Unreasonable price rise for British postage costs
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
March 26, 2017 9:38am CST
Britain’s Royal Mail has one of the highest postage costs that I have ever encountered, but it is rapidly becoming worse. Every year the price of mail increases, which is really to be expected. However, the price increase seems to get greater each time.
Last year the cost of a postcard to be delivered to an international destination rose from £1 to £1.05. With the new increase being scheduled for 27th March this year I anticipated the new rate to be around 5 or 6 pence greater. Instead the new cost is set at £1.17. In my opinion this is an unjustifiable high increase.
Naturally mail has reduced due to modern technology, with people now using email or social media to remain in contact, which has affected the profits greatly. It seems that Royal Mail is making the old mistake of boosting prices in order to counter the lack of business, which simply does not work.
This will simply deter more people from using post and reduce the profits even further.
22 people like this
17 responses
@allknowing (153530)
• India
26 Mar 17
Post offices should diversify if they have to survive but increasing postage is no solution.
3 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
27 Mar 17
@allknowing No, I am saying that boosting prices will not work.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
26 Mar 17
@Asylum You mean to say diversifying will not work?
1 person likes this
@asfarasiknow (3340)
• Bournemouth, England
26 Mar 17
The standard postcard message will soon be 'Wish you were here - so you could lend me the money for a stamp'.
There is also the matter of no Sunday collections anymore, no.delivery on the last iSunday before Christmas, just one delivery Monday - Saturday (and that often arriving well into the afternoon) and only one collection per day from postboxes (at very approximate times).
3 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
26 Mar 17
@asfarasiknow Improvements do reduce costs, but this is never reflected in the prices charged.
2 people like this
@asfarasiknow (3340)
• Bournemouth, England
26 Mar 17
@Asylum In 1990 they introduced Sunday collections from post boxes outside post offices. It ran for a number of years. For many years it was the case that in the pre-Christmas rush they would deliver on the last Sunday before Christmas. I am in Dorset and perhaps this was just something in the south. Needless to say, these additional services disappeared years ago.
Let's not overlook the innovations they have introduced since then. These are....er...blokes wearing shorts for work, even in winter. And that seems to be it.
2 people like this
@mysdianait (66005)
• Italy
26 Mar 17
Those are really high prices! When you send something abroad does it arrive within a reasonable time?
1 person likes this
@mysdianait (66005)
• Italy
26 Mar 17
@Asylum The post is appalling here to US. My sisters' birthday is in September and two years ago I sent her a card in August. It arrived in May the following year 
Same thing last Christmas. Her card arrived over a month after I sent it and reached her at the end of January 
Same thing last Christmas. Her card arrived over a month after I sent it and reached her at the end of January 1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
26 Mar 17
@mysdianait I deliberately posted early for Christmas to avoid that, but the cards arrived earlier than expected. Of course that is better than late.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189874)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Mar 17
I hate it when postal costs go up but they have to I guess if they are to stay in business. Seems to only be a matter of time now.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
27 Mar 17
@celticeagle Costs do not rise in excess of 10% in a year, so that level of increase cannot be a necessity.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189874)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Mar 17
@Asylum .....Unrealistic to who? The consumer or the workers and the people that have to run the place? It all costs money and the amount goes up with time.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
27 Mar 17
We have had similar problems here in the US with our postage prices going up. It's gotten out of control. That said, our postal system is the best as far as delivery is concerned. So as much as I complain about prices, I love how they do their work.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
28 Mar 17
@Asylum The only reason I use snail mail anymore is to ship packages I've sold on ebay, and my customers have to pay the shipping costs. I don't mail as many birthday cards as I used to, even though I know how wonderful it still is to receive something like that in the mail!
1 person likes this
@Fishmomma (11658)
• United States
31 Mar 17
I send out books to other people and it has gone up to send internationally. The sticker shock is when somebody sends to me from another country, as they pay a lot. I use to do a lot of international trading and that has gone way down this year.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
31 Mar 17
@Fishmomma This would have happened anyway due to the existence of email and social networking, but now the prices are making it worse.
@Fishmomma (11658)
• United States
31 Mar 17
@Asylum I agree as many post offices have decreased their hours in my area. People are using online sites to send cards and talk to other people online, so letter writing has decreased.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
27 Mar 17
I have not received any snail mail/letter for ages. With the advent of mobile phones, SMSs sending facility, emails, messengers and whatsapp etc. people do not write mails to each other. I have no idea how much a Post Card cost presently here because I do not need to use it.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
29 Mar 17
@dpk262006 When I went to buy new stamps yesterday even the counter girl was surprised at the new prices.
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
29 Mar 17
@Asylum I think that collecting post cards is a kind of reinvented hobby. You are right that people like you who started using it again, gave a boost to the trade but with rising cost, people feel discouraged to use post cards etc.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
31 Mar 17
Postage in the US is still reasonable I think but International is $1.15 which is still quite a bit cheaper than in the UUK. Our recent increase in letter postage was 2 cents to 49 cents.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
31 Mar 17
@BelleStarr The dearest that I found was the Isle of Man, where it was £1-24 last year, so will be higher now.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
31 Mar 17
@Asylum Yes that is an excellent rate.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22405)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
26 Mar 17
Do you think the price of sending a letter to Europe will reduce as the Brexit deals are negotiated between 29Mar 2017 and the same date in 2019?
I have been looking forward to the flat-rate mobile phone call costs across Europe starting this July, and plan to make full use of this feature until the UK finalises its Brexit deal and makes all mobile calls to anywhere free :) But I digress.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
27 Mar 17
When ours goes up it only goes up a penny or at the most I think it's been four or five pennies, but ours is still under fifty cents.And, that's for a regular piece of mail weighing one ounce. Postcards are quite a bit cheaper, but I don't remember how much. To send internationally, though I wouldn't know how much it would be.
I did get your postcard in today's mail. I was a tad concerned that it may end up in someone else's mailbox even before you wrote the other post about that problem.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
27 Mar 17
Wow, I used to write to a lot of pen pals before the days of the internet being widespread --
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
26 Mar 17
Our postal system has gradually increased our prices over the years too. I hope it doesn't keep going up.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (24026)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 17
Absolutely. If postage costs remained low them more people would use it but they are out pricing themselves. How ridiculous!
1 person likes this
