Royal Mail Smart Stamp Free Trial

keith234

michaelthelamb wrote:

I would have expected there to be a price difference between any online service and an offline (stamp) service due to lower costs from online.

No need for stamps, sales network for stamps, easier verification etc. The savings from online are there (even if only a couple of pence) but the consumer doesn't see any benefit since under the current pricing. And online printing isnt that much more convenient. In fact, it would prove a hassle with many home printers.

I'm all for online but I think they should be providing a bigger benefit to online users!

I totally agree.. at least 1p cheaper per stamp!

marzipan23

richard1973 wrote:

How does all this compare to a franking machine?

As a small business, we had a basic franking machine for a while. It cost £9.95 per month on a special rate - normally £19.95. On top of that, you had to buy special labels, the cost of which I forget but they certainly weren't cheap, and the special ink it used was £25 per cartridge from Pitney Bowes (£10 if we were lucky from ebay) and it lasted no time at all - around a month, based on 150-200 items per month. Something not publicised much is the fact that you can't post franked mail in a regular post box, you have to take it into a post office - unless you have special envelopes to put the franked mail into, which you have to buy, surprise surprise!

We then tried SmartStamp, at the time it was a yearly subscription of £49.99 payable in advance, and although it was ok there were many labels that didn't print properly and it was a chore having to send them off for a refund. And you could bet your life the internet connection will play up whenever you're in a hurry.... With both the franking machine and SmartStamp the biggest pain was having to weigh and price the items before being able to print off the postage - and this was before pricing in proportion came about!

The local sub post office in the town where we used to live treated us like social phariahs because they had the hassle of processing the mail (we send mostly recorded & special delivery items so it's not just a case of hand-it-over-the-counter) but they had none of the benefits.

Since moving to a rural area three years ago the local PO has been fantastic -they suggested we run an account with them so now we just hand over a bag of mail and they weigh, price, stamp & process it all, and we write them a cheque once a week. It costs us no more than the face value of the postage and the postmaster makes a (very) small percentage profit on the postage value but the biggest benefits are that it keeps their volume up and so may help to save the local PO and for us it's just so easy.

If you live in a rural area then support your local post office - the queues aren't that bad although I appreciate that a town PO can be 20-30 minutes maybe more. Stay well clear of franking machines unless you're a major business with around 500+ items a week and SmartStamp needs careful consideration about whether it will benefit you before signing up, although the 3 month free deal sounds good for a trial.

gerryh_2

Hi. If you use loads of 'the same' stamps, you can order sheets of 100 (self adhesive) or rolls of 500 (gummed) from Royal Mail, with free next day signed for delivery. Saves going to PO & queuing. All sorts of diferent valuse available. Also prestamped emvelopes. Gerry.

[Deleted User]

Another nail in the coffin of rural post offices is the ability to renew car tax online.

My renewal notice came through today offering me the chance to renew online - (but would charge an extra £2.50 if I used my credit card (free for debit cards though)).

My village PO is under threat and much as I dislike queuing - it's now a case of use it or lose it. There are queues in every PO usually anyway.

My next nearest one - 4 miles away is already over-loaded with customers and it can take in excess of 20 mins to be served with all 3 windows open.

If my local PO closes I will be saving nothing in terms of time - it will take me longer to get to the next one and queue up etc..., fuel ( I currently walk and spend nothing getting there), or convenience (it's less than a 1/4 mile away at the moment).

pinkgem

i have been trying to sign up for smart stamp for the last 2 days but when i get to step 4 - set up a direct debit it asks me to tick that i agree to accept the terms and condition. so i tick the box and try to go to step 5 but it comes back with "An error has occurred - please scroll down for the exact error message(s)" the error message is "You must agree to the terms and conditions"

so i tick the box again and the same happens again... i

is this happening to anyone else? is there a way around it?

bestyman

Do you guys still buy coal to support the miners or have milk delivered to save the milkman?
Times change,move on

katchambers

I just want to put my 2 cents in since I have been using the 'free' service since July. I am very happy with the free online postage system. The only gripe is that once or quarter or so the site is down and I am forced to use the post office.

When the price in proportion first came in they were giving away those cardboard guides for free on the website. Here is the link to get your size guide:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=29200662&mediaId=29700665

I don't know if it is the cardboard one though, but I ordered it online and got a cardboard one for free so give it a go.

I just want to make it clear that you DON'T have to buy any special labels, you can print them out on normal paper and stick down with tape. It is very easy, and I have never had a problem with it not printing out correctly. Since I already have a printer at home, which has ink in it already it isn't really an extra cost, obviously it uses more ink but I have had the same catridge since May06 and haven't had to change it yet.

Another good thing about this service is that YOU get to decide what fits through the slot, not the mistresses at the PO. I have heard there is a HUGE variety in the way this new PIP is being run around the country which is unfair in my opinion. People on the amazon board have being saying that if it touches the sides its a packet (i'm sorry but that's !!!!!!) and if they tried to tell me that in my PO I would tell them so. Alot of them won't even measure it, and will just say they are all packets. So to be honest you will save money by doing it yourself, unless you have a lovely post office, and mine is horrible so I'm happy to use the online postage. I know some people are too nervous to do it themselves in case they get it wrong and get a surcharge but trust me, I have been using this since July, in that time I have sent about 700 packages and I have never had a surcharge, and I am quite liberal with what I let through the slot.

So to sum up it saves you both time and money, yes you don't get proof of postage, I do make an effort to go to the PO for that if it is an expensive item but otherwise, it's fine. Over christmas you need to get proof but through the year I rarely have lost mail.

I am sorry that post offices might have to close, and that is sad but I just don't have the time to stand around in the post office for 30 minutes, hold up the queue for another 20 minutes whilst they weigh and measure all my 20 packages whilst the old ladies behind me tut and sigh and give me dirty looks because I have a business AND I can send my mail at work, I don't have to go during my lunch break anymore which means my customers get their orders quicker, I get better feedback and therefore more sales - so why would I ever want to go back to the post office?!

Kat x

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

katchambers wrote:

I get better feedback and therefore more sales - so why would I ever want to go back to the post office?!

So basically what you are saying is "ME! ME! ME!"..

Or in politer terms "I'm far more interested in profit than community".

willow81

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule wrote:

So basically what you are saying is "ME! ME! ME!"..

Or in politer terms "I'm far more interested in profit than community".

If the communities in the UK had a little more 'community spirit' then I might give a little more support to the post office. But when I go in there with my eBay parcels and they sigh......well, I'd rather use the internet.

I think the Royal Mail 'print your own' service is great!!!! :T

pinkgem

katchambers wrote:

I just want to put my 2 cents in since I have been using the 'free' service since July. I am very happy with the free online postage system. The only gripe is that once or quarter or so the site is down and I am forced to use the post office.

When the price in proportion first came in they were giving away those cardboard guides for free on the website. Here is the link to get your size guide:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=29200662&mediaId=29700665

I don't know if it is the cardboard one though, but I ordered it online and got a cardboard one for free so give it a go.

I just want to make it clear that you DON'T have to buy any special labels, you can print them out on normal paper and stick down with tape. It is very easy, and I have never had a problem with it not printing out correctly. Since I already have a printer at home, which has ink in it already it isn't really an extra cost, obviously it uses more ink but I have had the same catridge since May06 and haven't had to change it yet.

Another good thing about this service is that YOU get to decide what fits through the slot, not the mistresses at the PO. I have heard there is a HUGE variety in the way this new PIP is being run around the country which is unfair in my opinion. People on the amazon board have being saying that if it touches the sides its a packet (i'm sorry but that's !!!!!!) and if they tried to tell me that in my PO I would tell them so. Alot of them won't even measure it, and will just say they are all packets. So to be honest you will save money by doing it yourself, unless you have a lovely post office, and mine is horrible so I'm happy to use the online postage. I know some people are too nervous to do it themselves in case they get it wrong and get a surcharge but trust me, I have been using this since July, in that time I have sent about 700 packages and I have never had a surcharge, and I am quite liberal with what I let through the slot.

So to sum up it saves you both time and money, yes you don't get proof of postage, I do make an effort to go to the PO for that if it is an expensive item but otherwise, it's fine. Over christmas you need to get proof but through the year I rarely have lost mail.

I am sorry that post offices might have to close, and that is sad but I just don't have the time to stand around in the post office for 30 minutes, hold up the queue for another 20 minutes whilst they weigh and measure all my 20 packages whilst the old ladies behind me tut and sigh and give me dirty looks because I have a business AND I can send my mail at work, I don't have to go during my lunch break anymore which means my customers get their orders quicker, I get better feedback and therefore more sales - so why would I ever want to go back to the post office?!

Kat x

Just wanted to say I do the same as kat, for the same reasons and agree with every word written above