Perfect Package Weight

"There is no weight maximum for packages, but a good guideline is that the average package will be a 2-pounder; some packages will be 1-pounders, some will be 3+ pounders."

Ask Andy, from the volunteer sign-up list posted on 3/6/2025.

Two books being weighed on a scale. The red pointer aligns with a black line drawn at 1 pound 14 ounces. All of the lines drawn on the dial are two ounces short of the shipping weight, to allow for the weight of the wrapping material.

• When selecting books to fill a request, try to get the sum of their weights as close to the black line on the scale (ie, X pounds, 14 ounces) as possible, without going past it. 10-14 ounces is a good range.

• What you want to avoid is being a little over. In that case, either remove something to  bring the weight back down to X pounds, 10-14 ounces, or add something to bring the weight up to the next black line.

The post office charges to ship books by the whole pound. We pay as much to ship a one-and-a-quarter-pound package of books as we do a two-pound package. So we want to optimize the weight of each package to give each person who writes to us as much reading material as possible, without paying postage for an extra pound.

This post is the first in a series of Tips for Volunteers, about the fine points of answering letters and wrapping packages. Some tips first appear in the weekly BTP sign-up email. To see the others as we post, select Tips from the Category menu.

Subscribe to our blog