (impolitely, as though I were a dolt sent there specifically to make his day rough) that the fact that it was under 3/4" and the thickness was evenly distributed had nothing to do with it, that since it didn't fit through the automatic rollers as it wasn't flat then it was NOT a large envelope - he even slid it through their 3/4" template at my request... I wonder what *they* use the template for??? I appealed to the clerk next to him who in the recent past has even sent these for 58 cents, and she took it back and asked all the clerks present ("No manager here today") who all agreed (with jerk present, and he has a lot of time put in there so I think he holds a lot of sway) that it was a small parcel. Turns out that the clerk who had rec'd the memo I mentioned in the previous post was someone who worked in another PO and was only in this PO temporarily. I guess they have to import the smart ones when the dopey ones go on vacation. What a letdown. So I took my envelope out to the machine, bought 80 cents of postage (plus a 41 cent stamp since the minimum is $1.00 to use the machine), and took the envelope to the main post office about 5 miles away. I advised my trade partner to let me know if/when it gets there and to let me know if there's postage due. I hope it gets there and I can go rub jerk/clerk's nose in it. I don't understand why this is so hard to understand. I wish I had the memos the clerks are given so I could have some empathy.
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LullabyF360
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Tell me about it. The post office has gone crazy with paranoia of drugs, bombs, etc. Just last week I had to go to our post office to mail off a bunch of envelopes (including bubbled envelopes) for seed trades. I had no problem out of those, but when he got to the SASE to the garden hoard, he asked me what the envelope addressed to me was for. I told him it is an SASE for flower seeds. He flipped out & thought I was sending it off in return for weed!!! He even went as far as to call a cop in (the court house/police station is right across the street)!!!! The cop was skeptical. Apparently this guy is known for doing this. The cop asked me what it was for & where it was going. After I gave the brief answer, he laughed a little & bid us all a good day.
trickster
11 years ago
I too sent some seeds to Canada last spring in a Bubble envelope & had nio problems at my little Post Office. This was the first time I have done this, the only thing the person I traded with told me was that the seeds might be slow getting to him due to their customs or something like that, but everything went smooth. I too do have problems with Postal clerks though. Several times I have had plants or seeds arrive & not get a notice in my box, then I get that condescending tone when I have the nerve to call or come in and ask if I have a package. It's annoying I know.

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