Royal Mail .. Small parcel .. is 165mm too thick

WLM21

I've just parcelled something up, using an oild wine box, but forgot to measure it. Now I see it's 165mm thick .. 5mm more than the 160mm limit.
Is the limit strictly enforced, or will this be OK

Doesn't matter .. I decided just to package it again

fenwick458

I think you'd probably be ok with 165mm, providing it doesn't come near the other limits (i.e, 2Kg,  450mm length or 350mm width)
that is assuming the PO person will process it(some will do and some wont)
If they are willing to they do make you aware that you may be penalised if it's found to be too big or too heavy and that's a chance you take but I've tried it out a few times and never been caught out. by my findings you could easily go 10% over the weights and sizes and be ok.
for example, sometimes i've  packed up parcels and used a box which i've measured at 160mm high, yet once packed If I've used too much bubble wrap and it bulges the box out n the middle resulting in an overall height of 165mm.
or sometimes I pack a  parcel an it at just under 2kg on my scales, but when I drop it off it comes on at 2004g for example.
I use a few PO's to drop off my parcels and some are very picky and insist you can't go over any weight or dimension, but some don't even weigh it and just throw it in the bag. 
I also send large letter boxes (using old simply cook or graze boxes) which 9 times out of 10 they don't fall through the size template without a slight push and are always near the 100g mark, and despite this have never been penalised...

WLM21

Thank you for your very detailed reply.
You are probably correct in thinking i would have been OK, but for what it took me, it was easy enough just to wrap the item again. Due to the size, I used 2 old wine boxes, end to end with an overlap, which caused the bulge. I just removed the overlap and all seems OK ... will know when I go to the PO today

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

soolin

WLM21 said:

Thank you for your very detailed reply.
You are probably correct in thinking i would have been OK, but for what it took me, it was easy enough just to wrap the item again. Due to the size, I used 2 old wine boxes, end to end with an overlap, which caused the bulge. I just removed the overlap and all seems OK ... will know when I go to the PO today

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

You probably saw it here as it’s 3 threads below this one

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6323825/rm-reduced-online-prices#latest

remember if you print your own postage to get a proof of posting from the Post Office still. 

WLM21

soolin said:

You probably saw it here as it’s 3 threads below this one

Actually not .. i saw it on HotUKDeals

gt94sss2

WLM21 said:

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

If you're posting within the UK there is an option for the postie to bring a pre-addressed label if you're having the items collected eliminating the need for a printer

soolin

gt94sss2 said:

WLM21 said:

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

If you're posting within the UK there is an option for the postie to bring a pre-addressed label if you're having the items collected eliminating the need for a printer

However that costs another 60p per item from memory? 

gt94sss2

soolin said:

gt94sss2 said:

WLM21 said:

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

If you're posting within the UK there is an option for the postie to bring a pre-addressed label if you're having the items collected eliminating the need for a printer

However that costs another 60p per item from memory? 

I believe collections are currently free.

soolin

gt94sss2 said:

soolin said:

gt94sss2 said:

WLM21 said:

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

If you're posting within the UK there is an option for the postie to bring a pre-addressed label if you're having the items collected eliminating the need for a printer

However that costs another 60p per item from memory? 

I believe collections are currently free.

Didn’t that finish on 31st December? I don’t use it so I can’t be sure. 

martindow

Going back to the size question, it would be interesting to hear custardy's take on oversize parcels.  He's an expert on here with knowledge of the inner workings of Royal Mail.

mrcol1000

gt94sss2 said:

soolin said:

gt94sss2 said:

WLM21 said:

BTW .. saw on another website that RM have reduced their prices for online ordering .. small parcel now £2.90, from the usual £3.20. You need a printer I think to use it, but luckily I have one.

If you're posting within the UK there is an option for the postie to bring a pre-addressed label if you're having the items collected eliminating the need for a printer

However that costs another 60p per item from memory? 

I believe collections are currently free.

Its 48p for small parcels at the moment