Royal Mail Price Increase for Parcels

[Kodiak]

As of 2nd April 2013 Royal Mail is changing their Parcel Delivery Service. First thing is they are stopping the Packet and changing this service to Small Parcel and Medium Parcel.

The difference between a small parcel and medium parcel will Not be Weight but by the thickness of the parcel. A Parcel up to 8cm thick will be classed as a small parcel and a parcel over 8cm thick will be classed as a medium parcel.

Prices are as follows :-

Small Parcel up to 1kg 1st Class Mail £3.00 and up to 2kg £6.85

Medium Parcel up to 1kg 1st Class Mail £5.65 and up to 2kg £8.90

This is quite a hike in price, as an example I posted today a an item that weighed 200gr but measured 12cm square. Today it cost me £2.70 by first class post but after the 2nd April it will cost ££5.65. I could post the same item to USA for less.

So be warned as after the 2nd April it will cost a lot more to post Parcels by Royal Mail, especially if they are of a certain size.

http://www.royalmail.com/prices-2013...H_tariff_Mar13

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/defau..._April2013.pdf

[M Swanson]

Thanks Kodiak. That should be another nail in eBay's coffin! I definitely won't be selling, or buying again.

[Shaggy]

Yeah its due to the huge surge in online buying. Basically Royal Mail are just being greedy and are profiteering from this! On the plus side though, maybe, just maybe the internet shops will take a hit and give the business back to the high street.....not holding my breath though

[M Swanson]

Yes, I'd go along with that Shaggy. Shops in our area are closing down in their dozens and I hate the thought of losing our High Streets. There's nothing better than being able to check for quality and, for example, try clothes on. It also helps that the large shops having excellent refund policies in place. It's such a hassle to return items that were purchased online. If there's ever a problem, Royal Mail are often very unhelpful. Their customer services are naff, in my experience.

[golach]

So be warned as after the 2nd April it will cost a lot more to post Parcels by Royal Mail, especially if they are of a certain size.

Postmen need to get paid, I see no problem with this

[Kodiak]

Postmen need to get paid, I see no problem with this

I am happy for you that you can see nothing wrong in more than 100% rise in postage rates by creating a new service of Medium Parcels. Unfortunately for me, I can see what is wrong with this.

[golach]

I am happy for you that you can see nothing wrong in more than 100% rise in postage rates by creating a new service of Medium Parcels. Unfortunately for me, I can see what is wrong with this.

I am paying 25% more for a loaf of bread these days, and an extra £0.50 on a pint of beer, utility charges are also up. Its the world we live in. I was a walk postman in the 60's & early 70's on a wage of less than £20.00 per week out in all weathers and conditions and 2 deliveries a day, even xmas day, my sympathies lie with the postmen on the street, my postie arrived on time today, whistling up my stair, and it was blizzard conditions outside, good postmen are worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned.

[Kodiak]

Oh Dear! I really do wish you would read what I write and not what you think I did.

I am all for the Posties, I am their biggest Fan. My Son is a Postie and has been for 12 Years.

No where have I said anything against any Postie.

What I said was that I thought it was wrong for Royal Mail to abolish the Packet Service so that they can create a new Parcel Service, (Small & Medium), so that they can increase Prices by over 100% in some cases.

This all to do with Moya Greene. She ruined the Mail system in Canada and now she intends to do the same here. If she keeps this up there wont be any Royal Mail left at all.

So in this case I agree with you, a good Postie is worth his/her weight in gold, but if Moya Greene has her way and increases prices so that no one can afford to post parcels what will happen then. The only thing they can do and that is use another carrier and then that really will be the start of the end of Royal Mail. Then Moya Greene will have won as Royal mail will be sold off along with all the posties.

Can you see now what is wrong with this price hike?

[golach]

I never inferred you said anything against Postmen. But businesses have to make a living, no matter how obscene we may think their charges are.
Have a look at these CEO's Phillip Clarke Tesco, Kevin Roxburgh Scottish Gas, Andy Clarke Asda, and finally Mary Dickson Scotrail. The list goes on and on.

[cazmanian_minx]

This is quite a hike in price, as an example I posted today a an item that weighed 200gr but measured 12cm square. Today it cost me £2.70 by first class post but after the 2nd April it will cost ££5.65. I could post the same item to USA for less.

You can send a cube up to 16cm square as a Small Parcel - there's also an exemption for tubes up to a certain length. All post offices have been issued with measuring tapes (really!) and I think the queues are going to be horrendous while everyone gets to grips with it.

I emailed John Thurso with my concerns about this when the new rates were first published but haven't had a reply yet. Royal Mail Business accounts are getting a 2.5% fuel surcharge added to all Parcel prices as well.

[Gronnuck]

Like any other business there is competition out there all you have to do is look for it; shop around. In the recent past I went on line and arranged for a couple of parcels to be collected for onward despatch to an English postcode. The online price was cheaper than the price quoted at the post office. I expected one of the few courier vans to pick it up but no it was collected by our own postie in his Royal Mail van on his normal delivery route! It seems these parcel companies buy up spare capacity in order to offer a competative service.

[Shaggy]

I stopped using RM for parcel delivery a while back. I was fed up with the ever increasing prices, trying to get my head round sizes & weights, poor service (delayed), stuff going "astray" and being fobbed off with excuses and virtually no compensation despite using recorded delivery. I tried a few of the companies Ebay advertise and i've stuck with one of them since. Only one item has went missing and they paid out in full. Imagine my surprise when it turned up 4 months later with a letter apologising that it had been found sitting in the back of a broken down van in one of their delivery centres. I called them to ask about it and they even said it was policy that lost of delayed mail was returned after 3 months and i could keep the compo! Only just yesterday i shipped 12.5kg worth of stuff off to Cornwall on a 3 day service for £7.02. Cheapest RM could do this for was £17.83 + VAT. RM need to be competitive but not by increasing costs. If other companies can do it, then why can't RM? If they are selling spare capacity to other companies who are undercutting them then more fool them

[M Swanson]

My ex sent me rather a lot of cash, via Special Delivery, and declared what was inside the packet. It duly arrived here, but I wasn't at home to sign for it, so the postman left a card. I 'phoned to arrange another time and guess what? The packet couldn't be found at the depot. It was reported to RM and it took weeks with my ex and I both being interviewed; making numerous long-distance phone calls, visits to the depot and the PO in London, before reluctantly ,we were reimbursed the full amount. We were never informed if the thief had been caught, or prosecuted. Our out of pocket expenses were quite high, but RM didn't want to know. We knew Recorded Delivery is a waste of money, because they seldom cough-up when items go missing, but Special Delivery can be a nightmare too. I must say, that I think things deteriorated badly under the watch of Adam Crozier. Now, I only use RM when I'm forced to it.

[joxville]

I'm glad my finest Colombian brown medicine isn't affected, I'd hate to be posting it the other way, especially when I do it by the ton! ;-)

[Shaggy]

I'm glad my finest Colombian brown medicine isn't affected, I'd hate to be posting it the other way, especially when I do it by the ton! ;-)

If you let me know when you are shipping your next consignment and let me know the destination address, i'll give my mates down the local sort office a call and ensure things "go smoothly" for your package....

[joxville]

Thanks Shaggy, I'll give you 5% of the profits for yourself and 5% to share amongst your friends. :-)