I am at the post office every Tuesday, the flat rate envelope is only 5.65, regardless of the weight or distance (unless it is going to Canada or out of country). If your post office is charging you more someone is making a profit besides the post office, that is the rate established by the US post office. If someone is charging you more, report them.
Also the flat rate envelopes & boxes are free, there are also flat rate boxes, the ones I use are $12.35, regardless of weight. I have packed in as much as 20lbs. in the box.

If you look at some of the on line fabric shops, they will often tell you how much they can squeeze into a mailing for a certain price. Thousands of Bolts springs to mind. I've ordered from them any number of times and when it comes to check out, there will be a pop up that says they can get 'x' number of yards into the mailer for the same price. So while I may have been ready to order 4 yards of something, I will often go back and add another 4 or 5 yards to my order for the sake of the shipping charges. Also, I just got an order from Marmalade Fabrics that had 6 yards of fabric. The shipping was $5. The fabric came in one of those cardboard postal mailers and let me tell you, that thing was bursting.

yes the padded FR envelopes are easier to stuff than the cardboard mailers. Now they are making them in poly instead of paper they are even better. They are still not as big as the Tyvek ones though. I just stuffed one of those with 4 small to medium quilt tops. Printing the postage online it was cheaper than Parcel Post.

If you print postage online from the USPS website, you get a small discount in postage on any Priority Mail.

As if the PO was not confusing enough, there are THREE possible rates for any PM package

Highest - over the counter
Next lower - online postage through website or Paypal
Lowest of all - Ebay shipping, if you are Top Rated Seller. Only good for ebay transaction though.

I always put it in a zip lock bag to insure no water damage and then I squeeze the air out of the bag. I wrap it in brown paper and put the postage on through Paypal. I do have a great scale so I know the weight is accurate. I have had really wrong information at the post office so I try and avoid them.

Thank you so much for this information!

The package may have been stolen from your customer's mailbox/porch. wherever. Especially if it was anytime after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Just sayin'.

USPS claims on ads for flat rate mailers (box or envelope), "if it fits, it ships." I have sent some large items overseas to our son when he was in the service. Supposed limit is 70 pounds.

Not to confuse the issue, but there is a flat rate military box also.

Back to the main subject -- You can use usps.com to pay for postage and print labels for Priority Mail shipping. I am not familiar with the Paypal rates, but using usps.com is a nice discount over the post office prices. You may also request free pick-up from the postal carrier, and depending on how far it is to your post office, this lack of driving may represent the biggest savings of all. Delivery confirmation is free on all Priority Mail packages where postage is paid for via usps.com. That is another savings.

You can get legal size flat rate Priority Mail cardboard envelopes. The postage is slightly higher than the regular size envelopes, but the space is quite a lot bigger. I have found it to work great for fabric.

I think the most frustrating thing is that postal clerks don't offer consistent information. The biggest problem seems to be in first class envelope postage. It is extra for oversize (I think 6 x 10 is about the limit), extra if it is stiff (a subjective judgment), and extra if it doesn't fit through the slot (1/4" I think). I have had clerks tell me that a clasp on a manila envelop jumps it up to another level. Other clerks have said if you tape over the clasp, it doesn't count as higher postage. A homemade fabric postcard also has a great variation in clerk opinion, and I have found that if it is put in a sealed envelope it goes the cheapest.

I have done Ebay for over 10 years and mailed out a lot of stuff. The flat rate post office boxes are great if the item is heavy, but relatively small. Once you get over 5 pounds or so, and the item is too big for the flat rate boxes, then I have found other carriers such as FedEx or UPS to be the best value. With them insurance is drovides up to about $100. Post office insurance is ridiculously expensive.

Concerning first class (13 ounces and under), distance doesn't matter in cost within the U.S. One yard of cotton quilting fabric can usually be sent for $2.25 - $2.75 in a manila envelope depending on fabric weight and also envelope weight. Two yards costs about $3.00-3.50. If I mail out a presser foot in a padded envelope, the least I will pay is $2.07 -- it is categorized as a "package" even if it is in an envelope, I guess because it won't fit in the 1/4" slot.

Media mail is another ball game altogether. The thing to remember about it is that you cannot include any correspondence, and the item cannot have advertising. Therefore quilting magazines don't qualify for Media Rate. I once was told by a clerk that I could not use newspaper even in shreds as packing material when sending a book, because the newspaper has ads on it.

I tell the postal clerks the same thing I tell the Joann's clerks -- I am happy to play by the rules if I know what they are that day.

Dayle

I was once sending some local newspapers to someone. The seasoned postal clerk explained to me that Media Mail is only for books and DVDs. Magazines and newspapers were not included because Media Mail if for educational items only. Now maybe ads are the reason magazines and newspapers weren't included but it wasn't the reason he gave.

I search all of USPS website and the tyvek were only for priority not flat rate. there are padded flat rate envelopes but they are not tyvek.

media mail is for books and other items, not necessarily educational!! You can even send a cheapo romance book by Media Mail.
It is the ads that disqualifies magazines for MM. Doesn't matter how old the ads are either.

I agree, PO clerks love to make up their own rules!! One of the perks of the job, I guess.