I had one traveling journal to send off today, and I couldn't make sense of the new postal rates so I walked down to the local post office to get the info from a representative of the U.S. Postal Service. I present the info here for what it's worth.

The journal I was mailing was a handmade 3.5 X 5 inch melnicki mini-masterpiece which fits comfortably inside a regular #10 envelope. I mailed it with a blank 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper folded around it (dunno why, but since that's how I received it...). It weighed more than 1 ounce, but less than 2. The addressed envelope is thicker than 1/4 inch, but less than 3/4 inch. As such, the dimensions are probably very similar to most traveling journals.

Postage = $1.00.

It was considered a "large envelope" but even though the journal occupied only a portion of the envelope, it did not require the $0.30 "nonuniform thickness" surcharge on items with more than 1/4 inch variation in thickness. I guess that technically, the enclosed journal should be no thicker than 1/4 inch to avoid the surcharge. This seems a bit subject to the "by-the-bookness" of the post office, so I guess putting $1.30 on it wouldn't hurt.

Hope this helps.

Doug

P.S. I also tried to buy 94 cent international stamps, but there is no such thing. You have to add a 4 cent stamp to the old 90 center.

Thanks, Doug.

At least we know what the international rate per ounce is now, too.

honestly, i think the USPS workers make things up as they go along...

check this USPS page for the new prices and rules.

I would have thought it should be considered a "letter", at 1.x ounces ($.59), but then potentially subject to the nonmachinable surcharge ($.20).

Why was your #10 envelope considered a "large envelope"?? I always think of that as the full-size envelope, where you don't want to fold an 8.5x11 sheet of paper... Was it considered a "large envelope" because it's more than 1/4" thick?

Only once has someone told me that postage was requested for delivery (see this thread for more on this topic). Never has a journal been returned to me by the PO because of postage. But every time someone goes to the PO, the officer always charges them way more than I would have thought.

It costs a dollar to mail a thick letter? Maybe now the last people that remained writing snail letters will finally toss in the towel and go over to email completely.

Yes, it was considered a "large envelope" because it was more than 1/4" thick (but less than 3/4" at which point I think it becomes something else). It was not bumpy enough to be subject to the nonmachinable charge. Technically, it should have been since there was a greater than 1/4" variation in thickness assuming the journal itself was over 1/4".

I guess we'll see how this shakes out over time. I hope people will report in on any problems or "postage due" type problems they are having. I think that would be helpful for the "traveling" community.

Doug