I recieved one of the books I mailed last week back in the mail.  There was a sticker on it that said " Important Customer Information.. we regret that your mail was not collected or is being returned to you due to heightened security requirements.  All mail that bears postage stamps and weighs more than 13 ounces MUST be taken by the customer to a retail service associate at the post office....

Do they really excpect people to take time off work to go to the post office?  What is the heightened security?  Has anyone else come accross this?

Confused in Michigan

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

That's been in effect for a while now, actually.....July 30th, it says.  I'm sure there is other info, but here is one link I found.

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_058.htm

Oh my goodness... do you know how many books I have mailed since July and this is the first I have heard about it.... Bummer this is going to crimp my mailing of books....

Thanks Beth!!!!

Lisa

Lisa, if you use trackable postage (such as PBS paid postage) you can still put it in a drop box and not take it to the PO.  It is only if the package is posted with only stamps that it must go to a postal clerk at a PO.

Lisa:  this is an "extension" of the rule that's been there for years for packages over 1 lb. Same "rules" except 13 - 16 oz. is now deemed "dangerous".

Lisa - First of all, I like your "dear Abby" throwback signature!  Okay, here's what I do...do you have an Automated Postal Machine (APC) at your post office?  If yes, you can buy postage in exact amounts, like $2.13 or $2.47.  You can several at one time.  I buy 10 at a time, take them home, and wait for an order to come in.  When it does, I use the APC postage and then drop the book in a "blue box" which are probably found all around your city.  No need to go to the post office each time as long as your package has trackable postage (like APC postage, or as someone else suggested, PBS postage).

Lisa - I sure wish there was a APC near me but there isn't.   AND I live near a big city too!   It is almost 20 miles to the nearest one.    I think that's the problem for a lot of us.   

you can use printed postage from PBS, Click-n-ship postage from the Post office,, Paypal

stamps com

any trackable postage would be find and then there's no need to go to the post office

Certainly that is true Mark - but they all cost more.  Personally, I don't mind going to the PO.   I was just pointing out that an APC is NOT an option for many of us.

APC dont cost anymore then going to the post office,

PBS is another way to go (it easy and fun) and then no worrries

I don't mind going to the PO either.  It is a good time to "people watch"!  The PBS postage is also good if I don't feel like people watching!  I don't have an APC-the nearest one I have found is an hour away.

My postal worker told me that everything over thirteen ounces has to go through a postal clerk and a special label put on it showing that it had. If I had tried to mail it any other way, it would have come back to me and I would have had to pay postage on it all over again. I'm glad most of the books I send are thirteen ounces or under. But I do on occasion have something oversized. And she also said this was something that they had been enforcing within the last couple of weeks. So I guess it is an extension or new reinforcement of the old one. It's another new hassle. :) 

That is only if you are using stamps.  If you use PSC postage or pal or something that is metered, you can still put it in the blue boxes-even over 13 oz.

I have the time to go the PO and I still think the printable postage is worth the conevience of just dropping it in the blue box.  Although my PO has changed all our blue boxes to have those small openings. I had 2 larger audio books to mail this week and new I wasn't going to get them into that slot.  So I took them to the PO. I figured if I had to go there anyway I'd just buy the postage there.  Between getting 3 kids into car seats and then out again at the PO and spending about 30m at the PO because it's a small one and had a line: I was really cursing those new blue boxes. 

I'm wondering when they're going to switch my favorite old-style box to the new smaller slot ones. I can hear the carrier laughing the whole time when they're replacing it, thinking "hahaha, that girl won't be able to fill the blue box with books anymore!" :-)

All I can say is thank God for electronic postage, with 3 little kids I'd end up "going postal" if I actually had to go to the post office for anything. I'm so spoiled by technology!

I've been using PayPal a lot lately for my postage.  It doesn't cost any extra (like stamps.com would). 

I use my digital scale, weigh the package, and plug everything into PayPal's Multi-Order Shipping.  I can experiment with the mail classes to see which is the cheapest and / or fastest before I even print a label.  The nice bit about this is being able to compile my orders as I get them have just keep adding to the with new items as they are requested over the course of a couple days or so.  Then I pay for the postage and print it in a couple clicks and send off my books.  This way I'm not constantly charging $2.31 to my bank card AND I still get to walk across the street to put my packages in a blue box.

I've also got some APC "stamps" which work nicely.  Also a nice way to circumvent the need to buy postage individually.  I buy a bunch of  "stamps" in the amount(s) I know I will need and keep them with my mailing supplies.  Works nicely when I have a few extra bucks now to lay out for postage that I will have to pay somewhere along the line when I know my budget will be tight.  The only thing I am paying extra is my time to get to the PO and use the APC.  Luckily for me, a grocery store is across the street and I can combine trips.

I've not yet tried the PBS postage but it sounds like everyone is certainly having fun using it.

As much as I had fun using stamps when I sell books, once this law went into effect, I learned to print my postage through PayPal.  Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can do it!  The only problem with PayPal is you are required to buy Delivery Confirmation.  However, Husband decided it was worth 18c to keep me out of the mall and away from my favorite coffee shop, which happens to be located next to the post office. 

About the only reason I go inside the post office any more is when the package is too big to fit into the blue box.  Such as today when I mailed three PBS books in one giant envelope!

Peg

LOL Peg.

I worked in a Postal Store located in a mall for about eight or nine years.  I was amazed how many times my wife would stop by and visit me!!  Now that I'm in another location I hardly ever see her in the PO .........  :-)