Great Tips to Cut Postage Costs Hunt

Sazere

Of course you could just do what my aunt has been doing for years which is - not putting enough stamps on it and then the receipient (sp?) has to pay!

Most years birthday/christmas cards and pressies I have to pay and usually collect from the post office. Always telling her about it but she never changes.

soolin

chatta wrote:

I was told by PO that when posting a magazine, leave both ends open unsealed as its cheaper, please dont ask me why.

This used to work when there was a printed paper rate, but that hasn't existed for many years so all items are treated the same, whether sealed or unsealed.

There is still a printed paper rate for overseas though, but items don't have to be unsealed.

Soo

Lugh_Chronain

marleyboy wrote:

Simply send an email, its faster, cheaper and has a lot more chance of getting to its reciever.

That maybe so, however you can not always guarantee you will get a response. I complained to Abbey about my ISA last year via email. They denied every thing. Then I wrote to them and it was a different story all together. They were very apologetic and even compensated me, albeit a small amount. So sometimes it is necessary to write a letter rather than emailing. Letters tend to be more effective. Emails can be deleted too.

meerustar wrote:

...Royal Mail can refuse to deliver if taped over or glued on with anything other than the original glue/sticker.

I know we're all moneysavers but it's only 32p or whatever ...

Are you sure that they will refuse to deliver if glued on with anything other than the original glue/sticker. Surely with all the letters etc that the RM gets would they bother checking never mind noticing?

I admit do to doing this once or twice and only because I was going to send letters to who ever and realised that I had made a mistake or something. I soaked the stamps off the envelopes and use them at a later date with tiny bit of Gum. They got to their destination OK. How do I know? Because I got a response from both the letters I sent.

Nevertheless, I don’t make a habit of doing this because as I have initially said you sometimes have to write letters because you can not always guarantee you will get a response via email. In this case you have to pay for postage especially if it is urgent.

I wouldn’t advocate reusing stamps though. Isn’t it illegal?

juno

meerustar wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember someone saying yonks ago that you cannot deface a stamp as it has the queens head on it (or something) and that Royal Mail can refuse to deliver if taped over or glued on with anything other than the original glue/sticker.

Not sure if its true but I've never sellotaped over a stamp. I know we're all moneysavers but it's only 32p or whatever ... and quite reasonable too I think to send my family a card on the other side of the country.

I've received a letter where the stamp was sellotaped on, and had to pay a £1 fine and then the 23p 2nd class cost

delorean_2

ukmonkey wrote:

If you are sending DVD's/CD's perhaps try sending them without a "DVD style" case, instead put them in a plastic sleeve, and then perhaps in a board-backed envelope...

I'd be peed off if someone sent me a DVD or a CD i bought off them without the packaging. I don't get the point of your post...?

ukmonkey

I don't mean if its a retail dvd/cd!

If I put, for example, my holiday snaps on a cd for you, I'd send it to you in a plastic sleeve instead of in a "dvd style" case.

If I were selling you a DVD Movie on eBay for example, I'd send it to you in the "proper" case (although you'd pay the postage).

Mikeyorks

Lugh_Chronain wrote:

Surely with all the letters etc that the RM gets would they bother checking never mind noticing?

Yes they check. They have highly automated machines that sort / orientate the manually stamped mail - into 1st and 2nd class streams by 'sensing' the type of stamp(s). Presumably sellotaping over the stamp masks the sensing facility - so it's rejected for manual sortation, and some get surcharged.

andrewmoorcroft

How does Royal Mail know if you have re-glued a stamp with no frank?

Diminutive

How does Royal Mail know if you have re-glued a stamp with no frank?

It doesn't, an unused stamp is fine. Though changes in the texture of the stamp can give the automatic sorting machines some hassle.

It is actually classed as treason to deface anything officially bearing the queens face (which includes stamps). This actually includes putting the stamp upside down

ukmonkey

Diminutive wrote:

It is actually classed as treason to deface anything officially bearing the queens face (which includes stamps). This actually includes putting the stamp upside down

Can you cite a source for this little gem please, particularly the bit in bold...?