NYC Post office

Hand canceling doesn't really matter. Your invites will still go through machines. I wouldn't waste my time on it

Skip handcancelling- just find out how many stamps you need- stamp them yourself and drop them off in a box.

We have someone at work that has a machine to weigh mail, what im worried about is that I dont think the envelopes are going to go through the machine because they have bows so it will probably cost more than just the postage for weight that the machine at work will show me.

Do you have a mail meter at your office? You can weigh it there.

And the pissy mood thing is DEFINITELY not limited to the NYC post office!!

Maybe you'd like to take a day/half-day off and head to a slower post office deep into the boroughs? My old zip code's post office, Dyker Heights Station (11228), is pretty sleepy, though it's only open at inconvenient hours (9-5), and it's far from the subway. On the plus side, cannoli.

I work near the post office on Canal St. I went in one day after work and just used the scale on the self-service kiosk. Our envelopes are a standard size so I wasn't worried about the extra postage, just the weight.

If you're worried about the size then you might just have to suck it up and deal with the pissy USPS employees.

ETA: I'm also going to try mailing one to myself, just to make sure it works.

I don't have any NYC experience with mail but I did hand cancel mine and it made a big difference. When I weighed/bought stamps I asked about hand cancelling and the lady said no to it. So I just mailed a test invite to myself and it came a week later with the machine cancelled mark on the front and a bar code on the back bottom of the envelope also.

When I finally mailed all of the real invites I went to a different post office and asked again about hand cancelling and they had no problem with it and just gave me the stamp to do it myself. One invite came to my house (since I currently live with my sister) and it looked like it barely went through the mail. There were no additional marks on the envelope at all. The most "marked up" the envelopes got was a few in other states had a small black marker line through the postage if the red stamp had faded.

It was worth it to me to hand cancel since I did the calligraphy on all of my envelopes and did an embossed return address on the back, plus the design was important to me as a graphic designer.

There a several post offices in NYC that have a self-service machine, which allows you to weigh items yourself. I know the 33rd street post office near pen station has them.

Guests don't give a damn about how your envelopes look, don't bother hand cancellation. The sad truth is those nice envelopes go straight in the trash.

I'm not considering hand cancelling, and I'm going to the main post office on 8th and 33rd b/c I work over here.

When I mailed my STDs, all I asked was for the "love" stamps. The guy behind the counter was rude AF, but I'd still go back (he was nasty to everyone). That was just one experience with one person. I've been there before and the other employees were pleasant.

Honestly I don't really care if the envelopes look nice or not. We did use a calligrapher but what can you really do? It goes through the mail. I just think mine may have to be handcancelled because they are a bit on the bulky side because of the bow it has. Im going to check their hours near work and try to he there first in the morning sometime this week.

Thanks everyone

Do you have a kitchen scale? You can weigh your set on any scale that weighs in OZ (0.0 digit) Then go to the "Calculate Postage" page on the USPS website. It will guide you through to select the correct weight, size and include the "rigid object" selection. It is always best to have it weighed by the PO, but I understand your frustration if you want to figure it out for yourself, lol!

I got my save the dates hand canceled at the Grand Central post office. They were awesome - did it right in front of me. She did mention, however, that there is a chance they will still go through the machine.

Since we had a snafu with our engagement party invitations, we physically dropped off our wedding invitations at the post office. I agree with Lins G., hand canceling doesn't really matter, but make sure you drop your cards at the actual post office. I don't trust mail boxes.

Hand cancelling doesn't make a difference. Just weigh and buy stamps.

I went to the post office to get my invitations weigh. I was told with no bow and stuff it's just one 47 cent stamp. Otherwise it won't be able to get through the machine. However, they also told me if I special order their wedding stamps. But that would cost 70 cent per stamp. So I will be paying $34 extra just for a bow. I am still on the fence with that.

I had mine hand cancelled in NYC and the man at the post office was in a great mood. Just wanted to pop in with my "not all of us in NYC are jerks" comment lol.