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LoveInDC
Master November 2016

"We don't do hand cancelling anymore" Say what? Advice?

LoveInDC, on April 5, 2016 at 2:11 PM Posted in Planning 0 19

I stopped at my local post office and figured while I was there, I'd ask about hand cancelling for my STDs/invites. I wanted to know the policy and make sure they don't charge extra for it. This is the response I got verbatim:

"Ohh honey, that's old school. We don't do that anymore. Even if you were to hand cancel them, the minute you hand them to me, they go in the same bin as everything else. We have no way to separate them. They go through the machine regardless."

What? Okay, hand cancelling is unnecessary and mostly just looks better. But I'm doing single envelope invites and postcard STDs and I'm worried about them being damaged. Advice?

19 Comments

Latest activity by Shelby_Erin26, on April 5, 2016 at 7:47 PM
  • BrowntoBain
    Super October 2018
    BrowntoBain ·
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    Ask a different post office. Some do it, some dont. ETA: If you don't have a bulky envelope it should be fine through the machine.

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  • OG Kathryn
    Champion May 2016
    OG Kathryn ·
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    Its going to have to go through machines anyways. its really not a big deal.

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  • Lauren17
    Master July 2017
    Lauren17 ·
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    They do still hand cancel them. Go to a different post office.

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  • Niki
    Master June 2016
    Niki ·
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    She's not lying - even if she hand cancels, it will still eventually be sorted via machine. We did single envelopes and had no issues with the machines. I wouldnt stress it.

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  • Jacqui76
    Master May 2016
    Jacqui76 ·
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    Ask your post office which post office is the regional processing and distribution center (if you don't already happen to know). That's the one you'll need to go to, they will do it there. I heard that some charge a fee but it's minimal.

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  • LoveInDC
    Master November 2016
    LoveInDC ·
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    Thanks guys for the reassurance. There's one other post office in the area, but it's infinitely smaller, so I doubt they'd be able to accommodate it.

    It's good to know the machine isn't the kiss of death for all invitations. I'll ask again when I get them weighed/mail them. But I doubt someone else would know of a magical bin that somehow this senior employee is unaware of. Just a bummer.

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  • Reggie
    Master September 2015
    Reggie ·
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    It's not a huge deal IMO. Mine came through just fine. I mean when you really think about the mail you get, it's a very small percent that's actually messed up in any way. Heck, I'd imagine a large part of the damage (well, around here anyhow where we have postmen on foot) comes from being in the postman's bag as he walks around slinging that thing on the ground and then we have teeny tiny mail slots so things get messed up just going through there when they really don't fit.

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  • FreshToDeathAng
    Master September 2016
    FreshToDeathAng ·
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    I hand cancelled mine, they told me that they don't do it but she handed me the stamp and I stood there and did it myself - but honestly it's a huge waste of time and stress. They still go through machines anyways

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  • O
    Super April 2016
    Ostrich ·
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    I took an STD in a few days before I was ready and asked if they did hand canceling and if the size was ok, did I need extra postage, etc, etc.

    I was told then that they don't hand cancel. When I brought all of them in to drop off I asked again and the nice man did them for me. it takes about 1 minute to do 75 of them.

    I got 3 (ugh) addresses messed up so the STDs were returned to me. All 3 of them had clearly been through the machine on top of the hand cancel anyway.

    It was kind of annoying but honestly, unless you have very bulky or odd shaped invites just let them go through like normal. Not even worth the bother at this point.

    ETA- spelling.

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  • MrsPlasters
    Super September 2015
    MrsPlasters ·
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    I did mine myself too after they handed me the stamp -and it was at a regional processing post office.

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  • JennV
    Master October 2017
    JennV ·
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    What is hand cancelled? I hope I'm not the only person asking this...

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  • BlueHenBride
    Master March 2017
    BlueHenBride ·
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    I've read it can depend on who you happen to talk to and what time of day you go. It was recommended that you try to go at a time where they won't be busy (not lunch break and not right after work).

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  • LoveInDC
    Master November 2016
    LoveInDC ·
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    @JennV - Whenever you mail something, it goes through a machine. The machine marks the stamp (or "cancels" it) so that the stamp cannot be reused. Many people choose to hand cancel their invitations or other delicate mail. The principle is, you (or someone at the post office) personally marks the stamp, or "hand cancels" the piece of mail. Then, the mail is hand sorted. This way, the letter avoids being torn or otherwise damaged by the machine.

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  • JennV
    Master October 2017
    JennV ·
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    Thank you!!

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  • LoveInDC
    Master November 2016
    LoveInDC ·
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    No problem! But as many people above pointed out, it's a bit outdated and not many post offices are clear about their policy (if they do it, how they do it, if they charge for it, etc.). Often, hand canceled mail ends up getting thrown into the machine anyway and canceled again so it can be a lot of effort for no result. I was hoping my post office would be on top of it, but it doesn't look like it.

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  • NewMrsWesely
    Master September 2016
    NewMrsWesely ·
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    I made my own postcard std from card stock, nothing fancy, and they made it just fine. I would not worry since most mail never has issues. If really worried do a test run.

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  • Christine
    Dedicated June 2016
    Christine ·
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    Honestly it will all go through the machines to get auto sorted out several times UNLESS you pay the extra and it goes into a special bag and will never touch a machine, This is nation wide. I have many many relatives and friends that work at and have recently retire from the post office after working there since the late 1960's (lot's of changes over the years)

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  • 2d Bride
    Champion October 2009
    2d Bride ·
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    We boxed ours up and sent them to the Bridal Veil, OR post office for hand canceling.

    I don't know that it's necessary, but we got a pretty postmark and no stray machine marks on them.


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  • Shelby_Erin26
    VIP September 2016
    Shelby_Erin26 ·
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    We did magnets for STDs and only one got sent back to us and its because it was torn in half and the address was completely gone. I think it was probably from the machine. We had extras so it wasn't that big of a deal. I am a little worried about the invites but I just bought a few extra.

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