Great Tips to Cut Postage Costs Hunt

macwise

I don't think I have any tips, most of it has been said already. But just to reiterate what has been stated by some, this is not necessarily a dramatic increase in costs. We have worked out what we will be paying for our usual postage costs in our office.

We discovered that to post our Information Packs which are A4 and weighing about 300g, we will actually be saving money under the new system. Currently it costs us 98p per pack but from Monday it will only be 74p. The reason for this is that there are now only 4 price bands between 0 and 750g, compared to 13 currently. So there will be winners and losers under the new system, and which category you fall into may depend on how you choose to adapt to the new structure.
:rotfl:

Ironically for the lighter publication which we send out regularly, the price we pay will increase from 22 to 36p each but if we change to A5 or fold it, we will continue to pay 22p.
:T

So don't panic, although these prices are for franked mail, the structure is similar for household mail too and I have received my price guide at home already (thanks RM).

warby_2

Yes, it seems to be a bit of an empty offer to say that they are increasing the limit from 60g to 100g, but that it has to be less than 5mm thick! Sending 10 sheets of reasonable A4 paper folded once in an A5 size envelope is pretty much on the 5mm limit, and spookily weighs approx 59g (the current limit - coincidence???!!!). To say you can send up to 100g so long as less than 5mm is silly - they may as well have said you can send up to 1kg!

anniebooklover

Sounds like ukmonkey works for Royal Mail (that isn't a criticism btw) since he/she is very informative and is keen to tell us how wonderful our postal service is. I would agree with him in that the cost of posting a small letter is one of the cheapest in Europe but this new pricing policy is ludicrous for the average person. For what other service would we have to keep a measurement chart and a costing chart?

As for tips, my tip would be to double-side any pages you are sending, where possible, thus cutting down the number of pages being sent. By using both sides of the paper you reduce the overall weight of the letter or package. I think we will be adopting this practice in my office as of next week.

As for providing service - I posted postcards from New York in April. They took two days to arrive but I would think Royal Mail can only take credit for half of that timescale!

student100

anniebooklover wrote:

For what other service would we have to keep a measurement chart and a costing chart?

Fruit and veg (small potatoes are more expensive per kg than large potatoes...)

Phone calls (time of day AND duration of call AND destination - 3 things to consider)

Curtains
Wallpaper
Carpet...

The list is practically endless
It isn't really that difficult - in fact the new system is a simplification compared with the many different old weight bands

ukmonkey

anniebooklover wrote:

Sounds like ukmonkey works for Royal Mail (that isn't a criticism btw) since he/she is very informative and is keen to tell us how wonderful our postal service is.

I couldn't possibly comment

But thanks for the compliment!

anniebooklover wrote:

As for tips, my tip would be to double-side any pages you are sending, where possible, thus cutting down the number of pages being sent. By using both sides of the paper you reduce the overall weight of the letter or package. I think we will be adopting this practice in my office as of next week.

Great tip!

anniebooklover wrote:

As for providing service - I posted postcards from New York in April. They took two days to arrive but I would think Royal Mail can only take credit for half of that timescale!

My my, that is impressive!

kirkie_2

Are they illegal or fake, the stamps that are sold on ebay without gum?

ayla261

and how do i get stamps cheaper? i normally buy books of 100 from my local post office and never get a reduction

GoofyGAT

ayla261 wrote:

and how do i get stamps cheaper? i normally buy books of 100 from my local post office and never get a reduction

For a start see....

Seesaw wrote:

Costco sell stamps in bulk (sorry, not sure on qualities) and they were around 4p cheaper each

&

misterthrifty wrote:

Stamp dealers can buy them at a substantial discount to the face price. I sell quite a bit on ebay and I buy packs of 100 stamps from discountstamps@gmail.com and find them reliable and much cheaper than post office prices.Mr T

HTH, G

P.S. Both taken from this very thread

--Tony--

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

Oh Dear will the Royal Mail be put in the tower for franking the queens face on my post today :rotfl:

anniebooklover

student100 wrote:

Fruit and veg (small potatoes are more expensive per kg than large potatoes...)

Phone calls (time of day AND duration of call AND destination - 3 things to consider)

Curtains
Wallpaper
Carpet...

The list is practically endless
It isn't really that difficult - in fact the new system is a simplification compared with the many different old weight bands

Common sense tells me what fruit and veg are cheapest and when is the best time to make a phone call. As for the curtains and carpets - they aren't something I measure and weigh regularly. Wallpaper? Don't have it in my house so couldn't possibly comment. Think you are being just a wee bit pedantic there Student 100.

Of course businesses will find this easier to cope with as they are dealing with larger volumes of mail than your average household.

The point I was making is that your average housewife, pensioner, stay-at-home person can't just stick a first class stamp on a birthday card and know that it will get there on time. For example, birthday cards with badges on will not pass through the smaller slot (even though the size of the card fits in the "small letter" band) and so the cost is automatically more expensive. Why should it be so hard just to send a birthday card?