Your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah invitation can set the tone for their celebration. After spending hours choosing just the right invite, you are faced with yet another dilemma… the stamp!
We all say we aren’t going to do it! It seems ridiculous to spend extra money on a custom stamp, but soon we find ourselves placing the order anyway.
Before making the decision to order a custom stamp, make sure you check with the USPS to see what regular stamps with different themes they are offering. These non-custom stamps are less expensive (pay just the face value!) and can be used on the outside of your Bar Bat Mitzvah invitation envelope or for the RSVP and/or thank you notes.
The current “Forever” stamp from the USPS is perfect for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah!
If you do decide on a custom stamp, here’s what you need to know:
Step 1- Visit the Post Office in your area with your finished invitation – bring the RSVP card and any other item(s) you will be sending. Please note: If your invitation is not bendable, it can be considered a parcel and the postage can differ depending where in the U.S. you are mailing from.
Step 2- Speak to a USPS worker to check the size, weight and shape of the envelope. Sometimes more postage is needed for odd shaped envelopes and oversized invitations may be considered “packages” and subject to different rates.
Step 3- Visit a second USPS office and repeat the pricing process. Why? Believe it or not, Mitzvah parents frequently report getting two different stamp prices from two different Post Offices. If that happens, go with the higher priced postage; it’s not worth the risk of the invitations being returned.
Once you have confirmed the type of postage you will need, you are ready to design your custom stamp online!
Stamps.com & PhotoStamps.com
There used to be several online retailers to purchase customized valid U.S. postage, but now Stamps.com is the only independent, approved licensed vendor of the U.S. Postal Service. Photostamps.com is a part of Stamps.com. Both sites (which link to each other) sell sheets of 20 custom stamps, with 15 different postage denominations to choose from — 35 cents for a postcard up to $2.oo for a flat 6 oz envelope.
The big difference? Stamps.com requires a monthly membership and you actually print your custom postage at home. Photostamps.com does not have a monthly fee, and your custom postage will be mailed to you. If you do not already have a Stamps.com account (for business or personal use), make sure you place your order through Photostamps.com.
Pricing varies based on the number of sheets you order but as a general rule, the more you order, the lower the charge for the individual stamps. Both sites offer an easy-to-use interface to create your stamp. You select your image and can zoom, move, and rotate your image, add custom border etc… Keep in mind, if you create a Stamps.com account, you will actually have to print your own postage and it can be confusing, so always read the fine print before you place an order.
Custom stamps will arrive at your home in sheets, like Sasha’s, which were made on Stamps.com
You can also create custom stamps on Shutterfly.com, Minted.com and other online stationery stores. Each of these sites will ultimately bring you back to Stamps.com to create the actual postage.
How do these sites differ from ordering directly from Photostamps.com? The stationery sites offer fewer denominations of postage (most have only a .55 stamp) and the cost per stamp remains the same whether or not you order 1 sheet of 20 or 10 sheets of 20. Since many of these sites offer discount codes, be sure to see if you have a valid code that would help to bring the cost down.
Mitzvah Advice
Always look for a USPS logo or look for the PhotoStamps® (single word) brand before you purchase any customized postage product anywhere on the Internet. When you see a logo like the one above or you see the PhotoStamps trademark, you can be assured that the U.S. Postal Service will accept your mail and process it without delay. Be careful because there are many imitations out there that are nothing more than photo stickers! PhotoStamps from Stamps.com is the original customized postage product and is always genuine U.S. Postage.
See below for a gallery of customized stamps that Mitzvah Market Spotlight families have used over the past year.
Planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah and looking for local advice from Vendors and other parents? Visit MitzvahMarket.com’s 17 regional Facebook groups here.
