Mail

Mail is something that seems “before my time”, but I’m starting now (at age 33) to realize how nice it is. The United States Postal Service is explicitly created in our Constitution, so it’s a service we should make use of. Remember, it’s a service, not a business! It’s there to facilitate communication, trade/commerce, not make money! Also, people really like receiving handwritten, personal mail in their mailbox. Don’t just think of your mailbox as a business/bills spam trap. Make sure you get your friends’ mailing or home addresses to send them things!

ZIP Code

Use USPS’s tool to look up ZIP Codes™.

My mailing address

You can write me at:

2342 Shattuck Ave #904
Berkeley, CA 94704-1517
United States of America

I don’t check super frequently so I may be slow to respond.

Misc

Wax Seals

If you have a wax seal on the outside of the envelope, you’ll need to pay a nonmachineable surcharge, which as of 2024 I think is around 41¢. You can also buy stamps that include this surcharge already, so they’re like $1.14 or whatever.

Who can leave stuff in your mailbox

Only the United States Postal Service is authorized to put things in your mailbox. It’s illegal for other people or businesses like FedEx or UPS to put stuff in there. I’ve actually heard that P.O. boxes can receive packages, as long as they’re mailed and not sent with a private delivery service.

Neighbor’s phone or email

My mom told me about a neighbor who wanted to get the phone or email of another neighbor to complain about noise. They know the neighbor’s address. They could’ve just sent a letter.

Letter headers

I’ve seen some old letters written in like the 1800s, and I noticed they always had their date and location written up top. It’s probably good to write the date on the letter; like, if it’s a birthday note that might be kept around it’s nice to know what year or date the letter was sent. Besides that, I don’t really know the proper etiquette for titling letters. This PDF has guidelines for 19th century letters. There’s also something called Victorian letter writing guides, but that’s kinda different.

Books on writing letters

Actually, I’ve got some books that mention stationery and writing and titling letters. These include:

  • Crane’s Blue Book of Stationery - Mentions more handwritten letters than the others
  • Emily Post’s Etiquette (I’ve got the 16th edition by Peggy Post)
  • Director’s and Officer’s Complete Letter Book
  • Business Letters the Easy Way
  • How to Write Successful Business Letters by Marcel M. Swartz

PO box prices

A 4"×6" PO box in Mountain View is $100 semi-annually as of 2024-09-04. A 12"×24" is $325 semi-annually.

Stamp prices

You can find prices on the Postal Explorer website, Notice 123 (Price List).

First-class mail Forever Stamps are 73¢ as of 2024-09-04. A typical booklet has 20 stamps or is $14.60. You can send a 1-ounce letter according to DMM-604 Postage Payment Methods and Refunds. For reference, 1 ounce is the weight of 5 quarters.

Nonmachinable surcharge stamps as of 2024-09-04 are $1.19. These have the nonmachinable surcharge fee already included, which I guess is 46¢.

International Addresses

We want to mail a friend in Sweden for his birthday. Sounds like you’d format it like: 

[Person name]
[Street name] [number]
SE-[Postal code] Stockholm
SWEDEN

This post on Straight Dope suggests putting country code before zip. But then the post directly after says not to do that.

Here’s some USPS links on the matter:

  • International addressing requirements

    It mentions checking https://www.upu.int/. Writing addresses in all capital letters. Addresses must be written in ink or typewritten, no pencil. The last line of the address block must include only the complete country name (no abbreviations) written in uppercase letters. A return address is required, might need complete full legal name?

Postcards

Minimum dimensions are 3½" × 5" with 0.007" thickness. Maximum dimensions are 6" x 9" with 0.016" thickness. I think the typical postcard size might be 4" × 6". If more than 4¼" high or 6" long, it needs to be 0.009" thick minimum. See paper for info about postcards

Postcard stamps are like 56¢. If it’s more than 6" high or 9" long, I think it needs a letter stamp.

Certified mail, certificate of mailing

Certified mail tells you when the recipient got the mail. It costs $4.85. Cerificate of mailing just proves you sent it when you said you did. Not sure how to pay certified mail by stamps.

See the certified mail guidebook (or see the PDF) for more info on certified mail.

USPS contact info

Buying packaging at the post office

When you buy envelopes or packaging at the post office, make sure you get them stamped. That shows that you paid for them. Sometimes it’s fine if they’re not stamped, but better safe than sorry.

Buying stamps

An envelope from USPS says that stamps can be purchased:

In-person selection

Post offices can vary in what kinds of stamps they have available. I was looking for some high-denomination ($5) stamps for parcels. None had it. 150 Sutter in SF at least had $1 and $2 stamps, but Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley didn’t even have those.

Media Mail

Media mail is a cheaper way to send educational materials. It’s a flat rate based on weight, which I’m guessing is so all Americans have universal access to educational materials. You can send books, and I think CDs and other media formats. Funnily enough, comic books don’t count.

Notes for myself:

To Dos