MSE News: Stamp prices likely to rise as cap confirmed

Pennywise

Edwardia wrote: »

With all the internet shopping and eBaying going on, I don't understand why RM isn't making a profit.

Because they're inefficient. Some days, I can have four different posties arrive at my office door. That's four different vans driving up and down the roads within the space of a few hours. How can that be efficient?

We used to have two deliveries, early and mid morning. Apparently that was inefficient, so they allegedly changed it to just one. So how come we now have four??????

veganline

Thanks Custardy.
Does anyone know of Royal Mail gets any extra subsidy for the universal service requirement http://www.royalmail.com/customer-service/universal-service ? Don't tell my Scottish customers I asked this, but if someone chooses to live on a little island shouldn't they pay higher tax for the same post, or higher postage, or get worse post? Meanwhile the very cheap system of a delivery round in cities gets priced out of the market because it is subsidising the more expensive deliveries to highlands and islands or wherever. I think this price hike should be postponed at least until after devolution when the issues will be a bit clearer.

custardy

veganline wrote: »

Thanks Custardy.
Does anyone know of Royal Mail gets any extra subsidy for the universal service requirement http://www.royalmail.com/customer-service/universal-service ? Don't tell my Scottish customers I asked this, but if someone chooses to live on a little island shouldn't they pay higher tax for the same post, or higher postage, or get worse post? Meanwhile the very cheap system of a delivery round in cities gets priced out of the market because it is subsidising the more expensive deliveries to highlands and islands or wherever. I think this price hike should be postponed at least until after devolution when the issues will be a bit clearer.

they dont get any subsidy
the last money RM got was a loan for new technology
perhaps people i posh houses should pay more for long drives too

sunnydawn

Can you still use stamps to pay for stuff at the PO counter? Eg water bill or buy currency??

Chomeur

cepheus wrote: »

I was half serious you really could use this as a serious investment, however what happens if RM make old stamps invalid in say a years time like old notes? I would like to see some guarantee they would stil be valid 10-20 years into the future. Would it be legal to sell them on?

People sell them on eBay so it must be legal. But quite a hassle to have to keep posting them on eBay then having to go to the Post Office to send them off registered post. Or do you have a better idea for how to sell them?

cepheus

Can stamps labelled 1st and 2nd be used for packaging, and will these increase in value from April, so for example a £3 parcel could be posted using six stamps labelled '2nd' after then, or do you need to use six 'face value' stamps labelled '50p' ?

veganline

Just seen that the consultation about technicalities was in December, when anyone who knows about these things, like posties, would be busy. If I remember right I was sticking lots of stamps on parcels because online postage broke down. This is a bad way to run a consultation!

Most of the replies were from the usual suspects:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/review-of-regulatory-conditions/?showResponses=true

custardy

cepheus wrote: »

Can stamps labelled 1st and 2nd be used for packaging, and will these increase in value from April, so for example a £3 parcel could be posted using six stamps labelled '2nd' after then, or do you need to use six 'face value' stamps labelled '50p' ?

yes,stamps with 1st/2nd are valid for the current postal value

JamesK10

cepheus wrote: »

So what prevents someone from buying thousands of stamps now then selling them off at a higher price later?

If the stamps say 1st and 2nd, nothing (though any new private owner might change their mind in 2014). I can't remember how long anyone has been able to flog stamps for any price, but Superdrug have done well out of their 5% off 1st class.

28cannizaro

I rest my case! Told you - pay more for a lesser service. It's e-cards from me for now on, even though I loath them. It's what I can afford. So hike the price of stamps up and customers leave. What sort of business sense is that?