postage cost for square envelopes??

Jewel88

hello,
my invites are most likely going to be in 6.5"x6.5" square envelopes...USPS says they charge a "nonmachinable surcharge" for square envelopes, but i cannot find what that cost is anywhere...
anyone used/mail square envelopes recently??
want to know if i need to quickly order diff envelopes or not if the price is going to be crazy!!
Thanks!!

amymaysa

I woudl bring one to the post office and check, to get the exact amount needed.

LeiselEB

Wait until your invites are assembled and bring one complete invitation to the post office. They'll give you the exact amount of postage needed.

tuliplexie

If you know how much your invitations weigh, you can use www.usps.com (I have a postal scale at my office)

While the actual price will depend on the weight, I can tell you that my invitations were 6.5 x 6.5, and at that size you have to mail them at the flat envelope rate (they are too big for the regular letter plus square size surcharge).  The mininum flat envelope postage is $0.90. 

The size limits are on the website.  To mail at the regular letter rate, the max size is 6.125x11.5.  Such a bummer!

Jewel88

ok thanks...last post was a little bit of help...i am making my own invitations....so i dont want to wait until they are fully assembled to take in for pricing and be shocked at the price....i want to know if it is outrageous for postage, so i can change up the invite as i make them to avoid that...

@tuliplexie...so were your invites 90cents each to mail for being 6.5x6.5?
thanks!

OliveOilsMom

I had a 6x6 invite and they cost me $1.08 each to mail.  That was before the postal increase in late January.  I also had a pocketfold invite, so that added some weight to them.

My FSIL just mailed out her square invites, no pocketfold or bellyband, just all the important info in the envelope and it was 65 cents for her.  Hers were smaller, maybe 5 inches square.

Hope that helps!

LeiselEB

The only problem with what tuliplexie suggested is that size and weight are not the only factors in postage. If there is a bump in your invites, that will be extra postage, and in my experience, there's some variation between what size bump increases the postage depending on which worker you happen to get at the post office. 

I made and delivered wedding invitations for several years, and we ALWAYS waited until an invite was assembled to figure out the exact postage. Trying to figure it out beforehand will just lead to surprised. Estimate now, but don't start putting stamps on until you've had it checked at the post office.

tuliplexie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_postage-cost-for-square-envelopes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:1fe0b2d5-bb87-4548-9e58-9726a51d2cc5Post:7477c4b7-0a94-444d-9298-95c5f8851707">Re: postage cost for square envelopes??</a>:
[QUOTE]ok thanks...last post was a little bit of help...i am making my own invitations....so i dont want to wait until they are fully assembled to take in for pricing and be shocked at the price....i want to know if it is outrageous for postage, so i can change up the invite as i make them to avoid that... @tuliplexie...so were your invites 90cents each to mail for being 6.5x6.5? thanks!
Posted by Jewel88[/QUOTE]


Unfortunately, mine were $1.10 each because of the weight (between 2 and 3 ounces).  This tells you the price for different weights: <a href="http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#1011092" rel="nofollow">http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#1011092</a>

And LeiselEB is right about bumps, etc upping the price.  I just wanted to let you know what the minimums were based on that size invitation.  If you want square invites, in order to keep the postage at the regular letter rates (plus the $0.20 square-size surcharge), then the sides can't be longer than 6.125".

ilovemedia

Jewel, here is the definition of that charge: Surcharge applied to mail pieces that cannot be sorted on mail processing equipment because of size, shape, content or address legibility. Such mail must be processed manually. With that, you need not order diff envelopes if you really opt for the size. However, there's additional bucks you need to pay.