Visiting London next month, staying near St. Paul’s Cathedral and King’s Crossand had a couple questions:
Favorite places to get cards? And are the recommendations in this thread still up to date?
Is there any retail store for the Royal Mail postcards that they sell online? Also, do most post offices have the wide variety of all of the commemoratives or should I rather have them delivered to the hotel?
Is there a huge difference in terms of delivery time between International Standard and International Economy to the US? (The £2.20 vs the £2.50)
I’m guessing you can combine stamp values? Like I’ll be able to put one first class and a second class for £2.20?
The chain of shops called Paperchase no longer exists and yes, you can use multiple stamps as long as the total value is correct.
Beyond that, I’ll leave comments to folks in London. I know some postoffices sell commemeratives and PHQ cards, but wouldn’t be able to advise on where they are.
You can get the Royal Mail postcards from a Post Office (but not all postoffices have them)
The Post Office should be able to send cards internationally but be careful - if they are not got the kings head off then they are not offical Royal Mail stamps but a stamp run by another company (& usually takes longer to post).
The £2.50 stamp is dark green with the Kings head shown on it
In my experience there’s no difference time - wise to major destinations (including the USA) for cards sent via Economy Vs Airmail where the service is available.
Further to last post my own average travel time to the USA in Jun24 was 12 days, all sent using Economy.
Up to the OP, but my own personal advice would be never to waste a full £2.50 on a card to the US or Canada but go with 2.20 (a first and second class NVI at current rates adds up nicely to this).
If @tragicwaffle25 does decide to go down the Economy route where available I’d reiterate my advice not to put your sanity on the line by asking for it at a Post Office as you will be met almost certainly with a barrage of misinformation about the service’s availability. My advice from earlier on this year still stands… just ask for the value of stamps you need and don’t be drawn on what you intend to do with them.
As an aside I recently made a complaint to Post Office Ltd after being refused a Proof of Postage for an International Economy letter to the USA in three different branches on the basis it was underpaid. The response to my complaint (I sent a copy of the cover with personal details obscured) was that I was in the right (which I knew!) but that it’s “not a very common service”. Go figure!
Back to the OP’s query , it shouldn’t be necessary but it can’t hurt to write INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY in the top left hand corner. Some of us on the UK forums have invested in a stamp to this end, but that wouldn’t be logical for such a short trip.
Hope you have a great trip and your postal endeavours are a success. Do come back if we can help any more.
Barcoded Machins / Commémorative stamps with the silhouette of the late Queen Elizabeth II are equally valid. These co-circulate with similar stamps featuring the silhouette of the current monarch.
I’ve stayed in London a few times now and my hotel is always happy to mail the postcard for me. They can provide the stamps and tell you the costs. The cards have always arrived. I suppose it does depend on what kind of hotel you’re staying at.
Postcards - I’ve found the touristy/gift shops close to the British Museum are very economical for cards - 4 or 5 for a £1 and good size/quality.
Having got there you may as well go into that wonderful establishment (free) and peruse their shops postcard collection
Spitalfields market is enjoyable with great food - several stalls by artists have some unique postcards. Saturday there was a Silk Rd photo exhibition on with great cards. These will be dearer but different.
Most tourist attractions sell a few cards - Good luck & let us know how you get on.
