How do i know if i need more than one stamp to mail a letter?

Question

Im mailing a letter to a place thats like 4 hours away from here and my friend keeps writing me sayin he hasnt gotten a letter from me but i wrote him and i dont understand why its not getting there

I sent my friend a letter and he wrote me again sayin i still havent wrote him and i wrote him a week and a half ago.i put 4 pages plus a pic and thats all.he lives about 4 hours away on an army base

Answer 1

To correct an answer previously posted, the rate is currently 39c, NOT 37c, from any place in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) to any other place in the United States for a letter of normal size and shape weighing 1 ounce or less. (That's usually 4 pages plus an envelope - 10 pages would definitely cost more unless they were very small pages!) Each additional ounce costs 24c more. It does not matter "how many" stamps you use, as long as the total value is correct.

If the letter had your return address on it, it should come back to you if anything is wrong with the address, but that can take several weeks. Be sure your return address is someplace on the envelope, preferably on the front in the upper left corner.

It is also possible that someone is intercepting your letters at your friend's house - that is a federal crime! But sometimes family members who don't like a friend will do that.

Be sure the address is correct and legible. If your handwriting is bad, print in block letters!

If the problem persists, ask at your post office and have your friend ask at his/her post office. There may be some kind of problem with mail being stolen or something like that which should be checked into.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Usually 3 sheets of paper requires one 37 cent stamp. If you're sending more (or pictures, anything that has weight to it), then buy yourself a little postage scale (about $10) from Staples, weigh it yourself and add the postage accordingly (directions included).

Ask that person their address and write it down again and save it to your computer and send them another letter. Check the address you wrote down the last time to see that it's correct. Did you send them money because that would be stopped in the mail if the post office could detect that. Or, maybe there's just a glitch at the post office that services your mail (or where you sent it from).

After enough trial and error and you've done the above with still no results, maybe your friend is trying to tell you they don't want to receive letters from you, or that they would rather you speak your words instead of write them, or maybe if someone on their end gets the mail first maybe they aren't delivering your piece of mail to their family member.

Answer 3

It's not because of insufficient postage, because then he would just receive the letter with "postage due" stamped on it. I would suspect that either he is receiving it and is feeling guilty because he hasn't responded or someone else is intercepting the letters, especially if you're talking about more than one letter.

BTW, if the letter is thick or heavy, you can take it to the post office to check it or just stick an extra stamp on it for good measure.

Answer 4

If there is not enough postage the post office will ask the recipient to pay. If the recipient refuses, the letter will be returned to you. If he has not gotten your letter, it may have gotten lost. Make sure you have his correct address and you print it clearly on the envelop. Also, make sure your return address is legible so the post office can return the letter if they need to.

Answer 5

Ummm.....I would ask your local Post Office how many stamps you many need. They weigh your letter right there, and it can cost more if you wrote a lot and made the envelope heavier than a regular letter.

Answer 6

if it's over 1 oz then you'll need additional postage.

Go to the post office web site to get rates on letters.

Most of the time you can fit 5-10 pages in a standard size envelope and it'll still cost just one stamp.

Answer 7

I had to mail a letter to Hong Kong. I went to the local post office and just asked the person working, she told me like, a buck 17 or something, so you should just go and ask them the price.

plus, if you did postage wrong, I think they just return it to you.

Answer 8

If anything was wrong with postage it would have been returned back to you. There was one time in my life that someone sent me a letter and it never got to me. I think it must have just gotten lost! It happens....

Answer 9

check the zip code make sure you have that correct because if you put one wrong number in it may go to Timbuktu if it is a regular letter you should not need more postage

Answer 10

you need to weigh it. If you didn't put enough stamps on, it will be sent back to the return address. the letter may be lost