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Post by christyotwisty on Mar 28, 2020 1:18:12 GMT
Thanks, katiel. I'll see if I'm allowed inside US post offices to buy some global stamps when I cross the border March 30, enough to mail at least two letters of the "sorry Canada Post is not delivering letters from your nation at present, here's my protonmail address for encrypted mail" variety. I have some global stamps, I hope to find them soon and I could not bother anyone and just drop them in a US mailbox.
I have a PayPal address and sufficient money in USD accounts.
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Post by mailartist on Mar 28, 2020 3:41:24 GMT
What are "global stamps"?
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Post by christyotwisty on Mar 28, 2020 5:25:45 GMT
What are "global stamps"?
Global stamps are round stamps costing $1.15 USD each to pay for delivery of first-class regular-sized envelopes addressed to regions outside the United States and its territories. When the forever stamps were first issued, the design was that of a globe.
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Post by Gary S on Mar 28, 2020 13:13:07 GMT
What are "global stamps"?
Global stamps are round stamps costing $1.15 USD each to pay for delivery of first-class regular-sized envelopes addressed to regions outside the United States and its territories. When the forever stamps were first issued, the design was that of a globe. You're in for a rude awakening on that $1.15 USD. Take a roll of nickels with you as they went to $1.20 USD back in late January. Also, as you have a US address, you could probably order the stamps online and have them delivered to your US address so they'd be there waiting for you. I say could as I've never tried ordering from outside the US so there may be issues with that fact but I doubt it as they will most likely sell to collectors no matter where they're located.
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Post by mailartist on Mar 28, 2020 14:20:34 GMT
I guess I'm confused at what we're talking about. You're in Canada. Does Canada honor a US international forever stamp (the round ones) on a letter that you would mail from Canada? Or would a Canadian post office require you to use a Canadian international stamp, for them to initiate delivery?
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Post by Gary S on Mar 28, 2020 15:05:49 GMT
She has both a Canadian and a US address and lives on the US/Canadian border. I assume, and it holds true from the letters I've received from her US address, that she uses whatever country's postage she mails the letter from. So she's talking about US Global Forever stamps to mail all her outbound International mail to countries that Canada Post is no longer accepting mail to from the US. The Canadian as well as US border is closed to non essential travel so unless she has say an appointment at a doctor's office she won't be allowed to cross to simply buy stamps or drop off mail.
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Post by rosesnbrambles on Mar 28, 2020 15:06:18 GMT
christyotwisty, are you asking about mailing a package with pre-addressed and pre-stamped (US postage) letters from Canada to someone in the US who would then drop them at a US post office since Canada isn't sending mail to certain countries? If so, I could handle that for you easily if you necessary. The library I work at is across the street from the post office.
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Post by christyotwisty on Mar 28, 2020 16:58:30 GMT
christyotwisty, are you asking about mailing a package with pre-addressed and pre-stamped (US postage) letters from Canada to someone in the US who would then drop them at a US post office since Canada isn't sending mail to certain countries? If so, I could handle that for you easily if you necessary. The library I work at is across the street from the post office. I am exactly asking that, rosesnbrambles, yes, and thanks! My request would have been for just two pieces of mail, based on the current list of mail disruptions on Postcrossing's Mail Monitor page.
There are no hospitals in Point Roberts, WA, GaryS, so I cannot pick up my mail. I see now I was shortsighted in moving our postbox from Bellingham, a 45 minute drive + border wait, to Point Roberts, a 14 minute drive + 5 min. wait at worst. Also, I did read the stamps went up to $1.20, but my Post Office had, at least until I showed up twice a week for InCoWriMo 2020, its $1.15 stamp supply to sell me. It did not raise the price on its existing supply of global stamps. This is why we Canadians use Point Roberts, many goods like international postage are cheaper.
GaryS has my situation exactly correct. The US is cheaper, faster, more convenient than asking pen pals outside of North America. The USPS has, in some post offices, an automated kiosk for selling postage too, by debit/credit card only, amounts greater than a dollar, outside the main retail area. I know where some of those post offices are.
GaryS also uses an excellent example of what constitutes "essential travel," transport of patients with life-threatening diagnoses to their treatment and consultations.
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Post by Mia on Apr 11, 2020 0:41:29 GMT
I decided to rewrite a letter as I had ranted a little about the elephant in the room, well, more than a little. I didn't feel happy with that letter in the end. The revised letter feels much better. Still mentioned the elephant, but I also wrote about things I had forgotten to in the original.
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Post by ginny on Apr 11, 2020 13:30:57 GMT
I decided to rewrite a letter as I had ranted a little about the elephant in the room, well, more than a little. I didn't feel happy with that letter in the end. The revised letter feels much better. Still mentioned the elephant, but I also wrote about things I had forgotten to in the original. I know how that happens... It's too big an elephant to *not* mention it, yet you don't want to talk about it too much... and then you get carried away. I have resorted to typing up a newsletter kind of thing about the recent developments at my workplace (we've had major trouble with an IT thing earlier this year, and once that was resolved, we got shut down when the Corona Crisis happened. So, lots of things to rant about! The place is about to re-open its doors soon with limited access and special cautionary rules), interspersed with some personal info about how I'm dealing with the situation. Then I add this to my handwritten letter. I can focus entirely on all things that are *not* the elephant, and it feels so much better to have it separated.
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escorpio
Pencils
Posts: 86
Looking for Penpals?: Perhaps. It depends...
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Post by escorpio on Apr 15, 2020 8:00:12 GMT
To my penfriends I write alot about my day to day life, so of course the Corona crisis has impacted that, as well as pretty much all our plans for summer. I feel it is OK to address that, since I'm also knowing that all my penpals are affected in one way or another. One of them is a healthcare worker so I made sure to add that I was pretty certain that her experience was way different than mine, which consists of working from home and no strict lockdown (I'm in Sweden).
Then I balanced the letter with talk of other things such as spring arriving, events I've been to (in February!) and other more light-hearted things. I am waiting for a letter from one penpal and with him we discuss current events and such so I'm sure the corona crisis will also be talked about. Once I can send the letter, Sweden is currently not delivering to Australia, so I'll need to wait for that to be lifted).
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Post by penguy on Jun 5, 2020 18:05:47 GMT
One of my pen friends just sent me a five page commentary titled "Letters in the Time of Covid' that he had found on the internet. I went out and did a search and found the following link. It is a very thoughtful piece and certainly is appropriate to we letter-writers. Here it is: www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/andy-smarick/letters-in-the-time-of-covid/I debated about starting a new thread but this seemed appropriate to what we were talking about.
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Post by ginny on Jun 5, 2020 19:11:52 GMT
One of my pen friends just sent me a five page commentary titled "Letters in the Time of Covid' that he had found on the internet. I went out and did a search and found the following link. It is a very thoughtful piece and certainly is appropriate to we letter-writers. Here it is: www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/andy-smarick/letters-in-the-time-of-covid/I debated about starting a new thread but this seemed appropriate to what we were talking about. That's a really good article. I've seen it on Twitter before - very thoughtfully written.
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Post by vertolive on Jun 5, 2020 21:55:11 GMT
And now there are TWO elephants in the room if you happen to live in the US. Sheesh.
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Post by Gary S on Jun 6, 2020 3:07:07 GMT
The problem is one of the elephants won't stay in the danged room but is trumpeting through the streets spreading Covid-19 everywhere. That's the problem.
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