Hello my fellow UK post-crossers. Our prices went up again couple of days ago. And it made me soooo sad! How are you all combating this price hike? Any advice?
I love post crossing and doing swaps but with this price it makes it so hard.
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I bulk bought stamps from Philatelink when the increase was announced, works out around Ā£1.40/postcard which will tide me over for a bit 
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Wow!! I never heard of that before thanks for sharing! That is a life saverāŗļø i got some as well before the prices went up. But after that i will struggle lol
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@hoiyeeanita ā¦ Yep!! I use Philatelink all the time. Excellent. Great commemorative stamps and you save a considerable amount. Winner!!! Itās pot luck with which stamps you get but I enjoy the surprise.
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It wonāt be long before itās as worthwhile buying a cheap Ryanair ticket to visit Germany for the day and bulk send post from there! 
Our German friends are lucky enough to be able to send 2 postcards or letters internationally and still get change from the same costs here
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Hi, Iām very new to this - am I right in saying that international costs are currently 2 x 1st class, so I could put 2 1st stamps on a postcard instead of a Ā£2.20 stamp? And I can buy these from Philatelink at around 82p each instead of Ā£1.10? AND they donāt need a barcode because they are commemorative? I just want to check Iām doing it all right before I take the plunge and buy a load. Thank you!
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Welcome to the Forum 
Yes that is correct, you can use 2 1st class stamps, Philatelink is a trusted website that I have heard other forum members using, I personally use trusted sellers on eBay.
If the stamps have pictures on them, then yes they can still be used after the July deadline.
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Thatās great, thanks for the info Ryan!
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I think there is some debate about this - my post office says overseas mail has to have the monetary price on the stamp (in other words a Ā£2.20 stamp) and that two ā1stā stamps (which donāt show the monetary value) risk the card not being delivered. Iāve yet to find a definitive answer on this! 
UPU rules changed in the mid-1990s. Monetary value need not be displayed on stamps used internationally. So British 1st and 2nd stamps and American āForeverā stamps and so on are perfectly valid internationally.
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Many thanks 
I have received a few U. K. 2x1st just fine.
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Thanks John - good to know 
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I have always send my postcards/mail with 2x 1st class or even many lower denominations. I like my mails cute so i order lower denominations ones. And (fingers crossed) i never lost a mail
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Reassuring, thank you!
Its that time of year again and Iāve just heard the prices rises for stamps this year (2024) and nearly fell through the floor when I heard it will cost Ā£2.50 to send a postcard. To be fair, Iām not sure how long I can do Postcrossing at the current price hikes - how do the other UK Postcrossers feel?
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Weāve been discussing it on this thread:
From post 1,872 onwards!
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The first class will be Ā£1.35 and the second class 85p from April 02.2024.
I havenāt heard about international prices yet however I did guess it maybe another 15p.
For those interested, the April 2024 price guide is here. Itās surprisingly hard to find on Royal Mailās website.
Headlines:
- Ā£1.35 for a first class stamp, up from Ā£1.25 - an 8% increase
- Ā£0.85 for a second class stamp, up from Ā£0.75 - a whopping 13.3% increase
- Ā£2.50 for international standard (Europe-ish), up from Ā£2.20 - a whopping 13.6% increase
- Ā£2.20 for international economy (rest of the world), up from Ā£2.00 - a 10% increase
The price rises are pretty shocking given Royal Mailās abysmal performance, and the fact they reported an adjusted operating profit of Ā£758 million in their most recent annual report, along with significant performance-linked bonuses the board, a share buy-back scheme, and special dividends to shareholders! It certainly doesnāt seem like Royal Mail needs the money, so this is pure profiteering.
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I thought that they were claiming operating losses in the hundreds of millions.