Royal Mail increases April 2025

[clearingmyshelves2025]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwygl9vj28do

[clearingmyshelves2025]

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2025-03/our-prices-april-2025--v1-ta.pdf 

Prices for stamped parcels and letters, and those paid over the counter at a Post Office® branch

[clearingmyshelves2025]

Prices for parcels and letters with postage paid through Royal Mail Click & Drop® and online partner agents can be found in the Royal Mail Our Online Prices `guide.

Royal Mail Online Prices (valid from 7 April 2025)

[shaman7uk]

The now double cost of 1st class compared to second perfectly paves the way for an announcement this year of "Ofcom said Royal Mail should continue to deliver first-class letters six days a week but second class will be limited to alternate weekdays."

[keepsakesandkollectables]

Personally I think it's more to do with Royal Mails prices that have an impact on my sales more that anything else.

I sell quite a lots of items for around the £10.00 region, but to send those items cost another £5.15 using a small parcel service that it tracked or signed.

And yes you 100% need it to be tracked or signed, otherwise they simply "Do Not Arrive" ( Cough Cough ).

It's a joke in all honesty as it means buyers are paying over 50% more for an item just to get it to them, so it's no wonder sales are slow for many.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

well i do not pay for tracking on my parcels and they are either small parcel or LL.  I get a Certificate of Posting with a tracking number on, input that and it comes up showing when it is delivered (most of the time anyway).  14 items posted since 4th Feb and only one of them was not marked as delivered.  I have also never had a parcel not arrive or be delivered with RM in the years i have been on this site.  

[jckl1957]

Looking at those prices, LL second class and 48 hour tracked prices are not changing,

I only ever use those services and, in response to @keepsakesandkollectables  you must be unlucky with your buyers.

I had ONE item not delivered case last year.  My experience is overwhelmingly that RM are reliable and buyers are honest,

[keepsakesandkollectables]

Both jckl1957 & kath3735_wxmjn seem to think that I have had "Bad Luck" with shall we say "Lost Parcels".

kath3735_wxmjn says out of 14 items posted since 14th only one marked as not delivered & in 14 years has NEVER not had a parcel delivered with Royal Mail, & jckl1957 says only one case in the last year.

I find those stats STAGGERING & are nowhere near the figures I have stored away after about 15 years trading on ebay.

When I first started selling online I though as both of you had mentioned that buyers were honest, sadly in reality that is most certainly NOT THE CASE.

When I started selling I to used the cheapest possible methods to send items ( All still via Royal Mail ) but it was then, as it is now cheaper to send without a signature or tracking & looking back I had a ratio at one stage of nearly 30% of parcels not turning up.

Now that is not bad luck & not down to Royal Mail, it was simply down to buyers that were not honest, saying they never recieved an item.

I quickly cottoned on to the scams & started senting tracked & signed & the % of losses dropped to about 0.25% that's 1 in every 400 sales posted approx.

Now thats a big big big big drop from 30% to 0.25%, so NO NO NO NO NO, I was not simply being unlucky.

But the point of my post was to say about Royal Mails high postage prices & not if they do the job, as I think they do & do it well, but the prices they charge are quite shocking & as I say, certainly account for low sales on lower value items where the price they charge is approx 50% of the value of many of the items I sell.

But what choice do I have, not get the item tracked / signed & risk it going missing & lose the totqal amount of the sale + the postage costs as well as the item, or bite the bullet & pay for a service that buyers can't say "It has not arrived", you guessed it I bite the bullet.

But I would say it that my sales would increase by at least 50% if it only cost £1 or even £2 to post a parcel that was tracked / signed.

[parsley2003]

They are already trialling it 3 days a week 2nd class in 39 areas including London

[parsley2003]

Small parcel tracked is £3.35 online will go up to £3.45 in April

[keepsakesandkollectables]

My small parcels cost me  £5.15 tracked & signedwith RM & that's 2nd class NOT 1ST CLASS.

And have you seen the size of the "Box they use to determine a small parcel, the lenght (45cm) & width (35cm)  are mostly ok, but the height (16cm) is very low & in a lot of cases I end up paying more as it's 1 or 2 cm's over that & then classed as a medium parcel which you guessed it costs even more.

What really annoys me about this is that many of the items I post that get charged for a medium parcel as opposed to a small parcel, raqttle around in the box they use as a size guide on the other 2 dimentions.

What they should do is do the sizes by cubic volume & not just if 2 measurements are smaller & only 1 larger then upgrade to a medium.

[parsley2003]

It is cheaper online i buy from RM site small parcel yes it's not very deep and i've been paying £3.39, Medium is larger and that is £5.15 online. I use a lot of recycled packing and as i get everything online the amazon boxes are just the right size for small parcel i use those. I have no transport now or shops near me so everything comes to the door and RM collect as well as deliver

[dch2112011]

---

@parsley2003 wrote:

They are already trialling it 3 days a week 2nd class in 39 areas including London

---

Lucky London - where we are Nth Devon any RM post except tracked parcels is only delivered twice a week when the sun is shining, there's no wind, no clouds, no roadworks, no traffic, no weekend, no letters DAY in the name of the day, not on bank holidays and never before 3pm - when there is something tracked it all arrives together - no trial been like this 18 months since they closed the local delivery office - seems to work for Royal Mail though !

Most of the non tracked post are flyers, circulars and eye appointment reminders for my dead mother - happy days !

[parsley2003]

A tip for packing i wash old pillows and duvets and use the stuffing it's brilliant for breakables

[dch2112011]

Neighbours aren't too happy though - they keep blaming the dog for shredding their linen !

[parsley2003]

That's bad i am in Cornwall and no problems because we have a delivery office in town though the post office is in the back of a shop, they collect from me. I do hear that people in rural areas are suffering and now many have to collect their post

[parsley2003]

All my own 😁

[dch2112011]

Yes but the postie has a good old chat when he gets here - it's great we catch up on each others lives for the past week, come to think of it maybe that's why he doesn't deliver very often ?

[parsley2003]

That's nice, i still like RM best the problem with Evri is that they have local drivers and recently one in my town was ill for a week and didn't deliver. They used to collect but don't any more and i can't get to drop off at the other end of town

[keepsakesandkollectables]

I ge it's cheaper to buy online, but you then have other expenses, like a printer & ink to print the labels, all of which cost, I don't have the travel costs as I post when I am going out anywaym so no special trips or costs i9n that respect.

As for packing materials, I source all my boxes for free, but bubble wrap costs & as well as tape.

And with the type of items I sell they need to be well protected ( I note your other reply on pillow cases ect ) , take a look at my feedback on this user name, most comments state not only how they like the item, but on how well i pack & that means a lot , not only to me, but other potential buyers who may be worried if they buy willl an item arrive safe & sound.

Also you will note I only charge postage prices & never add for packing materials, to keep the price down.

But what I say in my humble opinion staya as in, Royal Mail do a great job, I would not ever deny that fact, but their costs are high enough, without further increases, no matter how what service you me of the little green alien at no42 use with them.