Never Send These Things in Paper Envelopes.
Have you ever expected to receive a small item in the mail, only to receive an envelope with a hole in it, and the item was not found? It happened to me when a childhood friend said he would send me a special pen, and it happens to the recipients of countless spare keys, according to one postal worker who took to Reddit to warn others .
People sometimes assume that the item is stolen, which would make sense if it was something of value, like jewelry. But many of the lost items are coins, unmarked keys, and candy. They are not the target of thieves. The culprit is a robot.
Why Small Items Don’t Pass Through Mail Sorting Machines
This video of the mail scanning machine shows the problem. Envelopes whistle along a set of conveyor belts that make sharp turns as they scroll through the machine. Anything that can’t turn will break out of the envelope, fall to the bottom of the machine, or sometimes jam the job (and wrinkle the next few letters in the process).
What Not to Mail in a Paper Envelope
According to the US Postal Service, the following items are not allowed in paper envelopes:
- Pens
- Pencils
- keyrings
- bottle caps
- “other similar items of unusual shape”
Postal workers who have joined the Reddit thread say they also see a lot:
- Keys and key chains
- Medallions, bracelets, rings
- “COINS! Oh god, coins.
- USB drives
- Memory cards, including small video game cartridges
- Candies
- Tablets
- Hearing Aids
A listing found on the websites of several university post offices (such as this one ) says that the USPS does not allow staples or pins in the mail. I haven’t been able to find this rule in any official USPS publication, but I admit it’s a good idea not to mail loose pins and use staples instead of paper clips if you want to be on the safe side.
Why the “handle manually” entry does not protect small items in the mail
There is a myth that you can write certain magic spells on your envelopes to protect them from the big bad machines. But the truth is that most envelopes are not handled or read by a human until they are passed through a scanning machine (if they are human readable at all). So “process by hand” and “do not bend” – it’s just so many screams into the void.
How to properly mail keys, USB drives, paper clips, and other small items
If you need to mail a small item, such as a key or jewelry, use a padded envelope . Partly because they are loaded into different machines, and partly because the padding doesn’t tear as easily as a regular paper envelope.
Instead of a padded envelope, you can also use a heavy cardboard postal envelope, or make your own postal envelope by attaching small items to something larger, like sandwiching them between two pieces of cardboard. (One Reddit user said he successfully mailed the key by taping it to a chocolate bar.)
You can also ask that the envelope be handled separately – not by writing something on the outside, but by delivering it to the person in the mail. You will pay the non- processable surcharge and the postal clerk will set it aside.