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VIP November 2016

PSA: Hand-cancelling, don't believe the hype!

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LadyPearl, on August 22, 2016 at 5:34 PM

Posted in Planning 24

So first, super excited that all of our invites have officially been mailed off! Hooray!!! Finished the invites last Thursday. Today - put them all in envelopes, added labels, bundled everything up, then trot my happy self off to the post office. Find out the postage was less than expected, hooray...

So first, super excited that all of our invites have officially been mailed off! Hooray!!!

Finished the invites last Thursday. Today - put them all in envelopes, added labels, bundled everything up, then trot my happy self off to the post office. Find out the postage was less than expected, hooray again! Ask the clerk about hand cancelling. She laughs. Laughs!

I have a great rapport with my post office, so when I told this particular clerk that (last week) customer service said USPS offers hand cancelling, she says she's going to level with me. Even if they were to hand cancel, ALL letters still go through a machine. Traditional hand cancelling hasn't been done in years. Any clerk who says otherwise is misleading folks. My heart sinks. When she saw the defeat in my face she said that the letters go through a flat belt for processing so I shouldn't worry. Oh well, they're done and gone, life goes on.

Any doubts, go talk to your PO in person. DON'T rely on customer service.

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24 Comments

Super October 2017
GreektoIrish2017 · on August 22, 2016 at 9:53 PM
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Thank you LadyPearl
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VIP September 2016
ChocolatierKT · on August 22, 2016 at 10:05 PM
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I don't understand the point of hand canceling nor did I know it was a thing before WW.
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VIP November 2016
LadyPearl · on August 22, 2016 at 10:14 PM
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Chocolatier I didn't know it existed before WW either
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Just Said Yes September 2018
Christina · on June 22, 2018 at 10:14 AM
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We've recently sent out our wedding invitations via street mailboxes in NYC. I read ALL the articles about hand cancelling stamps and basically didn't even try to take them to the post office for them to do. Which is why I dumped all 180 invitations into the blue mail box at the corner of 15th and 5th ave... by Union Square.
What I did do was weigh the envelopes to be certain, and used the butterfly "non-machinable" stamps (which you could use even if you weren't hand cancelling- they actually matched my invitation set).
My invitations were just over 3 oz, so I used 2 butterfly non-machinable stamps (71 cents) and one 21 cent stamp. They were thick (pocket fold, actual invitation was very thick cotton card stock), with a wax seal inside.
To my surprise, they WERE in fact all hand cancelled. My friends had sent me pictures of them when received, and they all had either stamps or pen scribbles on the stamps. What was even more shocking... for recipients with small New York City mailboxes (my invitations were in A9 envelopes), the post man actually left it inside their building leaning against the door. How sweet!
My faith in the USPS has been restored! I encourage everyone to use the non-machinable stamps and a simple public mail box. I don't think it's realistic to go to the post office and watch someone hand cancel all of your invitations...
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