Ever wonder what happens to your amazing invitation after you drop it in the mail? A lot!
Check out this “How’s It’s Made: Mail” video:
It’s a pretty fast-paced, high tech process to ensure your mail reaches it’s destination safely, though a successful mailing requires certain rules to be followed as you approach your “inviting”.
IMPORTANT TIPS FOR MAILING INVITATIONS
• Invitations using calligraphic addressing should be brought to the clerk in person to ensure that they will be sorted appropriately. Post offices are to hand-sort letters that cannot be read by their automated sorting machines. This is their official policy. If you catch a clerk who doesn’t perform this task for whatever reason, the invitation may be returned to you.
• All postage values included in your project’s pricing have been checked with the post office to ensure they are the correct value for the size, bulk, and weight of your invitation. (International customers will need to check their pieces with a local post office to confirm stamp values needed).
• Many of our designs are very unique, and may feature exterior embellishments that are atypical, such as our Harry Potter inspired Romance Managed design, below:
In this case, HAND CANCELING is highly recommended. Instead of dropping your invitations into your own mail box or the big blue one outside the post office or elsewhere, you will bring them inside to have the clerk manually hand-stamp the date over the postage stamps. This ensures that they will not run through the automatic sorting machines (shown in the video clip above) to avoid disrupting embellishments.
• We do not use traditional wax for making seals. Traditional wax is very brittle and will break into pieces if it happens to go through an automatic mail-sorter. Instead, we use a flexible wax that will not break in the mail sorter, and stands up to impacts very well.
• DO NOT use dark ink on a dark colored envelope. Though sorting machines are fairly sophisticated, it’s not worth the risk of having your entire guest list returned for being unreadable.
• Return addresses may be in the top left corner of your envelope (standard), in the center above the guest’s address in smaller size, or on the back flap of the envelope.
• The smallest mailable size (in the US) is 3.5″ high and 5″ long at 0.007″ thick.
• The largest mailable “standard letter” size (in the US) is 6.125″ high and 11.5″ wide at 0.25″ thick. This is considered a “large envelope”.
• Anything larger and/or thicker than the above is considered a parcel or package, which can be mailed at an increased rate, depending on size and weight.
• Sometimes our customers email us after they’ve received their order with address updates for guests who’ve had a change of address or plan to move very soon. Please know that their invitation will not get lost if sent to the old address! The USPS will forward first class, priority, and express mail at no charge for up to 1 year. It will be delivered to them with a forwarding slip affixed to the envelope.
• Usually it takes 3 – 5 days for guests to receive their invitation within the United States, by first class mail.
• It can take anywhere from 7-21 days for international guests to receive their invitation by first class mail, depending on location.
A NOTE ABOUT THE POSTAL SERVICE, THOUGH
USPS is an establishment run by human beings who can sometimes make mistakes. A customer shared once that a clerk said the stamp we used on their invitation was not a real stamp, after we had purchased the postage directly from the USPS website.
It’s very rare that problems arise, but I’ve heard a story or two (I can literally count the times on one hand after working with many orders each week for the 6 years our business has been running) from customers sharing their post office issues with me when mailing invitations. Since we do sell some designs that have unique embellishments like the photo above, there are occasional questions. When it comes to things like ribbons and ties, the actual regulation is that it cannot be used as a method of sealing like it was in the old days before packing tape and high tech sorting came about. If your item is already sealed and the embellishment is just used for show, it is actually acceptable. Of course, every new design we create is checked with our local post office to be sure it is mailable and has the correct postage.
I have personally dealt with several of the post offices in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, and the truth is that many issues are decided upon the speculation, the opinion, and, let’s face it, the disposition of the person behind the counter. One clerk may say one thing, another may say something entirely different. I had one customer who emailed me, literally in tears from what the clerk at her post office told her about how we prepared her mailing. The clerk was totally inaccurate, and her order went out without any further problems through another PO.
IF AN ISSUE SHOULD ARISE AT YOUR POST OFFICE
• If the clerk is giving you major issues about your mailing: Leave. Go to another post office. You don’t deserve to be treated that way, and there’s no need to be!
• You don’t need to have a cover-to-cover knowledge of A Customer’s Guide to Mailing, but you should know the basic items (above) so you are informed.
• Clerks are people too. Be well-informed, be firm if you have to, but be nice.
Happy inviting!