Postage Costs

[HappyAgainOneDay]

AIBU to think that posting something to France should be cheaper than sending something of the same weight to Australia? I've just been checking Christmas card postage rates. Surface mail to Australia is 81p and it's 97p for airmail. Why should it cost the same for France or other European countries? Or have I misread the prices?

Is no one else bothered about postage costs?

The expense involved is probably mainly in the handling of the piece and the contracting and handing over to a foriegn post service, not in the distance travelled. Having different prices for different places would add complexity and expense and possibly just isn't worth it.

I have been looking at the postal charges to Australia and getting rather annoyed at how much the cost has increased because I have quite a few cards to send. When you say that surface mail is 81p that is for 20g but the airmail cost of 97p is for 10g and £1.28 for 20g and it is very hard to find a card and envelope that weights less than 10g unless you get very small ones. I have bought myself a small set of digital scales so that I can weigh my letters/ cards and have managed to find some that are under 20g.

I realise people will say just don't bother sending them or else email greeting I have some elderly relations and friends of my late father who do like to hear from us and do not have email facilities.

Are you comparing like with like? I thought surface mail (trains, ships, vans) took a lot longer than airmail (sent by plane, hence more expensive)?

Sorry, mowbraygirl, I didn't notice the difference in weights for cost.

You are quite right. If I want to enclose a couple of photos or a one-page letter or both, it puts up the cost.

There was a time with Royal Mail (that well-loved British institution that we had) when the world was divided into Europe, and Zones 1 (near east and India etc) and 2 (Australia, Japan, New Zealand etc) with differing costs for each which was fair enough. It's all one zone now so one price (the most expensive). I'll no longer send prints if I can e-mail them but, as Mowbray says, if the recipients do not have e-mail, it means prints and cost.

I work with post and the royal mail airmail is still divided up into Europe zone and 2 though Singapore has recently changed from zone 1 to 2

EuropeEurope and world zone 1 and 2