Monday, December 29, 2008

Can you bend it?


Years ago I mailed small things like thread in a letter. New standards came in restricting   letters not only by weight but by dimensions. Thickness was limited to 20 mm which put an end to mailing a spool of thread. I could still mail books up to 500 gm. That ends next month when the new rates and standards come into play. Now oversize letters must also be able to bend in a 140 mm diameter - the curve of a cupped hand. Items that fail the latest test must be mailed at the parcel rate which starts at double the maximum letter rate and shoots up from there depending on distance.  


Letters are being replaced by email. Bills are being delivered by the web and paid on the web. And now small packages are too costly to send. This leaves the flyers and junk mail for delivery to your mail box. Perhaps in the near future my mail box can be replaced with a blue box to move the “mail” straight to recycling... 


note: image is ©CorelDraw 9 and used under license.

UPDATE: Jan 12 2009 CPC changes came into play. The "can you bend it" guideline for letter mail apparently did NOT make the cut... In fact the rules call for a stiffening card to be added if the envelope "sags" too much. As Joan Collins sang "maybe next year".