Nope - you need 2 stamps for a bubble envie even if it's empty. You are sending a envie that is hand cancelled and the USPS requires more. They don't run them through the machines so they charge. See the Seed Exchange for more info.

Depends on the size of the envie, too. A 3x5 requires less than an 8x10 (or whatever that big one is.)

Karen

Thank you so much! :)

It also depends on where you mail it. The clerks in my town charge me as much as $1.33 for the small sized bubble envelopes, but if I drive to the town west of us, they charge me $ .83 for the exact same empty bubble envelope.

If you mail at the post office they measure the dimensions and charge by size and weight. Just put stamps on them and drop in a mailbox.

Karen

I mail bubble 4 x 6 bubble envies empty or just with stamps for a .62 stamp and they always go through without a problem.

Lisa

I make sure that my name is on the return address area (top right) regardless which who it is going to. If it isn't enough it will get returned to me and if it isn't enough with seeds it will get returned to me. Take that USPS.

Highalt, your PO is inappropriately charging you for a PARCEL, lowest price $1.19. If you meet the requirements I'm about to list, you should be charged only $.83, the minimum charge for a LARGE ENVELOPE. Note the key vocab in caps. In order to qualify as a LARGE ENVELOPE it must

1. Be a maximum of 6 inches by 9 inches. One eighth of an inch over will disqualify you.
2. It must be no thicker than 3/4 of an inch. They have a little plastic widget to check these two things now. Tell them to use it.
3. It must be under one ounce.

If they argue with you, tell them you have the time to wait while they look up the specs for a parcel versus a large envelope. It's in the book.

A practice that is new since these regulations went into place is taping the seed packets onto a flat sheet of paper. That is designed to keep the thickness under 3/4 of an inch. Back in the old days donors could just drop packets in the envelope and send them on their way. Now it costs more to do it that way, which is why you are often asked to send three stamps. It is for the convenience of the nice person who has already gone to the trouble growing the seeds, harvesting the seeds, cleaning the seeds, packaging the seeds, labeling the seeds, and posting to let you know you can have them. I think that extra $.42 for the donor's convenience is a FABULOUS bargain for what you get in return.

Seedmama, I know that they are overcharging me, but when I've told them what the other PO charges me, they insist that it's the other guys doing it wrong. I don't want to have a bad relationship with them, since they are the ones that deliver my mail, so I just try to do my mailing when I am in the next town, which is where my son goes to preschool, so I'm over there all the time anyway.