but this part of the gov't isn't shut down
January 19, 2019 12:03 AM   Subscribe

I mailed a card that never arrived. Weird, but OK. I mailed it again and... it still never arrived. Speculations welcome.

January 7: I mailed a thank you note to my friend's child from the indoor letter slot of my city's main post office. Definitely had a forever stamp and the correct address. It was a square note card envelope, not a full sized envelope, but not tiny -- maybe about 4 by 4 inches. My return address was on it. My friend's child has his same last name.
My friend lives within my zip code. In my small city, typically, same-city mail arrives the next day. When it had not arrived in a week, I re-wrote the note, put two forever stamps on it just in case the square envelope shape had made a difference, and mailed it from the drive-through mailbox at the second-largest post office in my city. Mailed early Monday morning, it should have arrived by Tuesday, but it still did not come by Friday (today.) What's possibly going on?
To narrow down the dx:
1. My friend is getting his other mail
2. I used forever stamps and had the correct address and zip code
3. My name was on the return address (return address sticker)
4. The second envelope was taped shut with a small piece of tape as well as normally sealed
5. My friend looked through his recycling and trash, and for my second attempt, kept a hawk's eye on his mail. I believe it didn't arrive. It's in a green envelope so it's not easy to miss.
The last time something I posted was lost in the mail was 15 years ago. Now it's twice in a row to the same address. What do you think?
posted by nantucket to Grab Bag (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Is his other mail cards, or just the mundane bills and the like? Is there a problem with mail theft in his area?
posted by stormyteal at 12:14 AM on January 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


I’ve had very small envelopes arrive months after they were sent. I suspect they get lost easily in a system designed for larger envelopes.
posted by quince at 2:44 AM on January 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Best answer: Square envelopes require more postage (they take extra handling since they're not the same size as the usual ones). So I *guess* that could explain the first one, though I would've thought it'd get returned to you. And the second one should've made it since you used two stamps, but it's theoretically possible that the square shape was somehow an issue here?
http://support.envelopes.com/customer/portal/articles/829483-why-does-it-cost-more-to-mail-a-square-envelope-how-much-more-
posted by sunflower16 at 2:50 AM on January 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


sunflower16 has it right. Odd size envelopes have always caused me problems. These days I just slap more postage on and that seems to make things right.

But yours should have been returned. That's the puzzle.
posted by james33 at 4:52 AM on January 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Nthing the odd-size-envelope-postage issue.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:56 AM on January 19, 2019


You might still get the first envelope back for insufficient postage, it takes a while.
posted by lydhre at 4:57 AM on January 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


You and your friend could both sign up for Informed Delivery. The USPS emails you a scan of letter-sized mail every morning. Your friend could see if it is due to arrive, and you could see if it is coming back.
posted by 41swans at 5:18 AM on January 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Are you 100% sure you have the full address right, including the ZIP? This happened when I sent out my wedding invites, though 2 regular sized envelopes had been delivered despite the incorrect ZIP.
posted by DoubleLune at 5:56 AM on January 19, 2019


letter size requirements from the post office indicate minimum dimensions of 3.5" x 5".
posted by noloveforned at 6:05 AM on January 19, 2019


You might still get the first envelope back for insufficient postage, it takes a while.

This. I just had this happen with something that I mailed via USPS in November. Two whole months. 1-3 months to get a returned letter is not unusual.
posted by nightrecordings at 6:17 AM on January 19, 2019


Nthing that returned cards can take a long time. I'll usually get a Christmas card returned to me in late January.

I also once had a letter returned when I addressed it to someone's (very unusual) nickname rather than a version of their legal name, even though the address was otherwise completely correct.
posted by TwoStride at 10:34 AM on January 19, 2019


I have had this happen many times when.mailing from the USA to India or Quebec. Like, six or seven tries for the same item. Never figured out how to avoid it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:08 PM on January 19, 2019


Stuff gets lost in the mail constantly (it's an industry issue for me). Sometimes I've mailed something to an hour-ish away from me and it got there the next day. A friend of mine mailed me something from the area and it took 2.5 weeks to get there. Hell if I know.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 PM on January 19, 2019


I recently had a package returned (for an incorrect address) that had been mailed out 6 months ago. It's weird but it happens.
posted by weed donkey at 7:14 PM on January 19, 2019


Like TwoStride, our post office once refused to deliver a package that was addressed to a nickname for our family (actually a portmanteau of my spouse's last name and mine). Is it possible that the post office is being picky because the child doesn't get much/any mail?

In our case, we were forced to go pick up the package from the post office, at which point the mail clerk expressed amazement and exhasperation that his colleagues had failed to deliver a properly-addressed package. So that gave me some measure of satisfaction.
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:52 PM on January 19, 2019


Response by poster: Followup:
Card 2 with double postage arrived at its destination a week after expected.
Card 1 was returned to me about 3 weeks after mailing.
Takeaway: small square envelope hazard.
posted by nantucket at 6:43 AM on January 24, 2019


Thanks for the followup! I have found wildly varying times for letters, especially anything that has the special handling surcharge (squareness, uneven thickness, etc.) Sometimes it doesn't make a difference and sometimes it's an extra week.
posted by wnissen at 11:43 AM on January 29, 2019


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