What's the deal with RM Large Letter nowadays?

[lostin2922]

Hi.

I took a small book to two PO's in my town.  It was in an A4 letter envelope and within the dimensions of RM Large Letter.  The weight was 330g.  Both PO's quoted me small parcel price of £4.13 when I asked for 1st class. 

I thought Large Letter could go up to 750g?   

When I queried this they said it was because of the weight.  I'm confused because according to the RM website it should have been Large Letter and only cost £3.30.

[kempseykate]

Weight is up to 750g for Large Letter. So as long as the item did fit the LL size, you should only have been charged for Large Letter.

Do you have scales and a tape measure? If so, weigh & measure parcels at home and buy the labels online from RM.

[susapric-68]

LL size has to be max 35.3 x 25 x 2.5cm. Most of the time it's the 2.5cm thickness that goes over into a small parcel

[dejunk2015]

I have been posting for a living now for over 20 years and know for a fact that post office counter staff upsell this way with large letter items.   I recently found a way around it but I am lucky enought o live near my post office sorting depot.  If you take items there with paid postage they do not even check the weight or size of your package.  They treat you like the adult and rsponsible seller that you are and asume you have measured and weighed yourself to check it is covered by the postage bought.   The consequences of not doing so will see your buyer charged a lot extra to get the parcel delivered so who would take the chance on attracting that hassle?   It has made my life so much easier and I meet much more friendly staff at the depot, this is where you pick up your post that has had delivery attempted if you were not in.     Check to see where yours is at it is much more convenient than queueing at the post offixce.  Hope this helps.

[pg_kicks]

The reason the post office staff are pretty strict is if something is sent and lets say its 2.8mm it gets traced back to them and they can be disciplined, also if they are seen to have more than a few issues every item is then checked. Dave at the local depot doesnt have the same issue. I found this out recently as somebody got into a argument with staff at the Post Office because it didnt drop through the 2.6mm gap but you could pull it through as they were saying the depot just accepts them so the Post Office should.

[tribalgiftsuk]

I got myself a royal mail size guide a few years ago and it has saved me so much money. As i cant get to my local depot and have to go the post office daily instead. They are about £5, like a ruler with the size slots and you can check your items before you list them to be sure what the postage will cost. If you sell a lot they are well worth getting.

[preciousjewellerygifts01]

The normal large letter cost is upto 100g then anything over that weight the price keeps going up and up, and Royal  mail website prices are cheaper than the post office prices.

[jckl1957]

I would agree that it was probably too thick to go as a large letter.

To go as a large letter, an item has to fit freely through the LL slot. Otherwise it may jam up the RM machines.  If the Post Office staff needed to pull the item to get it through that quite narrow slot, it would have to be a parcel.

I sometimes get caught out when posting jewellery.  Sometimes a brooch has to go as a parcel because of the shape or a necklace with a large central bead may well fail the LL test - and these are items under 100g where I have charged the buyer £2.05p for postage and packing. Most books would be too 'fat' to go as a large letter.

[warren_1979]

ignore - replied to wrong thread.