Great Tips to Cut Postage Costs Hunt

Too_Much_Telly

Re: Taping over stamps. Yes, this is fraudulent. What I do (which is legal) is to cut unfranked stamps with at least 1/4" of old envelope still attached. I then tape over the old paper and attach this to the envelope. It looks ugly and I wouldn't do it with a Christmas/Birthday card, but it is fine for a "brown paper" envelope.

ferf1223

I noticed from Martin's email today that he compared Recorded and Special Delivery...while I agree with his main point, Recorded Delivery is only tracked at the time the item is delivered. It is not tracked at the time it is posted...have had a number of occasions where a recorded delivery item never shows as having been delivered in Royal Mail's system...even though I have the slip from the post office showing when it was posted, it never shows as having been delivered.

Royal Mail has said that this can happen when several items are delivered at one time and the postman doesn't get a signature for each of the items.

My problem is that I need to be able to prove that someone has received what I am sending...and so in some cases, due to an error on the postman's part, I cannot do this.

Regardless, if you want a fully trackable service from the time the item is posted, Special Delivery is the option to choose even though it is more expensive.

potman

Hi
I have found a great way to save on postage. I downloaded the software from https://www.fineprint.com and it allows me to print up to four pages on one page without any loss of quality. Saves on ink too!

Use on letters that are not of a legal nature etc. Looks better if you print on standard A4. Another way to save weight is to print on lower weight paper such as 60gm. I only pay £1.99 per ream for mine. See Staples for details,

poorbutgettingricher

i have been posting alot of ebay items lately, and me and my partner have found that by popping into a village postoffice they seem to charge lower prices than the big postoffices in the centre of town. to saving yourself a bit of money, and keeping the more rural offices going!

ukmonkey

poorbutgettingricher wrote:

i have been posting alot of ebay items lately, and me and my partner have found that by popping into a village postoffice they seem to charge lower prices than the big postoffices in the centre of town. to saving yourself a bit of money, and keeping the more rural offices going!

I can confirm that this is complete and utter tosh and would ask the MSE forum team to remove the post and also to remove my post (this one) that quotes it.

Thanks.

keithyreeves

1. If you receive a letter or parcel with a stamp that's unfranked you can reuse it - just remember to glue it and not stick it down with cellotape
2. In the past posties would scribble over the stamp if it was unfranked to stop you from using it again
3. At Christmas, tip your postie (even if it's a bottle of wine), the likelihood of you being charged for unstamped material is significantly reduced (esp. when I used to deliver post)
4. Recorded delivery (signed for) post is only kept at the delivery office for seven days before being returned to sender
5. Special Delivery is kept for three weeks
6. Recorded delivery first class is cheaper and will more likely be delivered next working day (a certain percentage of first class must be delivered next working day)
7. You are less likely to receive a single piece of mailsort on a Saturday.
8. Not all posties have black and white cats contrary to popular belief
9. I did used to deliver to a Mrs Goggins and Ted Glenn
10. The elderly do appreciate you talking to them, it maybe the only person they see all day but the least anyone can do is to listen to them.

WKD-Lauren

poorbutgettingricher wrote:

i have been posting alot of ebay items lately, and me and my partner have found that by popping into a village postoffice they seem to charge lower prices than the big postoffices in the centre of town. to saving yourself a bit of money, and keeping the more rural offices going!

i think there may be some truth in this as i hae found at smaller, quieter branches of the P.O they check the sizes of letters&parcels using the slots much more often & this can save you money as something may end up falling into a lower category than you had expected, thus making it cheaper.

whereas at larger, busier branches - they tend to guess which category your letter/package falls into - often rounding it up to the more expensive option, if say it was a borderline case between large letter&package

ayla261

i thought this was rubbish till i checked back over some of our recent reciepts and it turns out we have been charged varying rates for identical items when posted from different offices, and i have to say on a private rant that closing post offices is stupid...i waited 45 mins in queue last monday, 37 mins on weds and 29 today, suppose i should be glad waiting time seems to be reducing as the week goes on!

manch235ter

ukmonkey wrote: »

The items would almost certainly be treated as having no postage paid, and surcharged for the missing postage plus a handling fee of c£1.00

Not sure about all the stuff about it having a Queens head or anything, but it could be seen as an attempted to defraud, or obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.

By sticking anything over a stamp , or drawing on a Note ( £10,20, £50 etc) it can be classed as Treason , and is a punishable offence! stupid i know!

ukmonkey

Can you cite a source for that? I'd be interested to read more about it.

I suspect what you have said is simply an urband myth, but I'm not sure!