Price of sending a Fat Quarter
#1
Price of sending a Fat Quarter
I notice that several of us spend over $2 to ship a single FQ. With shipping going up and the price of fabric rising, we
need to save anywhere we can.
You can fold a FQ to fit in a standard business envelope and put two first class stamps on it and it will ship without
problems.
The other thing you can do if you are shipping from the U.S. is go to www.usps.com and put in the weight of your
package and it will give you the exact postage needed.
Hope this helps.
need to save anywhere we can.
You can fold a FQ to fit in a standard business envelope and put two first class stamps on it and it will ship without
problems.
The other thing you can do if you are shipping from the U.S. is go to www.usps.com and put in the weight of your
package and it will give you the exact postage needed.
Hope this helps.
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: MO (the Show Me state)
Posts: 2,947
you would need to iron that fq pretty flat to get it in a long business envelope and have it slip through the cardboard letter check slit. i send fat eighths through the mail all the time and i know i iron and steam them really good to be able to send in the long envelopes for either $.44 or $.64 depending on the weight of fabric. i will have to try a fq and see if i can get that flat enough to fit through that letter check slot in the long evelopes. otherwise the postage jumps up to $1.71 for the package rate.
unless you have a weight scale at home to weigh your letters and packages, it would be hard to use the usps.com site to calculate postage.
unless you have a weight scale at home to weigh your letters and packages, it would be hard to use the usps.com site to calculate postage.
#5
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lakeland, Florida
Posts: 9,856
My post office WILL NOT accept fabric in a business envelope. It can get torn when it's sorted thru the machine. If it's not in a padded envelope they won't take it. I have snuck small pieces of fabric in envelopes, but I wory about them making it to their destination.
#6
My post office WILL NOT accept fabric in a business envelope. It can get torn when it's sorted thru the machine. If it's not in a padded envelope they won't take it. I have snuck small pieces of fabric in envelopes, but I wory about them making it to their destination.
#7
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I just sent a piece of fabric - less than a FQ - and had a hard time getting it to fit in a #10 envelope - I pressed it and did the careful folding to make it fit - and did not enclose the card or plastic baggie - it did make it to it's destination okay, but I was fretting about it.
I try to find a balance between convenience and "reasonable" - I won't pay (or charge) for a FRE for one yard or less of fabric. A fairly accurate scale is very convenient to have around - it's also great for measuring food - ingredients or portions - if one only mails things once in a while.
I will only fill a FRE to "moderate distortion" - about six yards is all I can fairly easily get in the regular sized FRE. It also depends to a certain extent on how hefty the fabric is.
I usually also put the fabric with a "to and from" card in a plastic bag and that goes into the outside mailer - whether a manila envelope or a Priority Mail product.
The Priority Flat Rate containers (envelopes and boxes) ARE convenient - but not always the most economical way to send things. The USPS site (and a scale) is definitely helpful when trying to figure out the least expensive way to mail something.
I try to find a balance between convenience and "reasonable" - I won't pay (or charge) for a FRE for one yard or less of fabric. A fairly accurate scale is very convenient to have around - it's also great for measuring food - ingredients or portions - if one only mails things once in a while.
I will only fill a FRE to "moderate distortion" - about six yards is all I can fairly easily get in the regular sized FRE. It also depends to a certain extent on how hefty the fabric is.
I usually also put the fabric with a "to and from" card in a plastic bag and that goes into the outside mailer - whether a manila envelope or a Priority Mail product.
The Priority Flat Rate containers (envelopes and boxes) ARE convenient - but not always the most economical way to send things. The USPS site (and a scale) is definitely helpful when trying to figure out the least expensive way to mail something.
#8
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: MO (the Show Me state)
Posts: 2,947
how can the p.o. refuse your envelope? at the most, they charge you an additional $.20 to hand cancel the stamp if they envelope is not machine cancelable. you need to let them know that they can hand cancel at the counter. it is on the usps.com website. also it helps to put the wide clear tape around the envelope ends to help them through the process.
i have gotten some pretty mangled envelopes from fabric being sent in the business envelopes. some just didnt make it so they were in p.o. plastic baggies when i received them. it helps to know how to package them. i say practice on getting the fabric flat enough because it is possible to do so and pay the lower postage.
i have gotten some pretty mangled envelopes from fabric being sent in the business envelopes. some just didnt make it so they were in p.o. plastic baggies when i received them. it helps to know how to package them. i say practice on getting the fabric flat enough because it is possible to do so and pay the lower postage.
My post office WILL NOT accept fabric in a business envelope. It can get torn when it's sorted thru the machine. If it's not in a padded envelope they won't take it. I have snuck small pieces of fabric in envelopes, but I wory about them making it to their destination.
#9
Guest
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Cypress, Texas
Posts: 4,728
I've mailed 100s of fqs in #10 envelopes...use envelope as template then iron, iron with a qtr of inch allowance between edge of fabric and top of envelope; tape envelope closure and you shouldn't have a problem.
#10
I ship my patterns, which are much larger than a FQ, using 1st class mail all the time. I use a 6x9" envelope. Anything up to 6 1/8" x 11 1/2" x 1/4" ships for the same price, depending on the weight. A #10 is only 4 1/8" x 9 1/2". Try using a larger envelope and you will be able to ship a FQ easily. If I were doing so, I would also put it in a plastic zip-lock, forcing the air out of the zip-lock first.
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