Jakers! 60p for a first class stamp from 30 April

[sammyc]

torn between stockpiling, and some sort of uprising...

Most prices are going up in line, but in case you haven't noticed, packet rates will now start at an up to 750g base price, rather than the current 100g/250g/500g increments. At £2.20 for a second class 100g packet therefore, that's quite a jump from the £1.33 now. Bad for us ebayers, selling or buying.


http://c435158.r58.cf3.rackcdn.com/R...Our_Prices.pdf

[GoNz0]

it had to come considering fuel prices.

[Sputnik]

I suppose the other thing is the lower volume of letters being sent, They must have lost quite a bit of income from people having paperless billing.

[sammyc]

I suppose the other thing is the lower volume of letters being sent, They must have lost quite a bit of income from people having paperless billing.

Less letters, but more online shopping-generated post/parcels as a balancer, you'd think?

[Spank]

Superdurg are selling stamps at 5% of atm

[Sputnik]

Less letters, but more online shopping-generated post/parcels as a balancer, you'd think?

Or maybe not as there are other competitive companies that deliver parcels.

[Pob255]

2nd class 50p

But that change to a 0-750g category is a major bump.

That's going to be a bad effect for many fleabayers, as my otherhalf just pointed out they enforce a cap of £4 postage on clothing.

[BobF64]

Perhaps they need to introduce a "local stamp", for post that never leaves the same area as it was posted in.

After all, most of the cost is to pay for people sending over longer distances, at a price that you absolutely could not do yourself, in a way that is simple.

[jim]

I wish they'd just dumped 2nd class and spent the money saved by simplifying everything on reducing the increase to 1st.

[directhex]

[Whiternoise]

It's a lot, but watch the Top Gear race against the mail and you'll see why it's worth paying for. For local post it's expensive, but when you need something to get that letter to Aberdeen from Penzance in 24 hours, 60p isn't all that much.

Or maybe not as there are other competitive companies that deliver parcels.

Pity that most of them are tripe. Royal Mail are pretty much the only company in most areas that have a decent selection of redelivery options or a depot within walking distance. Good for the sellers that people like HDL exist, but terrible for buyers. I try and ask for RM every time.

Couriers are excellent for business to business deliveries, that's what they were conceived for and that's what they're very good at. As a result they don't have the time of day to deal with petulant residents that complain the office is 20 miles out of town and shut on a Tuesday.

[petercook7]

The prices are rising because of TNT etc.. royal mail has to subsidise those companies, thus prices have to rise. If the RM carry on like this they will not last.

[kalniel]

Less letters, but more online shopping-generated post/parcels as a balancer, you'd think?

Yes, except you don't use letter stamps on parcels.

The postage for parcels isn't rising nearly as fast, it's just letters, which are now out of fashion. There is competition in the sector now, so if you want royal mail's benefits then you have to pay for it sadly.

[BobF64]

It's a lot, but watch the Top Gear race against the mail and you'll see why it's worth paying for. For local post it's expensive, but when you need something to get that letter to Aberdeen from Penzance in 24 hours, 60p isn't all that much.

Perhaps 1st and 2nd should be replaced by "national" and "local" stamps instead. After all, Im fairly sure there are already stamps for posting to mainland europe.

The prices are rising because of TNT etc.. royal mail has to subsidise those companies, thus prices have to rise. If the RM carry on like this they will not last.

Yes, because its not really competition, Royal Mail still deliver to the door, regardless of who moved it around the country.

[peterb]

Petrol is around £7.00/gallon. Assume the average car does 40 to the gallon (and neglecting any other costs of running a car, and the value of your time.) That is about 17.5 p/mile

For 60p you can deliver a letter personally (and tbh quicker!) within about a 1.5 mile radius of your home. After that it is still cheaper to use RM 1st class. Seconf class it drops to about a mile (but much slower)

I occasionally buy stuff from Novatech, about a 30 mile round trip, either because I need something now, or just to save their delivery charge (about £6.00 for next day) but that is only slightly more than collecting it myself.

Put in that perspective, courier and postal charges are still low.

What the charges might do is reduce junk mail, although bulk mailing rates are much lower than normal postage chargesso it might make a difference.

I am still surprised that RM don't offer discounts to Smartstamp users, instead thecharge a subscription which seems nonsensical to me!

[Whiternoise]

Petrol is around £7.00/gallon. Assume the average car does 40 to the gallon (and neglecting any other costs of running a car, and the value of your time.) That is about 17.5 p/mile

For 60p you can deliver a letter personally (and tbh quicker!) within about a 1.5 mile radius of your home. After that it is still cheaper to use RM 1st class. Seconf class it drops to about a mile (but much slower)

I occasionally buy stuff from Novatech, about a 30 mile round trip, either because I need something now, or just to save their delivery charge (about £6.00 for next day) but that is only slightly more than collecting it myself.

Put in that perspective, courier and postal charges are still low.

What the charges might do is reduce junk mail, although bulk mailing rates are much lower than normal postage chargesso it might make a difference.

I am still surprised that RM don't offer discounts to Smartstamp users, instead thecharge a subscription which seems nonsensical to me!

Interesting point, what options do Royal Mail give to people to bulk-send items?

The obvious solution would be to keep stamps fairly expensive for the public, but offer a monthly/yearly subscription or something that gets you unlimited postage or something. Either that or simply bulk discounts on stamps?