Dear Sellers, Please... For The Love Of God!...

Please, please... if you are going to stick a foam packing peanut in an envelope to make it 1/4-inch thick so it qualifies as a parcel, do NOT just throw it in the envelope with a glassine. Without a stiffener in the envelope, the foam packing peanut will mangle the stamp if any pressure is applied to the side of the envelope.

The USPS price for a 1st class domestic parcel is EXACTLY the same for 3 ounces as it is for 1 ounce, so there is absolutely no reason not to include a stiffener with the glassine/stockcard affixed to it.

Just today I received not the first mangled stamp thanks to those damned packing peanuts...

I would guess that the shipper didn't know

Oddities of postal systems ...

In the UK, creating a parcel, rather than a letter, would increase the postage cost. And bulking out an envelope would make it a "large" letter with similar results. So a reinforced envelope that keeps within the 5mm thickness limit makes financial, as well as packing, sense. I do have some anxiety when sending envelopes that hover around the thickness limit, however!

I think foam packing peanuts should be banned when shipping any paper item. These peanuts are used to prevent breakage, which certainly is not applicable to stamps.

They will however leave an impression on stamps, books, etc. when any amount of pressure is applied

In the US the reasoning behind converting a first class letter to a parcel is in the tracking, you can get tracking on a parcel and can't on first class, without buying certified or registered.

Aha. Here the "signed for" levy applies to both letters and parcels sent via the mainstream Royal Mail service. Adds £1.10 to the price. Parcelforce - a Royal Mail spin-off - does automatic signed for, but its prices only become competitive when you send over 2 kilos' worth (although they then start becoming uncompetitive with non-Royal Mail carriers!).

packing peanuts are evil no matter what they are in

revenuecollector.....
your title is correct....
dear sellers....
because a dealer will never use a peanut
in a envelope.

I hate packing peanuts in any package.