LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Mailing without an envelope
You can mail a sturdy object with no envelope, as long as it survives sorting equipment, carries a readable address, and has enough postage affixed. Coconuts, potatoes, shoes, and even tires have all gone through the mail this way. If the object is tough enough to be handled unwrapped and the address stays put, the post office will take it.
| Famously mailed unwrapped | How it was sent |
|---|---|
| Coconuts | A longtime tourist gimmick in Hawaii and Florida: the address and stamps go directly on the husk |
| Potatoes | Mail-order novelty companies ship printed potatoes as parcels with the address inked on the skin |
| A single shoe | Laced address tag and postage; the postal service treats odd shapes as nonmachinable parcels |
| Tires | Wrapped with a shipping label strapped around them; bulky but perfectly mailable |
Postal regulations are written around size, weight, and contents, not around wrapping. An "unwrapped" parcel is a recognized category: it simply gets handled by hand instead of by machine. You pay parcel postage rather than letter postage, and a clerk weighs it and confirms the address label is secure. The post office would rather take your money for a coconut than turn it away for lacking a box.
The address and postage must stay attached through rough handling. Write or affix them firmly: a tag tied with twine works on an irregular object, while adhesive labels suit smooth ones. The address has to include a return address too, since unwrapped items are more likely to need one. Contents must be legal and safe, no liquids that can leak, nothing hazardous, nothing that spoils. And the object has to fit within the carrier's maximum size and weight limits for parcels.
Unwrapped and oddly shaped items travel as nonmachinable parcels because they cannot ride the automated sorters. That means a clerk handles them by hand, and the postal service charges accordingly. If you are mailing something unusual, take it to the counter rather than dropping it in a box so the clerk can weigh it and price it correctly. Guessing the postage yourself on an irregular object is the fastest way to have it returned.
Anything you would not want a stranger to see goes in an envelope or box: documents, photographs, medical items, anything with personal information. The mail stream is not private by default for parcels, and an unwrapped letter is essentially a postcard anyone can read. Fragile items need cushioning, and food needs sealed, leak-proof containers. Letters themselves, of course, go in envelopes, which is what LetterAgent handles: you describe the letter to your AI assistant, approve the quoted price, and it is printed on 8.5x11 paper and mailed in a double-window envelope. No inserts, no novelty potatoes.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com