Okay, so I am doing a deal for a requestor: 16 books for 7 credits.

I have all of the books in the box ready to go, I just need to print out the postage. Normally, I bring my books to work and weigh them on the postage meter scale we have in the office.

I did that this morning, but the scale is telling me the box is too heavy to read.

Can I weigh the package on the scale I have a home (regular weight scale) and then use that weight when I print the wrapper? Or do I really need to take this guy to a post office?

If it were me, I'd take it to the PO.  I've tried weighing things on my scale at home and I am never quite sure if I am balancing the box correctly to get an accurate reading. 

Of course, do you really want to have it go postage due because you were off by 35 cents.

I have a 5 pound scale that I bought a few years ago and also a 25 pound scale I bought at a yard sale for a buck. I verified both of them for accuracy and calibrate them so I know my measurements are good. I also use the APC.

Are you printing postage from your work meter scale? Most office meters assume first class mail not media. You can also take out half the books and weigh each stack if that would get you within the weigh limits of the scale. That would get you an accurate weight but not accurate postage.

Media mail is $2.23 for the first pound and 35 cents for each additional pound.

Kevin

Patricia/Kevin - That is so funny! I am sending the box of books to you and your wife! =)

No I do not print the postage from the meter in my office, I simply use it to check the accuracy of the weight of the package I'm sending.

Guess I'll have to make a trip to the post office by tomorrow.

You can open the box up (if you've already sealed it) and take enough books out so that you can weigh it.  Then weigh the remaining books.  Put the books back in the box and reseal it.  Add the two (or more) weights and use that to determine the postage.

Amy, I use the scale at the office to weigh and determine postage as well.  Usually I can scroll through all the postage rates until I get to media--it's the last one of 8 or 9 postal rates.  I've found that even if a package is too heavy to be weighed for 1st class/priority/international, it'll still give a weight and postage value for media.  The other option is, like others have said, to weight the books in 2 stacks, plus packaging materials.  You can then go the USPS web site, plug in the weight, and get the postage rate.  You can then print online postage through the USPS web site that way.  I did this once, and it worked fine, although it was actually for a RAOK package, not media mail.

Thanks for the response, Sheryl and everyone else, too.

I am always able to get the media mail rate through the postage meter; that wasn't the problem.

I put the box on the scale this morning and the meter read something like, "Weight too high, please remove parcel." I even selected Media Mail rate before putting the box on the scale and still the meter read with the same message.

I use printable postage and DC from PBS and Paypal. What I do is bring the books in with me to work, weigh them for accuracy and postage cost, make any adjustments needed to the postage, then print the wrapper.

This has always worked in the past, but I've never sent out 16 books at once, LOL.

As for taking the books out and weighing them in stacks, this is an option and I will think about it. I just hate that the box is sealed already.