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JSR
19-02-2010, 05:26 PM
I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I thought someone should mention that April 6th sees the Royal Mail increasing their prices again.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400147&mediaId=112700772

I've taken a quick look at the changes and it seems as though all small-weight prices have gone up, as usual, but all parcel & heavy-weight prices remain the same. In short, where there's competition in the marketplace the prices don't go up but where the Royal Mail have the monopoly they do.

A simple first class letter goes up to 41p (letter rate, up 2p), 66p (large letter, up 5p), £1.39 (packet, up 11p) - further extending the huge price gap caused by "pricing in proportion". The increase in 1st class packets has gone up by 5p-11p (11p increase for 100g, 5p increase for 2Kg). Recorded Delivery has gone down from 75p to 74p - but as the first class price goes up by 2p-11p then a 1p decrease in the Recorded Delivery fee is kind of irrelevant.

Where a single mug currently costs £2.14 (or £2.89 recorded) to post, it'll now cost £2.24 (or £2.98 recorded). Over the last three years, the price to post a single mug has gone up from £1.94 to £2.24 (£2.66 to £2.98). Meanwhile, first class packets over 4Kg have gone up by ... 0p. Funny that there's no change in the area where the Royal Mail has competition (in fact, first class packets over 4Kg actually came *down* by £4 in 2008 and haven't increased since).

Standard parcels remains the same - obviously this is also because there's plenty of courier-related competition that provide a superior service out there that the Royal Mail are afraid of.

Special Delivery goes up between 0p-65p depending on weight and service and now starts from £5.05 minium. Special Delivery for items over 2Kg remains the same at £21.65 (how many people actually use that price-inflated service for the no-change to make a difference?).

I haven't checked 2nd Class post because I don't use that service. Maybe someone else could post the changes in this thread for the benefit of others?

Anyway, the link above will take you to the relevant Royal Mail page where you can download a PDF and check prices for yourself.

I hope this helps everyone prepare for the increases.

bms
19-02-2010, 06:04 PM
Thanks JSR.

So the price rises are inevitable, but are there any ways around incurring the extra costs?

One way is to buy lots of 1st class stamps prior to 6th April and use them afterwards. As the stamps don't have a value on them then you "save" paying the extra cost until you've used up all your stamps. So one option could be to go out and buy lots of standard 1st class stamps at 39p now and also lots of large letter stamps at 61p now.

How many people use franking machines - the cost of franking is cheaper for post, but you have to pay for the labels/ franking machine so is it worth it?

Any other suggestions?

JSR
20-02-2010, 12:21 AM
That's good advice. We usually buy in a small quantity of first class stamps just prior to the price increase, but we don't generally send out too much that requires just a first class stamp. Most items are small packets which we take to the post office, get weighed, and pay on the spot. Anything larger we try and send via courier so they can pick them up. Not much saving going on there.

If you send special delivery, don't forget you can stock up on Special Delivery envelopes from Royal Mail's online shop before the price rise, too. There's potentially more to save on special delivery. Unfortunately, not all sizes are available - we send out <100g envelopes on Special Delivery once a week but this weight isn't available on the Royal Mail's website. No saving going on there for us, then.

I've pondered franking machines before because the factory I used to work at had one, but I know very little about the application of them. How much do you pay upfront for the machine? Is it practical for all volumes of post or just if you're sending large quantities? Is there a monthly fee involved? Can you use any labels or just those supplied by the post office?

swimwivsquid
20-02-2010, 04:48 AM
When we had our lab business in UK we had a franking machine. We had a lot of invoices and films to send out on a daily and weekly basis. Its cheaper for volume as the postage is under the normal postal rate but you have to factor in the cost of the franking machine and the visits by the Royal Mail to check that the machine is functioning.I think it was twice a year and each time its charged. The machine is never yours as its generally leased over a couple of years. I think it cost us about £2000 for the machine over a few of years and a couple of hundred pounds for the visits each year. Unless you are sending out loads of mail its probably not worth it . The plus side is that the postage is quick to apply....no more licking stamps. You can personalise your printout to include your logo etc...looks professional. You pre pay for the postage we used to do a £100 at a time then top up over the phone line direct to the machine. Hope this helps.
Richard

mrs maggot
20-02-2010, 08:13 AM
you can also order stamps and print them off online from royal mail http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400046&mediaId=26800663 its handy as you can have it all prepared.

i use signed for, gives us peace of mind, and no lost t shirts in the post (touch wood) our local post office gives us a reel of the stickers, and some pads to record them on, i take them to the post office in batches ready done, saves getting glared at in the queue

John G
20-02-2010, 11:15 AM
I buy my 1st, 2nd and large letter stamps at Cosco in bulk - works out cheaper than buying the stamps from the post office. They don't have the price printed on, just the service, so next time i'm there i'll be buying a years worth :)