[Stamps] UK stamps, prices, Royal Mail & Post Office matters

Language & Geographical Communities British Isles
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Keep an eye on https://www.royalmail.com/prices2024 - there, they’ll have the postage rate leaflets to download

Current rates, hopefully valid at least until the end of the year (Royal Mail need to give 30? days notice). Bah humbug, 2nd price rise announced.

From 2nd October 2023:

1st - £1.25, large £1.95
2nd - 75p, large £1.55
Surface mail / International Economy, 100g to outside Europe, £2.00
Airmail / International Standard, 100g postcards/letters, £2.20

Postage rates from 2nd April 2024.

1st - £1.35, large £2.10
2nd - 85p, large £1.55
Surface mail / International Economy, 100g to outside Europe, £2.20
Airmail / International Standard, 100g postcards/letters, £2.50

There is a minimum size for international mail. “One surface must be at least 9cm x 14cm” found on their get a price site.

Also keep an eye on Postcrossing’s Postal Monitor, and service updates from Royal Mail:

International - https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5317
UK - https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12556

Adding a couple of blogs covering stamp news from the UK, and from the Commonwealth (and former Commonwealth).

https://blog.norphil.co.uk/ Norvic Philatelics.
https://commonwealthstampsopinion.blogspot.com/ Commonwealth Stamps Opinion blog.

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Is it just my impression, or does the UK have one of the highest international costs for sending a postcard?

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I wonder, good thought and off to google and see if can find out, be interesting to know which country has highest postage rate for a postcard and also who is lowest!

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There is also a forum thread that showed me that the UK is not actually the worst:

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Try Sweden、Italy、Denmark or Iceland :wink:

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Malaysia has the postage of 1.4rm which equals 0.25£;
Danish needs 25kr(or more) for a card which equals 3£.
That’s why we have so few crossers from Denmark…

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Sob :frowning_face:, prices going up in Jan to £1.70

The tiniest of silver linings: that’s the price of two first class stamps (which also go up).

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Again already?! Wow, they’re really milking it, these days. I hope they’ll print some country definitives with the new face value soon, though.

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A tiny positive, there should be room for postage on a postcard!

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Two of us sobbing :cry:. I found the last increase already quite bad. :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:£1.70 per card , that’s a real shock!

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Wow :grimacing:

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:open_mouth:
If I typed here what I just said out loud, I’d be banned from the forum!

That price is scandalous. :unamused:

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Now I’m recovering from the shock of the price news (!) I actually came to ask a weird question: has anyone noticed that the blue ink is rubbing off their Airmail stickers? In particular I’m talking about the Post Brenhinol ones, although I don’t see why it would be any different from the English-language Royal Mail stickers.

Is it just me? :sweat_smile:

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Crikey! Thanks for sharing! Now I can try to stock up on some before January…

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The new £1.70 country definitives are listed on the Royal Mail website already. Releasing 23rd of December :blush:

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Oooh, thanks for the heads up! They weren’t available last time I looked!

Clearly, though, I should buy a ton of Welsh dragon firsts at the current price and just use two per card for a while…

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I’ve got a small stash of £1.45 stamps suppose I should start requesting some postcards tomorrow when I should be back at work

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The £1.45 stamps will still be OK for International Economy, which I believe can be used to send postcards to anywhere outside of Europe. Or make them up to International Standard with 25p of loose stamps.

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It’s weird that it’ll be cheaper to send a card 19,000 km to Invercargill than to send it 100km to Dieppe.

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Yes, but it is today too (£1.26 Int.Econ, which is valid to New Zealand) vs. £1.45 Int.Std. to anywhere.