heres a little something to remember about fly swap postage
those old stamps you you bought 10-15 years ago and recently found in the back of the drawer is only worth what you paid for them 10-15 years ago!
the swapmeister has to pay additional postage to return your swap flies!
i’m currently in a giving mood and i am not asking to be reimbursed for any postage. :D:D
i also dont know why my post masters rates to return your swap flies are different than your post masters rates when you had the weighed at the post office:confused:
ok rant is over and happy holidays to all swappers! :D:D
I was told by a clerk at the post office several years ago when mailing off swap flies that P.O. issued meter tapes are only good from the issuing P.O.
Old postage is fine (those $.32 stamps are still worth $.32) if you know the total dollar amount needed and can just attach enough stamps until you reach or exceed whats needed, but if you know a package weighs x-amount of ounces, don’t add x-amount of old stamps (1 per ounce) thinking first class is first class. THAT’S where you’ll get postage due.
When I ship, I put my box of flies to be sent in the self addressed return envelope but dont seat it. I have that weighed at the P.O. and ask them to add an extra first class stamp to that total and buy that much postage(in stamps). I paper clip that postage on my unsealed return envelope, insert into a larger envelope, seal, weigh and ship. Any unused postage the Meister can keep.
[QUOTE=Bass_Bug;334384]I was told by a clerk at the post office several years ago when mailing off swap flies that P.O. issued meter tapes are only good from the issuing P.O.
QUOTE]
They are also dated and only good for the day printed. In short - It is not wise to pay for metered postage on the return envelope…Its a waste of your money & the swapmeister will have to pay postage back anyway.
The date thing may only be for PO tapes. Business postage machines are dated, but they are not limited to only good on that date. The issuing PO name on the meter stamp is the biggest part. If you’re sending to and from in the same city, it’s not an issue at all.
Truthfully when I was doing swaps I probably irritated a few meisters because I wouldn’t put stamps in the envelope for return. I’d have my package weighed and then I’d double whatever it was, usually no more than $4 bucks and put 4 singles in the evelope, with the note use what you need and if any others are short use it on them. Or whatever!!!
Most are having the packages weighed anyways so it’s that much easier!!!
FWIW, I place my flies in a CD box unsealed then take that to the PO , have them weigh it then put the stamps on that box to be mailed back to me. I then put the box into a manila envelope and seal, weigh and put the appropriate postage on it. Yesterday I mailed a swap and it was $2.39 for the whole works.
After hosting many swaps here and elsewhere I never minded the swappers who put money in the envelope to pay for postage and an envelope. I had to take the stuff to the PO anyway so doing a bit of addressing there was no big deal.
I must say that there have been more than a few swappers who spent $3 on postage and included $1 for return postage and envelope. That got a little spendy if there was more than a couple.
Besides inadequate postage, an adequate sized box and envelope is often overlooked. Many swappers will tout ‘Use an Altoid tin’ to ship your flies in, which is great if your swap is an 18 or under etc type swap.
Swappers really need to pay attention to what all the other tyers in that swap are submitting. Just because all your flies fit in the box, doesnt mean all the flies you’ll get back will fit in it, specially with recipe cards and/or tying instructions.
absolutely correct. when that happens, i just put the flies that didnt fit in the provided box loosely into the provided return envelope.
i dont always do this but i use a plain old business card and put a picture and the recipe on it. then i stuff the card and fly into a small zip lock bag. you can stuff this setup in the altoid tin.
for the popper swap that bass bug has going on, i put my flies in an old plastic vhs tape box. should be plenty of room for some poppers without them being crushed.
I actually appreciated that approach. I’ve never done a swap where I didn’t end up paying money out of pocket for return shipping. Not a big deal, usually, but if you see postage added to your metered strip, you can be sure the swapmeister had to pay to return your package.
+1. I often have had to put extras and the tin in a ziplock bag to return. Again, not a big deal, but if you have to do it for half the group in a swap, it starts to be a pain.
As a Swapmeister I always take the return envelopes to the Post Office and weight them to verify that the postage is enough. Some members of the swap send a couple dollars and I use the change for the short postage on some other members return envelope.
Word of advise when mailing…
Include a “From” and “To” address on the outside of the package, and also on the inside. Sometimes the outside addresses get smeared, and it ends up in Alanta GA at the Mail Recovery Center. With a duplicate mailing address on the inside, will ensure that the package when opened, will be repackaged and sent on it way. Instead of becoming lost, it is only delayed…
Previous life, I was the “FINDER OF ALL LOST THINGS” at the Saint Paul MN “Mail Recovery Center”…
Having amassed some really difficult to obtain materials over the years I like to throw a few kickers in the envelope just to make the swapmeister feel appreciated…
art
While sending back the flies from my ‘Popper Swap’ I notice that several swappers included $4.95 postage on there return envelopes for the flat-rate priority mail the USPS is using now. It may be a few bucks more than regular first class, but you’ll get it in 2 days and you’re guaranteed it will be enough postage no matter how heavy your return package is. Unless you’re expecting lead ingots, a fly swap will never exceed the lowest Flat rate (currently $4.95).
Post Office Meter Strip are dated, and only can be used for that date of mailing. The meter strip also shows where the package was mailed, and the zip code of the destination.
The meter strips purchased on line do not have that date, they can be used anytime.
In my fly swaps, I supplied each of the fly tiers with a cardstock sheet of toe tags, all their “To” & “From” Envelopes (6" x 9") that also include the addresses. I supply them with a Russel Stover Sampler Box (minus the four peice of chocolate) that have their name and address on a label attache to the box top, that is sealed with clear sealing tape. The box has inside a 3" x 4" plastic bag for placing there flies in. The box is secured with a red rubber band. The mailed envelopes flaps are sealed with sealing tape when I return the swap flies, and I verify the return postage at the Post Office.
I don’t mind if members for the swap slip $2.00 in theri shipment. That is more than enough for First Class Mail.
Priority Mail is no faster than First Class, they are one and the same. First Class is for mail up to 12 ounces, Priority is for heavier weights. Depending on the destiniation, it will either go by truck, train, or plane.
You can purchase delievery confirmation, for an extra fee, this is a smart choice as it has a idenification code that can be track online. If the mailing address somehow becomes unreadable (reameber machines are doing the sorting now) it would go to the Mail Recover Center in Atlanta GA. You can give the Mail Recovery Center that Mailing Confirmation #, if that is where it ends up, they can then forward it or return it to you if you wish.
All unclaimed article found in the U.S. Postal Service system are auctioned off to cover the cost of the recovery operation.
That’s why I print shipping and return labels on the computer. We all have computers, I’m betting just about everyone has a printer at home. Avery templates for all major word processors are free to download and labels (1"x 2 5/8" - 30/page, or 1"x4" - 20/per page) can be purchase cheap anywhere office & school supplies are sold. I print one page of shipping labels for my flies back, 1 page of smaller labels for my return address on both sending and return envelopes. For the Miester I’m sending flies to, I can print just one label and use the sheet over and over until all the labels are used up.
If either of my packages are undeliverable, I don’t it to be because MY writing was not legible enough for the P.O.
