Postage Stamps?

[PassingStranger]

Do you use many stamps?
The cost of them.is rising again soon?
Shouldn't it be frozen?
Do you ever buy them before they go up to get some in.
I don't use many stamps today thankfully.

I paid £7.40 for 4 yesterday so I won't be buying many more !

It's a bit odd to me, the Post Office say they are losing money as people are not using the post service as much - so they are increasing the prices - again... 🤔

I use 2 stamps a year for a birthday card and Christmas card for one relative and that's it total.

The cost is absolutely ridiculous. Almost £2 for a first class stamp without the guarantee it will arrive next day let alone that week.

What kind of stamps were they then?

I bought one of the big books of 100 early in lockdown, thinking I'd send lots of letters and cards to people. That decision has saved me £100 compared to the price of 100 first class stamps now. It's an extraordinary increase in just 5 years.

they were first class stamps

YANBU but it's still a price I'll happily pay to send a card and not to have to call or visit ;)

In the past few years it's been as if the Royal Mail is deliberately trying to put itself out of business. A first class stamp is going up to £1.70 soon (if it hasn't done so already).

I haven’t bought stamps in about 15 years!
For some recent paperwork I’ve had to sign and send the solicitors have enclosed an SAE.
But it’s not terrible value looking at it objectively, you could post a card from Cornwall to Northumberland for 80p (second class) and it would get there - you couldn’t drive that for less than 80p!

Nope. Before Christmas I went to buy a book of 12 to send Xmas cards. When she told me the price I said forget it.
For a card that's cost maybe 50p out of a box of 10 the stamp would have been more.
So I took an hour out of my day and drove round delivering them for free.

😲

I remember when a first class stamp was 22p, in about 1991.

I bought 20 of the flower picture ones about 2 years ago when they were a bit cheaper and I liked the pictures, I still have lots left, I also have some Game of Thrones picture ones from several years ago which I must find and use.

I used one this week for the first time in ages - only had first class in which was excessive as it was just a postcard from my DD to my DM.

Usually I just buy individual postage from the Royal Mail website. Don’t know how much a stamp is but online it’s always like £1.

Also stamp had bar code on so it didn’t fit in the postage stamp box on the post card - assuming I was meant to leave the bar code thing on!

To those folk who've bought books of stamps in the past - you may have to send them to Royal mail to swap as I believe all stamps have to be bar/QR coded now (so they can be scanned I suppose). If you don't the recipient may have to pay for the item PLUS a fee.

It’s utterly bonkers, I use them for my small business and have to pass on the cost as it’s out of hand now, over double since we began just afew years ago.

I only use stamps at Christmas.

First class is £1.70 today, increase of 5p.

yes I vaguely remembered seeing a price increase in the news but it's not til you see the prices in real life that you really see how much they cost now

I always have a book of first class and a book of second on the go. I mainly use them at Christmas, but send a few birthday or thank you cards throughout the year I am a big believer in written thank you notes for something special.

I am constantly amazed at the cost of postage. I can pay less than £2, and have a letter arrive to the door, hundreds of miles away in 24 hours.

The cost of the petrol, the vans, the drivers, the sorting offices, the postman…..for £2.

Staggeringly cheap in my book, particularly in the age of emails where there is an option to send instantly for free.

I can't remember the last time I bought a stamp. Nobody sends cards or letters any more. The only time I've been to a post office recently is for free Amazon returns.

It's not just cards and letters though, I had to post a few things when dealing with the solicitor for my DF's death, some things still require the original documents to be sent, loads of stuff seemed to be done by post and it was quite recent.

This is only for the 'Queen's head' type ones - special picture/Christmas issues are fine to use without the barcode and don't need swapping.

(Which has made me realise, I've still not seen a King's head one yet ... !)

I'm still using some I bought more than 10 years ago when I used to post out invoices, know it was that long ago as I bought before we moved house, as they've had first class written on them they were still valid I just had to exchanged them to the newer type, once these have gone I'd never buy in bulk again.

Although I do think it's still a bargain if you're sending cards to far flung parts of Britain.