A trip to the post office gives me a nasty shock...
Back in May I had to make the painful decision to close my business - a letter writing service from "The Fairies". I blame the German postal system entirely for my loss. Postage costs are incredibly high and the nearest post office to me is a mile away. A mile!
Anyway, time had passed and I'd forgotten about the rules and regulations regarding envelope and parcel sizes and the impact the dimensions have on the astronomical cost of a stamp.
I took my Christmas cards and a few small parcels to the esteemed establishment. It was a long process; I send quite a few cards to places around the globe. Most are to the UK though, so I was unpleasantly surprised when half a dozen were pulled out and placed to one side.
"Too big" stated the clerk.
I looked puzzled.
"Too big" she repeated. "Not standard price"
Ohh. Well, it had taken me long enough to write and address them, so I told her to post them anyway.
They weren't that big. I've measured a leftover one and it measures 12.7cm by 14.2 cm. That's about 5 inches in old money.
The cost for sending each "non standard / too big" card? €3.45!
No, that is not a typing error. €3.45. How utterly ridiculous. The entire pack of cards cost about the same price.
I cannot get over this. Obviously I went to the post office a couple of weeks ago to send these Christmas cards and I still haven't managed to get the horrific cost out of my head. However much it hurt to close my business, this confirmed to me that I made the right decision.
My entire postage bill that day came to a staggering €75.96.
I love sending cards and equally love receiving them. Quite a few people don't seem to send Christmas cards any more though, and it saddens me to think I may have to become one of them, based purely on the cost of postage from here.