I sent my Dad a Father’s Day gift last week. The 8 1/2 x 11 envelope contained a paperback, a deck of cards, and a card. I had folded the unpadded envelope in half; it was a small package. The post office agent weighed it (.381 kg), then checked the corresponding rate on the computer. He then measured it. I expected to pay around $6 to $8, it was $12, that included GST (.57) and a fuel surcharge (.77). “Are you sure that’s surface mail?” I asked, incredulous. He checked again, “Yup.” It was only going to the Okanagan. It would cost me more than the contents of the package. That’s postal piracy. So on the one hand the unions have secured “fair” wages and rich benefit packages for postal employees, while at the same time making it unaffordable for many people to even mail a parcel home to their Dad on Father’s Day. I support unions, but can someone explain to me how this is a good thing?
PO’d
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AuthorSpring Gillard
AuthorSpring Gillard
What was the thickness of the package? The weight is fine as you have up to 500 grams before parcel. If you used a 9 X 12 envelope and folded it in half then you meet the requirements for length and width. The only way it would go as a parcel is if the thickness of the package is over 2cm in thickness. If you placed the deck of cards on top of the book instead of beside it you may have gone over. A typical novel is about 2cm thick. The price to ship if you were under the 2cm thickness would have be $4.70 + HST Hope that helps.
Frank, I made sure the cards were beside the novel. Yes, it would have been a 9×12 envelope. I presume it didn’t pass the thickness test. The guy put it through his little plastic test slot.