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Marshfield,ma

How many stamps do you generally put on each envelope? I was guessing 5 for a 4 by 6 bubble. Too many or not enough?? Any help is appreciated!!

11/27/2012 6:52:28 PM

Torrance, Ca.

I put 2.50 and gets the job done every time :)

11/27/2012 7:04:57 PM

west central IN/East central IL

3 guarantees it, i asked the post office lady. That is unless your getting 50 or more seeds.

11/27/2012 7:23:07 PM

Torrance, Ca.

3 bucks or 3 stamps ?

11/27/2012 7:50:59 PM

west central IN/East central IL

3 stamps, sorry a litlle sleepy.

11/27/2012 7:53:38 PM

South East

It now cost $1.95 to send even a small bubble. Some are getting through with only 4 but trust me we have sent out over 50 bubbles this year. When I go to the post office I have had to add to just about all bubbles that have under 5 stamps on them. The price has gone up this year. Doesnt matter what size small or medium bubble it is still gonna cost $1.95.(unless you have alot of seeds in it and ofcourse it will be more) Hope this helps..:)

11/27/2012 8:12:44 PM

west central IN/East central IL

I was told it goes by weight. I guess best bet is to just go to post office.

11/27/2012 8:32:53 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

I used to do 3, and have been owed the mailman some change a couple times now. I'd do at least 4 to be safe.

11/27/2012 8:38:59 PM

Boscawen, NH

Frank & Tina are correct, 1.95 is the correct amount for pretty much any size bubble. The post office will put most bubbles through with a lesser amount but they will treat it like regular mail and allow it to go through some very tight rollers that may or may not damage your seeds. The postal worker at my local P.O. showed me the rollers that they go through if less than 1.95 is on the bubble, not a good idea to try to save a few stamps.

11/27/2012 8:50:22 PM

formerly RGG

I have recently learned that I can put a small bubble inside a large envelope, with a return envelope inside for the bubbles return trip. I put 2 stamps on each envelope and I have had no delivery problems with this method so far. I apologize to the folks I sent only a return bubble to with 2 or 4 stamps. Some of them made it back and some nice growers added additional postage for me. Yes, $1.95 seems to be the going rate for a bubble if I take one to the post office. But my new envelope system has worked OK for me so far.

11/27/2012 9:16:12 PM

Torrance, Ca.

That's my thinking sgeddes...................

11/27/2012 9:17:34 PM

Anchorage Alaska

yep.$1.95 to the lower 48..$3.00 to Europe or Australia

11/27/2012 11:33:37 PM

Ely Mn

i put five stamps every time now just to insure the grower doesnt have to add any to it.seems like every post office is different so just put five on it and be done with it.
ps dennis i was thinking that was a pretty good idea when you send me a bubble.you can reuse the return bubble cause you dont have to seal it as you just put the bubble in a large envolope.

11/28/2012 4:15:59 AM

Ely Mn

but like steve said they may treat it like its just a letter and put it thru the rollers!i wouldnt want my wallace bubble to go thru that kind of torcher.lol

11/28/2012 4:24:07 AM

formerly RGG

I do understand growers would not want to risk a expensive seed to save a dollar worth of postage. That said, my method has worked great for me so far. It is sort of the red neck poor boys method I suppose. lol

11/28/2012 7:55:19 AM

Niagara Falls,NY

I put 3 stamps on and my post office says it's plenty. I've gotten my bubbles back and they have 60 cents added to them. Took them back to the post office unopened and they still say it's only 90 cents. I don't know, is Niagara Falls on a different postal route(or planet)? Any way the ones that added extra postage to my bubbles, I will send you some stamps to make up for you putting the extra on and I thank you for that and the seeds.-Don

11/28/2012 8:52:52 AM

El Paso TX.

Punk'nLvr -- Some post offices still take it as a letter and let it go by with 90 cents but as mentioned it then gets processed by the machine sorters and the seeds can get damaged - Most offices now have started using the manual sort package rate of $1.95 for up to 3 oz. and when sending a bubble it is always best to err on the more is better side as you never know ahead of time if the office near the return is being mailed is one of the few that still lets it go for $.90 and whether the person sending you back the seed is one that will pay the $1.05 for you or one that will just not send it back !! ( so doing it with just 90 cents is risking either costing the person on the other end $1.05 they shouldn't have to pay or not getting your bubble back) - Either way not worth the chance and then on the slight chance they get past for just the 90 cents you take a big risk of getting seed pieces in the bubble since the auto sorter rollers will break the seeds and even then may wind up with the mailman knocking at your door to pay the $1.05 postage due before they will deliver the package !

So $1.95 is the best way to go !

11/28/2012 10:07:21 AM

Niagara Falls,NY

I always put 3 stamps on-$1.35. No one is saying that the person sending it back has to pay for more postage, if there is a problem, just E-mail and say it needs more and it will be taken care of. Just throwing exta postage on for no reason is a waste of money. Guess I'll have to bring this up to my post office, or figure out a different way of getting seeds sent back!

11/28/2012 12:56:08 PM

most growers wont tell you
i have mail man knock on door asking for 65 cents 55 cents all kinds of odd charge just to get my mail with a bubble thats short
then once i put seeds in and mail it alot will come back and he will knock again . ive taken them to grocery store drop box etc to avoid him. and if my name is on the from area here it comes.
i have 4 bubbles here now wont be sending ,,,there short
tough year in iowa 2012=less bubbles ingood years ive had 400 bubbles its time and money hassle both to add extra postage

11/28/2012 1:12:06 PM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

Some thoughts...

Not much is said on the size of the bubble. When I send one, I send a 4-inch X 7-inch bubble, and that's going to work fine unless you are sending more than 50 seeds.

But sometimes someone will send me a 11x14 inch bubble!

So obviously the size of the bubble can come into play at some point.

It's absolutely shameless that our postal system doesn't have simple, clear rules regarding this. The user is stuck with either: (1) Guessing, and likely spending too much on postage, or (2) Standing in line and wasting everybody's time to weigh out every bubble, not to mention the money that those postal employees make whilst helping people in queue, money spent driving there, etc., (3) taking a crap shoot and making the postal guy come back for 38 cents or whatever it is... I'm sure it costs more for him/her to come ask for pennies than to just send it!

It's absolutely unthinkable that every post office (apparently) has their own rules!

But, the USPS is not a private company where efficiency matters......;-)

11/28/2012 3:11:45 PM

El Paso TX.

It's not really about each office having different rules it is just about them knowing them !! -- for a letter the rule is Maximum size of 11 1/2" long x 6 1/8" high x 1/4” thick.

An empty 4x7 bubble is 1/4" thick so once you place anything inside it is over the maximum thickness for a letter and is therefore considered a parcel -- and the postage for Parcels is $1.95 for up to 3 oz. and $0.17 per additional ounce up to 13 oz. maximum (once it is over 13 oz. it can not be sent first class and is sent Parcel Post starting at about $5.45 !)

11/28/2012 3:58:59 PM

Cincinnati,OH

I think it's ironic to see how much people pay for seeds and then watch them quibble over a couple stamps.
If you think your getting screwed parting with 5 stamps, drive to wherever the seeds are coming from and pick them up yourself.lol.

11/28/2012 5:45:51 PM

Muddy Waters

It's 1.95 for a parcel.If you tell the postal worker you don't want broken seeds they will tell you to pay the 1.95.The ones that dont have a 1.95 on them I send them postage due.If you have a really hot seed send it in a prescription bottle then in a envelope.it wont get crushed for sure.

11/28/2012 5:55:47 PM

Ely Mn

thank you Ron!

11/28/2012 6:01:41 PM

formerly RGG

Some of us need to watch every dollar. Anyone who has little money will know what I mean. Really I have no business growing at all. But I find a lot of enjoyment in giant growing and so I try to do as well as I can as inexpensively as possible. You may laugh at the price of a postage stamp. I do my best to save one or two any time I am able to. Please don't take offense, I am just being honest here.

11/28/2012 7:07:48 PM

El Paso TX.

HHG -- rather than plastic prescription bottles I've found that the metal mint tins like Altoids or Starbucks use make good shipping protection.

11/28/2012 8:45:00 PM

Muddy Waters

Sounds good JD.I dont have any of those.I have lots of med bottles!lol It's medication time,to the day room Nurse Rachet!I was at the post office one day & the clerk saw me taking the seed out of the bottle to put in bubble & mail.She stopped me & said leave the seed in the bottle.She replied it will never get crushed like that.The last 1495 went to the east coast in a bottle.My uncle is on like 14 scrips like most of our elderly.Great seed containers.

11/28/2012 9:12:28 PM

Niagara Falls,NY

I'm not crying over 2 stamps or think I'm getting screwed, but if the post office tells me one thing and another is charging something else then the is something wrong and I'd like to find out what it is.I ask growers for seeds because I don't have big money to buy seeds.I think you'll find if some one has spent large amounts of money buying seeds they really don't care about how much the shipping is.

11/28/2012 9:21:17 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

Here's what Yoda of bubbles had to say... I'm going with this response from here on out. Anyone here who invests all the time and money for 9 months a year and can't spend the extra 2 bucks on stamps is full of chit.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/msgboard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=462738

11/28/2012 9:58:14 PM

Long Island,New York

I wonder if two extra stamps makes up for the 16 BILLION the post office lost last year? (yes...a real number)

11/29/2012 5:59:37 AM

Niagara Falls,NY

I guess my post was taken wrong. I was targeting the postal service not growers. I'm sure myself and others don't appreciate being told we're full of shit. Right now I'm on a dissability income of $875 a month, so yeah $ 2.00 is alot of money.

11/29/2012 7:22:55 AM

formerly RGG

Even many well off people watch money closely and save wherever they can. Remember what Ben Franklin said: " a penny saved is a penny earned ".

11/29/2012 8:03:53 AM

Lexington, Ky

Well, at least no one is complaining about slow delivery times.....

11/29/2012 9:58:06 AM

Lexington, Ky

16 billion isn't a "real" number. 12 of the 16 billion dollar "loss" is a default payment on the mandate to prefund employee retirement. So no, the Postal Service didn't really lose 16 billion.

11/29/2012 10:07:59 AM

Saskatchewan Fosston Canada

i sent one to Alaska yesterday,and that was 2,1 can $ + tax

11/29/2012 10:08:45 AM