Post office won't send some int'l invites- evites?

KnickerGold

need some help here!

I have about 6 international invites- 1 to Canada, Norway & Germany each and 3 to Singapore. I went to send my invites this morning (yay!!!!) and the 3 invites to Singapore 'can't' be sent- per 3 different people at the PO. I also called the UPS store, it'll cost $78 EACH to send each invite. Ridiculous. 

Would it it be ok to send these three guests (and their SOs/plus ones) an evite? And let them know the reason for the evite? I of course asked for their addresses, so they know an invite is coming. 

For clairty, these are 3 of my coworkers. 2 I am very close with, and our 3rd team member who I am very friendly with, but he's a bit more reserved so not as close. 

What at do you all think I should do?

madamerwin

That's so strange! Did the PO give a reason they could not be sent? Does it have to do with the shape/size/weight? If so, I would print them their own versions of the invites on standard-sized cards (at home or a print store) and send those. 

If there is just some overall restriction on sending mail to Singapore, I would let them know you will be sending an electronic invitation, since you were unable to mail paper invites. You could even scan in the real invite and send it to them as a PDF? Personally, I think $78 per invitation to mail is just ridiculous.

banana468

This seems really odd.    

Instead of the post office, could you see what it would be to use UPS or Fed Ex??  DH has ordered things over the internet that have shipped from China and the freight isn't that pricey. 

STARMOON44

What? From the US? You can send mail to Singapore for sure. Are these weirdly shaped or something? If not, I'd just weigh them at home, use the online postage calculator, stick a bunch of stamps on and drop them in the box. 

JaxInBlue

I'm with madamerwin.  Can you figure out why the invites can't go as is and make an adjustment?  Given that these are business colleagues, is there a way for you to send them via a business address and reimburse your employer for the postage?  (Not a great solution, but perhaps one that could work.)

If not, I like the idea of scanning the original invitation to create your evite and going from there.  It's not the same, sure, but I do think paying nearly $240 for three invites is impractical.

LondonLisa

I would ask specifically why they cannot be sent- maybe it is an issue of "cannot be sent AS ADDRESSED" and you can put them in another envelope and send them to their business address. I have definitely posted things to Singapore! 

KnickerGold

I've sent things as well! But these are heavier (hence why it's so pricey with UPS? They charged me $38 to send a normal envelope (with a large amount of paper inside...) to Canada last year. )

There are a number of pieces in the set, and the card stock is rather thick. I guess scanning could work, but I feel at that point an e-vite might look nicer? Haha 

The PO said they couldn't accept them, due to 'not being able to ship them' but wouldn't give me a more detailed reason. 

I'm not a manager so I can't mail items internally, and my boss is In the UK so she probably couldn't ship them either (anddddd I'm not inviting her for a multitude of reasons, so can ask ask her to send!)

KnickerGold

I guess my question was more 'is it OK if I send different invites to these 3' versus how else can I do it- if that makes sense. 

ei34

KnickerGold said:

I guess my question was more 'is it OK if I send different invites to these 3' versus how else can I do it- if that makes sense. 

Yeah, it's definitely okay to send these three different invites.  Necessary, in fact.

madamerwin

eileenrob said:

KnickerGold said:

I guess my question was more 'is it OK if I send different invites to these 3' versus how else can I do it- if that makes sense. 

Yeah, it's definitely okay to send these three different invites.  Necessary, in fact.

Yeah, I'd say it's okay. I would, however, explore other ways to mail an invite - i.e. print simpler ones in a standard size at home and see if you can mail those. It sounds like the weight/size might be the issue. Also what @LondonLisa said - if it's because of how they are addressed, that can probably be remedied. I would do an evite as a last resort. Either way, I would check with the post office as to why they cannot be mailed as-is; they should be willing and able to tell you the reason.

OliveOilsMom

Were the 3 PO employees you spoke with at the same office?  I would try a different one, if possible.  Can you send the invite via a Priority Flat Rate envelope? I just find it so odd they won't send it due to the weight.  Usually they charge you by weight, so why would they restrict your invites?  Just charge the appropriate amount...

Also, check in with DHL.  They do a lot of international shipping.  They might come in a little cheaper than FedEx.

Lastly, do these 3 people all work at the same office?  Are there other people you work with at this office?  Can you mail all three invites in the same small box and sent it to their office?

You had no problems getting your other 3 international invites mailed, correct?  It's just these ones to Singapore that are outstanding?

KnickerGold

Yes, Canada Norway & Germany were no issue (other than additional postage) 

Thinking about it, maybe it's because they're going to apartments in Singapore? I have no idea. 

I'll put together an  evite and a little note!

madamerwin

KnickerGold said:

Yes, Canada Norway & Germany were no issue (other than additional postage) 

Thinking about it, maybe it's because they're going to apartments in Singapore? I have no idea. 

I'll put together an  evite and a little note!

Any chance of going back to the post office to find out for sure? As PPs have suggested, maybe you could put all three in a flat rate international envelope and send them to their office, since they are all coworkers?

I do think the evite is fine as a last resort, but I would personally put a little more time into figuring out how to send the real invites before giving up.

kahluakoala

Just send them an evite. Write a brief message about how you tried to send them a paper invite but hit problems at the post office and then follow up with them ot make sure they received it (i.e. didn't ignore or go to spam). Do not stress yourself fighting with the post office. Just take the simple solution and call it a day.

KnickerGold

madamerwin said:

KnickerGold said:

Yes, Canada Norway & Germany were no issue (other than additional postage) 

Thinking about it, maybe it's because they're going to apartments in Singapore? I have no idea. 

I'll put together an  evite and a little note!

Any chance of going back to the post office to find out for sure? As PPs have suggested, maybe you could put all three in a flat rate international envelope and send them to their office, since they are all coworkers?

I do think the evite is fine as a last resort, but I would personally put a little more time into figuring out how to send the real invites before giving up.

I'd love to do so, but both of my parents are in the hospital right now and I just don't have the time to be running around to multiple post offices (hence my calling UPS Store) and I don't want them getting them too late/be seen as B-list invites

OurWildKingdom

How about an e-vite with a note saying, "Print invite to follow"? Then send a simpler version of your invite to those three guests.

Sending healing vibes for your parents!

madamerwin

KnickerGold said:

madamerwin said:

KnickerGold said:

Yes, Canada Norway & Germany were no issue (other than additional postage) 

Thinking about it, maybe it's because they're going to apartments in Singapore? I have no idea. 

I'll put together an  evite and a little note!

Any chance of going back to the post office to find out for sure? As PPs have suggested, maybe you could put all three in a flat rate international envelope and send them to their office, since they are all coworkers?

I do think the evite is fine as a last resort, but I would personally put a little more time into figuring out how to send the real invites before giving up.

I'd love to do so, but both of my parents are in the hospital right now and I just don't have the time to be running around to multiple post offices (hence my calling UPS Store) and I don't want them getting them too late/be seen as B-list invites

Yeah, then don't sweat it. Send the evite, and maybe email a scanned copy of the real invite separately when you have time so that they can see how nice it is

CMGragain

madamerwin said:

KnickerGold said:

madamerwin said:

KnickerGold said:

Yes, Canada Norway & Germany were no issue (other than additional postage) 

Thinking about it, maybe it's because they're going to apartments in Singapore? I have no idea. 

I'll put together an  evite and a little note!

Any chance of going back to the post office to find out for sure? As PPs have suggested, maybe you could put all three in a flat rate international envelope and send them to their office, since they are all coworkers?

I do think the evite is fine as a last resort, but I would personally put a little more time into figuring out how to send the real invites before giving up.

I'd love to do so, but both of my parents are in the hospital right now and I just don't have the time to be running around to multiple post offices (hence my calling UPS Store) and I don't want them getting them too late/be seen as B-list invites

Yeah, then don't sweat it. Send the evite, and maybe email a scanned copy of the real invite separately when you have time so that they can see how nice it is

Send them a personal e-mail, inviting them to the wedding, giving all the information.  Then send a written invitation (handwritten is perfectly proper), too.  Don't use those tacky evites.

madamerwin

Yeah, actually @CMGragain is right... Evites may look "fancier," but a personal email is, well, personal. I still think you should scan in your official invites so they have a copy, though.

OurWildKingdom

I like the idea of a scanned copy of the invite. 

KnickerGold

Those are great ideas- thanks all!

LtPowers

OurWildKingdom said:

I like the idea of a scanned copy of the invite. 

It seems nice, but after some thought I don't think it's really appropriate. If the mass-produced invitation can't be sent, the polite replacement is a personalized letter that gives all of the details -- the old-fashioned way, if you will.

If a scanned image of the invitation is sent, it cannot be sent alone; it must be sent with an explanation at the bare minimum (and ideally with a written invitation). Too many hosts have rudely tried to save money by simply duplicating a single invitation and sending the cheap duplicates out to the invitees.

OurWildKingdom

LtPowers said:

OurWildKingdom said:

I like the idea of a scanned copy of the invite. 

It seems nice, but after some thought I don't think it's really appropriate. If the mass-produced invitation can't be sent, the polite replacement is a personalized letter that gives all of the details -- the old-fashioned way, if you will.

If a scanned image of the invitation is sent, it cannot be sent alone; it must be sent with an explanation at the bare minimum (and ideally with a written invitation). Too many hosts have rudely tried to save money by simply duplicating a single invitation and sending the cheap duplicates out to the invitees.

No one said that would be the only thing that went out. @CMGragain suggested (and several of us agreed) that a personal e-mail would be more appropriate, and *my* original suggestion was an e-vite with a simpler version of the invitation to follow.

LtPowers

My mistake; I read parts of the thread at different times.

OurWildKingdom

LtPowers said:

My mistake; I read parts of the thread at different times.

No worries, I should have made myself clearer. 

MesmrEwe

IMO - go to a different post office (such as a larger sorting station type size one)...  Online goes through everything with a calculator of the shipping cost to Singapore with ZERO issues other than it's a bit pricey (~$22 for a first class large envelope)...  It's a business etiquette type situation that you need to "read" for what is the appropriate way to go...

Windycityyarn

I just sent invitations overseas (UK, Israel) with no problem. They even had cool circular moon international stamps. Are the invitations square? Because I'd heard those are problematic to mail. Definitely take them to another PO and get a second opinion.

ernursej

That is bull crap. Those postal employees don't know what they are doing. I know that sometimes, the way that a package is addressed to Singapore is different than North America. I made the mistake of moving some stuff around and I got told that it couldn't be mailed with the address in it's current format. I changed the format and it shipped no problem. This was with Canada Post, but I would imagine the US system should be able to handle this.

Sorry you are having such a hard time.

I like the personalized note. I might include a photograph of the invitation just because I love looking at invites I get.