Rules for mailing heavy packages to change
Stamps will no longer be allowed on mail more than 13 ounces
Beginning Monday, the U.S. Postal Service will require customers to pay for postage rather than put stamps on packages heavier than 13 ounces.
Currently, packages weighing up to 16 ounces, or 1 pound, can be sent using stamps.
Under a new rule, customers will have three ways to send packages heavier than 13 ounces:
» Going online to the USPS Web site at
www.usps.com and printing out a label.
» Visiting an Automated Postal Center to print a label.
» Going into a post office and mailing the package through a USPS employee.
Even if you know your mail carrier, the carrier cannot take a package heavier than 13 ounces if it is paid for with postage stamps, said USPS spokesman Duke Gonzales.
The change addresses security concerns about packages traveling via airlines, Gonzales said.
"The security procedures ... will apply to more kinds of mail, which should make for a safer mail stream," he said. "It's in line with our thinking that we have to do what we can to make the mail as safe as possible for the customers and our employees."
For businesses using a postage meter, there will be no change. They can continue using the postage meter to send packages of any weight.
Any package over 13 ounces that has been sent by stamps will be returned to the return address.
"In some cases, postage may be due," Gonzales said.
He said the new requirement will increase security by providing a link to the mailer and a record of the transaction.
"Anyone can buy postage stamps and apply them," Gonzales said.
