[O/T] Need to choose an envelope that gets attention

I am in the UK. Which envelopes in your post get your attention best:

Thin manilla or thick manilla? Window or no window? DL(=wide) or C5(=half A4)? Gummed or self-seal?

I knmow it sounds odd so I explain my thinking in more detail below.

Thanks for any feedback! David

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I'm looking for some envelopes to send letters in. I would be writing as a householder and not as a business.

The people I might write to would be companies and organisations like a supermarket's customer services, the local council's planning department or the health authority.

I usually send my letters in rather nice PLAIN WHITE envelopes. Now this might sound weird but I reckon that my envelopes would get better noticed if they were made of cheap manilla rather than my usual posh white.

Speaking personally, I know that if I get sent a FLIMSY MANILLA envelope with a SECOND-CLASS stamp then my instant reactions is ... this could be the Inland Revenue, some ombudsman's decision, maybe the local authority's planning department, a parking fine, a receipt from the landlord, etc. I guess I have this reaction because I reckon that such a crummy presentation is often used by those people who don't feel they need to make much effort and this is because they have a genuinely important message.

I might be reacting to these official letters in a way which is not common to other people, so the question is what gets your attention most:

(1) thin manilla (75 g/m^2) or thicker manilla (90 g/m^2)?

(2) window envelope or plain envelope?

(3) DL (approx 8.5 x 4 inches, 220mm x 110mm) or C5 (approx 9 x 6.5 inches, 324mm x229mm)?

(4) gummed or self-seal?

Without your feedback I'm inclined to go for:

(1) thin manilla (2) probably window (3) probably DL but C5 is not so different (4) gummed.

What do you reckon?

Reply to
David R
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David R ( snipped-for-privacy@mail.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I reckon you need to get a life.

The people who action your letters won't even see the envelope - they'll have been opened, read and sorted by the postroom.

Reply to
Adrian

Why not just get some pre-paid envelopes from the Royal Mail.

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look a bit more serious i suppose than an envelope having a stamp on and i think, are available in different sizes, with windows or window-less.

Scoob

Reply to
scoob

White DL window self-seal, judging by the number of boxes of the dammed things I used to have to shift, I doubt things have changed that much since.

Buy from a reputable source as self seal 'gum' can go off in time, you then either have to scrap them or use sticky tape to seal them !

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

LOL, are you serious?

I reckon you should get some Noddy envelopes:

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next................

Reply to
r.rain

Reply to
Anton Gÿsen

Don't you think that looks like it is trying to impress? Like something from an advertising agency rather than something which is inherently important?

Reply to
David R

I can see my efforts would be wasted in you were the recipient. And that is a valid bit of feedback.

In the larger companies where I have worked, the mailroom gets thousands of letters each day and they would simply forward mail to the addressee to open.

However my solicitor's medium-sized practise works in exactly the way you mention.

Maybe my attempts to get noticed works best when my letter is sent to a private individual.

Reply to
David R

A Hand Written Letter Always Gets My Notice. Baz

Reply to
Baz

I found this Royal Mail page

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class envelopes are £29.50 for 100 which is a bit pricey as a second class stamp is only 21p.

Reply to
David R

Who in their right mind would want to help someone spam the world with even more crummy junk mail?

The envelopes which get my attention are big red uninvitd ones that say "Please let me rip you off and take up your time with some devious s**te."

Hope this helps.

PS, you are in the wrong group.

Reply to
RickyC

I tend not to write to nursery schools so this sort of thing

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really impress anyone I write to.

Reply to
David R

I should have added top flap and not end, IYSWIM

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

I receive hundreds of items of marketing literature a week. I don't give a toss what kind of envelope it's in. It all goes in the bin.

Reply to
Huge

Send them by recorded delivery. It may cost a bit more (65p?) but it certainly gets them noticed.

Robert

Reply to
robertmlaws

Ricky, I think you might misunderstand. I am not intending to send junk mail. In fact quite the opposite.

I want to send my letters very directly to a given person and usually in rsponse to some correspondence we might have had up until then. I want them to notice my mail from all the junk mail and "less important" mail they may get at the same time.

I tend to throw those uninvited ones straight in the bin. Th ebright gaudy stuff tell me the sender is trying too hard and is probably trying to sell me something I don't want.

I chose UK groups where readers were consumers and therefore likely to get more or less a similar sort of mail as I do.

alt.consumers.uk-discounts.and.bargains uk.people.consumers uk.d-i-y uk.rec.cars.misc

There were more candidiate groups but I stuck by GKNSA and limited myself to 4. I made sure [O/T] appeared in the subject line and for prominence I put it at the beginning.

Reply to
David R

Is it not about time RM concentrated on doing the job correctly which we pay them to do ? . I posted a small package to a friend in South Wales on Friday and it was delivered in double quick time for RM Saturday BUT the bloody lazy idol postman because the package was to big to go through the letter box just left it on the door step for the world and his brother to nick . It was when she was going out at 3.30 in the afternoon that she found it the bloody lazy idol postman could not even be bothered to put a card through the door or take it back to the delivery office or even knock on my friend door . I found out when I rang the Del office manager yesterday that the man lived somewhere near my friend so I presume he went stright home after leaving the package on the door step bloody useless is Royal Mail.

Reply to
dexter

David R ( snipped-for-privacy@mail.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It'd get my attention... That's the best you can hope from paper. It's the contents that will (or won't) impress.

Reply to
Adrian

So 8.5p for an envelope then. Were you expecting them for free?

Reply to
AstraVanMan

AstraVanMan ( snipped-for-privacy@SwerveForeskinWeb.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Compared to £2.24 for 50 from Staples - still "a bit pricey". But you're paying for convenience.

Reply to
Adrian

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