New regulation around sending letters with eggs

Lewis Jansen · Mar 14th 2023

Hello everybody,

Usually, I'm sending eggs in eppendorf tubes, since they're practical, small and they don't weigh much. Then I attach this tube to a small piece of paper, put it in the letter and voila, thats it. So I'm always making sure Im sending a letter that weighs below 20 grams. This makes sure that I can use 1 international post stamp that is used for letters between 0-20 grams.

Last week I heard from a buyer that he had to pay €3,60 for receiving a letter just like this. I asked around at the local post office and this is the case:

Seemingly, since july last year, the regulation around sending a letter changed. When you send a normal letter, nothing changed and you can simply send a card like you always do. Though, when you send a letter with any kind of object in there, whatever it is, you will need to send it as a tracked 'letter package'. In this way, they can differentiate a letter from a letter package with an object in there. Even when the letter weighs below 20 grams, you still need to label it differently according to the new regulation. Instead of paying around €2,00 for an international stamp, you have to pay at least €4,15 from NL to NL and more from NL to abroad, up to €11,50 when sending it to the USA.

I never knew this, and recently I sent many letters like this, most of them were received without any problem (as far as I know), just one wasn't received normally and I had to pay more for the added costs after receivement.

My question is: who has more experience with this and are there easy tricks or tips to bypass this regulation and keep sending on eggs in the cheapest, though safest, way possible?

Im happy with all the help!

Kind regards and have a good evening,

Lewis

Motte77 · Mar 14th 2023

Yes same here in Germany. I use Priority letter from 3.85€ thats registered. To Europe it is 9 to 12€ depends on the destination. Some use cards to send eggs but that might possibly no longer work too. Sad but all got expensive these days.

bellargus · Mar 15th 2023

In Germany, this was implemented a few years ago. It is not allowed anymore to send goods in letters internationally (this applies to the "Deutsche Post"/DHL). This is the case for sending to EU countries as well even though there are no customs regulations. This means all forms of letters are not allowed and you have to send goods with packages. Tracking is not mandatory. At least this is my understanding. With that Germany and the Netherlands seem to have made a pretty isolated decision since virtually no other European country has implemented such policies. I'm not going to advertise publicly for not following policies but... you know... At least here it is crazy expensive to send stuff with packages. The package is more expensive than what I'm sending in most cases.

Greetings Dennis

kevink · Mar 15th 2023

It's different here in the USA, I use envelopes sometimes to send ova overseas, for me, it depends on the clerk

that processes the envelope, some individuals , will feel the envelope, and say- "you need a customs

form", others, simply take the envelope and off it goes. Knowing your clerks is helpful.

For in country mailings, I use tracked priority boxes for reliability, envelopes are only needed when expedience is

important.

Andreas · Mar 15th 2023

with trick is it easy.

Use an camouflage-letter (think on old western films with an Colt in the bible)..

Use for example an 1 cm Styropor with an hole inside.

The letter must feel homogenous from the outside, then you can offer the letter as "dokument" in the post office.

All my prepared letters arrived without problems.

Susan · Mar 15th 2023

i still send everything in bubblewrap envelopes and it's fine. i was told by employee about this rule and i said okay there goes my business. and he said but have you been doing this the whole time then? i said yes. for half a year then since they made that rule. he said.. then i would just keep doing it. i think they are letting things go still. recently they improved package send options for us tho in better ways. more options for small boxes and track and trace is 1.20 and no longer 3.5 euro extra.

wern · Mar 16th 2023

Ich verwende 3 mm starke Hohlkammerplatten oder Röhrchen als Behälter für Eier. Damit der Behälter nicht fühlbar ist wird er in einem gleich dicken Wellkarton oder Styropor eingebettet. Das Ganze fühlt sich dann wie ein dickerer Brief an. Ich hatte mit dem Postbeamten manchmal Probleme wenn ich den Eibehälter alleine verschickte. Er beanstandete daß so ein Brief nicht "maschinenfähig" sei und deshalb separat behandelt werden müßte. Es kommt aber auch darauf an wer gerade den Brief entgegen nimmt. "Maschinenfähig" heiß daß so ein Brief in der Mitte gefaltet wird.

kevink · Mar 17th 2023

That cardboard trick only works when the clerk doesn't already suspect you . I've had to drive across town more than

once to the "friendlier" post office.

Lewis Jansen · Mar 21st 2023

Thanks a lot for all the stories and tips!

Very good to hear so many different experiences. I will try different methods and see how many will go through easily without a problem. I've received many letters in the past with the cardboard trick, so I will try that as well

Susan · Mar 21st 2023

i bought a box of 100 bubble wrap envelopes not only does it conceal everything better because it's squishy but also is good isolation for sending eggs n cooler temps. if you buy a whole box of those envelopes they are not too expensive. same with sending caterpillars. double cardboard. it said it could hold 12 kg ontop without collapsing and again better isolation. i think such things are worth spending some money on for the safety of the caterpillars and eggs.

Lewis Jansen · Mar 22nd 2023

Thats a very good tip Susan, are you using cardboard too for eggs or only for caterpillars?

Susan · Mar 22nd 2023

the double cardboard boxes are for the caterpillars. i use these tubes for sending and envelopes. i used german amazon. but if you look for centrifuge vials. or test tubes you might find them cheaper on aliexpress for example. just be prepared to wait a few weeks for them to be delivered lol.

https://www.amazon.de/-/nl/dp/…al+5ml%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-40 tubes

https://www.amazon.de/-/nl/dp/…nvelope%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-5 envelopes

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New regulation around sending letters with eggs

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