Will wedding invitations be returned by the post office if they are just slightly over weight?

Question

We put .42 stamps on almost 200 invitations and realized they may be slightly over the 1 ounce weight limit for a .42 stamp. Should we put additional postage (which will look tacky) on to be safe, or take a chance and mail them as is? Has anyone mailed invites and had them returned?

Answer 1

Yes!  Don't risk it.  They will definitely be mailed back. You should take them to the post office to be weighed and measured before you mail them, because sometimes they charge more for oddly shaped (square, oversized) mail as well.

Answer 2

No one will care about your adding the extra postage, and no one will think it looks tacky.  Postage serves a function.  Don't worry about it.  The important part is what's inside.

Answer 3

Yes, they will almost definitely return them, and an even bigger problem then is that your envelopes may be ruined - they will probably stamp it with something saying insufficient postage and then your pristine, addressed envelopes need to be redone.

Answer 4

Mine were slightly over but they got delivered ok...

Answer 5

They will be returned. It will cost you less to add the addtnl 15 cents postage than to buy new envelopes and pay againg for postage all over again.

Answer 6

"Returned for postage" would look tackier on an envelope than another stamp would.

I would go to the post office and have them weigh the invitation.

Answer 7

put on addition postage, you dont want them to be returned to you, and then  you would have to spend MORE money, and they might be late!

Answer 8

add more postage. you will most defiantely get your mail back.you should have had your invitation measured and weighed at the post office before buying stamps. Most wedding invitations are at least $0.59. it is more if your envelope is too big.

Answer 9

Yes some of mine where returned. What was weird was some were returned, some where delivered with postage due and most where delivered with no problem.

You don't want them to be returned. Go to the post office and have the a postal worker weigh them to be safe. Size can change postage too.

Answer 10

i recieved in a invite recently which didnt have enough postage on it...i had to pay £1.12 to get it..12p for the postage and £1.00 charge for the post office 'handling it'...i had the choice not to collect it at all but i didnt want to do that.  best to put postage on it.  i just sent mine off this morning, i weighed one at the post office and was told it would be 52p to send so i bought enough stamps for all of them.  its something that just has to be done.

Answer 11

It depends how much is "slightly." The post office will push some mail through that's just a little over the weight limit, but it is a total gamble. Do you really want to gamble with your wedding invites?

If you bring it to the post office they can check the weight and let you know for sure.  

Answer 12

take one to the post office and have it weighed and find out what the postage is.  if it is more then the .42 then you need to add the extra postage as yes, they will send them back to you.  they set the weight and stamp prices for a reason and if you want things mailed properly you need to follow it.

Answer 13

Put the extra postage on.  Your guests will not notice what an additional stamp "looks"like on the invitation.  What they will notice is the ink stamps that the post office will stamp all over it that reads "insufficient postage"  Best bet, take a complete invitaion to the post office and have them weigh it and tell you how much extra postage you need.

Answer 14

Your best bet is to take them to the post office and have one of the invitations weighed and put through the slot gauge they use to determine additional postage.  I did this, and was so glad I did!  

Imagine it would be awful to get 200 invitations returned to you for additional postage -- they stamp it with the amount due!  Then you would have to re-mail in the same envelope.  That would be so embarrassing.

Answer 15

they will all be returned if they dont have the correct postage on them. What i would do is take them up to the post office and have someone weigh one of the invitations and let the person that works there tell you weather you need another stamp or not. There is no since wasting all that money if you dont need to, but if they are sent back then the post office will have stamped something like "return to sender or incorrect postage" right on the front of the envelope and you DONT want to have to replace the envelopes to!

Answer 16

In our wedding invites, we made ourselves, we were careful to be under 1 ounce. We opted for reply post cards instead of a card and envelope. That also cut the return postage as well. I know this doesn't help your current situation but others may benefit from it. I would get the extra postage. It won't look tacky. Most people don't pay much attention to it.

The only ones we got back were addressed wrong.

Answer 17

Oh....I'm so glad you went to the post office.  I have heard the horror stories of all the invites coming back STAMPED....."Additional postage required!"

Who cares about the ram stamp....at least your guests will get the invites and you won't get them all back and have the added expense of getting more envelopes and re-addressing each one!

Answer 18

A friend of mine mailed out her wedding invitations ONE day after the postage rates were changed, so all of the invitations were short on postage by ONE CENT. They were all returned to her with a red stamp on them that said "Insufficient postage."

It's much, much safer to have them look "tacky" with an extra stamp on them than to risk ruining 200 envelopes. Honestly, no one will save the envelopes the invitations came in, anyway, so it doesn't matter if they "look tacky." Plus, when was the last time you got an envelope with two stamps on it in the mail and thought "Gosh, how tacky!"? My guess is that you've never thought that, and neither will anyone else.

Answer 19

they will defiantly send them back, Ive seen it happen many times.  Take them to the post office and ask them to check them for you.  And find out how much more you need, you can get the additional stamps and get them out all at once.  

Answer 20

yes, you need to take one of your invites to the post office and have it weighed. It will be even more tacky if they all come back to you a week or two later with a big stamp on the front reading "insufficient funds" on the front. Then you have to buy all new envelopes and postage and the delay that will cause is far more of a headache than trying to skimp on a measly .10 cent stamp. Also, be aware that even if you are under the weight limit for a 42 cent stamp, if you have a bow of some sort or anything that makes the  envelope bulky (even the slightest bit) you have to add 10 cents to the postage. Just take one up to the post office and ask them how much postage you need just to be safe.

Congrats!!!!!!

Answer 21

Take them to the Post Office and have them weighed.

That will give you an idea of just what you need to do.

Think of it as what would be tackier?  To add an extra stamp or to have the Post Office stamp them all Non-Sufficient funds and return them to you without them even hoping of getting to a guest?