Royal Mail Price Increase 2013
- Thread starter paretowasright
- Start date
Thank you guys.
We've decided to up our minimum order size for customers, in order to compensate a bit. Our suppliers parcels are usually medium parcels so £4.24, they charge a bit for the time spent packing which we accept, I think we will be going into batch processing of orders from now on too.
We've decided to up our minimum order size for customers, in order to compensate a bit. Our suppliers parcels are usually medium parcels so £4.24, they charge a bit for the time spent packing which we accept, I think we will be going into batch processing of orders from now on too.
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Just logged into OBA and looks the same apart from price for CRL is different to the book for us plus there is a surcharge. Anyone had any luck in finding out what is happening with specials, do we need to use the new PPI label as each time I ring Royal Mail I get a different answer. I was told to use the RM24 labels but why have new special labels on their website here http://royalmail123.com/infocentre_guaranteedppi.html but when you go to the Produce PPI label section they aren't listed?
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Hello. Just updating our franking machine and checking new prices and noticed that even though the smaller Large Letter rates have stayed the same for stamps, the franking prices have gone up. Not sure if anyone else using a franking machine has noticed this. So we're saving less but it's still costing us the same to lease the franking machine.
Also, the new rate memory card for the franking machine that comes from the franking company via Royal Mail is wrong and the new small and medium parcel rates have not been updated correctly, so we have to enter everything manually until this get sorted, and we don't know when that will be. Again not sure if anyone else is having this problem..
Royal Mail have royally f'ed up with this. Along with Amazon price rises this will mark the start of the return of the high street
Also, the new rate memory card for the franking machine that comes from the franking company via Royal Mail is wrong and the new small and medium parcel rates have not been updated correctly, so we have to enter everything manually until this get sorted, and we don't know when that will be. Again not sure if anyone else is having this problem..
Royal Mail have royally f'ed up with this. Along with Amazon price rises this will mark the start of the return of the high street
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E
Esk247
Not in the old form no, but there should be opportunities arising for creative types to set up shops selling their own clothing, food, gifts, furniture etc. It's kind of happening in Whitby, on a small scale, there are a few shops that sell their own produce so they are not governed by multi-nationals only tourism.
If only landlords were a bit more creative with their thinking, we might see a different high street to the one we were used to. Perhaps a more vibrant high street?
That's only if the costs of running a shop reduce though. At the moment, just having a small retail space on your own and not paying yourself a wage can easily eat in to 24k upwards a year...not including stock.
(WAY OFF TOPIC BUT THERE YA GO)
All our prices have gone up with the latest RM price change so we're coming off Amazon and eBay, there's no point, the margins aren't worth it any more and don't generate enough profit to pay us a wage.
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After reading through the posts here and sifting through all the spiel from RM's website n literature I can sum it up as greedy BS.
They are going to shoot themselves in the foot during these tough times by pricing out small businesses, small e-tailers and ebayers like me that have given them a lifeline. Private courier companies would have ate them up a long time ago if it wasn't for small businesses that haven't bothered to look at other options and entrusted in RM to provide a fair n economical service. Businesses and consumers are getting more savvy, so that wont last with these changes. And during a double dip recession as well, the cheek.
The dimensional formats are just nonsense. Sneaky ploy to price most items into the "medium parcel" bracket at double the price. And the 16x16x16 exception doesn't help anyone aside from themselves with their brilliant new perfect box if your confused and want to buy another over priced product.
There is little to no real excuse for this pi55 poor business strategy. They have been closing down post offices, trimming down staff numbers, upping prices at way above inflation with 220million profit last year. Staying competitive rationale for exorbitant unwarranted price hikes is just another greedy monopolistic maneuver that I am getting sick and tired of seeing from "big businesses".
Its no wonder the govt wants them to go private and profitable. They sure do act like every other fat cat corporate outfit these days.
I will be forced to look at alternatives and I advise you to do the same!
Myhermes and p4d look interesting.
OH AND STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM PITNEY BOWES. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. Shameless sales people posting here trying to con you. Dont fall for it.
Sorry to use caps on that point. But I worked for them for a year and a half and it was a soul destroying experience. Greedy rubbish company with piss poor customer service, contracts you get stuck in and so many hidden costs I dont know where to start. I would not touch a franking machine with a pole that stretched the universe.
They are going to shoot themselves in the foot during these tough times by pricing out small businesses, small e-tailers and ebayers like me that have given them a lifeline. Private courier companies would have ate them up a long time ago if it wasn't for small businesses that haven't bothered to look at other options and entrusted in RM to provide a fair n economical service. Businesses and consumers are getting more savvy, so that wont last with these changes. And during a double dip recession as well, the cheek.
The dimensional formats are just nonsense. Sneaky ploy to price most items into the "medium parcel" bracket at double the price. And the 16x16x16 exception doesn't help anyone aside from themselves with their brilliant new perfect box if your confused and want to buy another over priced product.
There is little to no real excuse for this pi55 poor business strategy. They have been closing down post offices, trimming down staff numbers, upping prices at way above inflation with 220million profit last year. Staying competitive rationale for exorbitant unwarranted price hikes is just another greedy monopolistic maneuver that I am getting sick and tired of seeing from "big businesses".
Its no wonder the govt wants them to go private and profitable. They sure do act like every other fat cat corporate outfit these days.
I will be forced to look at alternatives and I advise you to do the same!
Myhermes and p4d look interesting.
OH AND STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM PITNEY BOWES. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. Shameless sales people posting here trying to con you. Dont fall for it.
Sorry to use caps on that point. But I worked for them for a year and a half and it was a soul destroying experience. Greedy rubbish company with piss poor customer service, contracts you get stuck in and so many hidden costs I dont know where to start. I would not touch a franking machine with a pole that stretched the universe.
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No idea why but the literature indicated the PPI creator tool wouldn't be updated until today.
You can still use the old PPI labels for a while yet so no rush... My advice would be to ignore it for a few weeks and let others stress them out about it so they fix it then sort it out then.
Oh and regarding International PPI impressions. As of today the DMO system is using the new PPI symbols for UK postage but all International post was using the original 1st Class PPI symbol so it would appear that you continue to use that International contract PPI mail.
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Got a few other rumours and confusing nuggets to put to bed as well.
1. Royalmail 24 and 48 (ie: old PacketPost 1st/2nd class) DO NOT have any dimensional banding as stated numerous times throughout.
2. CRL post (RM 24/48) cannot be put in the same sack as BPL (Non VATable 1st/2nd class) post. The reason for this is simple... Your CRL post is based on weight and item count and as such needs to be in its own sack(s). If you start chucking in BPL post with it, you'll throw out the sack weight and the numbers. More importantly there are now a raft of charges levied by RM for incorrectly pre-sorted/bagged/tagged items so if in doubt, double check with your account manager and the local collection depot.
Just as a side note... for anyone using eBay with Packing Partner (and possible Linnworks, etc..) the service names appear to have changed on eBay and a few other places so if you have any scripting that reads/links service names you'll want to update them so they're correctly recognised. This tripped me up with my RM 24/48 post today so worth a little digging... Won't affect most people on this thread though I suspect.
1. Royalmail 24 and 48 (ie: old PacketPost 1st/2nd class) DO NOT have any dimensional banding as stated numerous times throughout.
2. CRL post (RM 24/48) cannot be put in the same sack as BPL (Non VATable 1st/2nd class) post. The reason for this is simple... Your CRL post is based on weight and item count and as such needs to be in its own sack(s). If you start chucking in BPL post with it, you'll throw out the sack weight and the numbers. More importantly there are now a raft of charges levied by RM for incorrectly pre-sorted/bagged/tagged items so if in doubt, double check with your account manager and the local collection depot.
Just as a side note... for anyone using eBay with Packing Partner (and possible Linnworks, etc..) the service names appear to have changed on eBay and a few other places so if you have any scripting that reads/links service names you'll want to update them so they're correctly recognised. This tripped me up with my RM 24/48 post today so worth a little digging... Won't affect most people on this thread though I suspect.
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Ok so I've had a read through some of this thread but can't find any recommendations as to what service can be used instead of royal mail. Being employed full time I can only get to the post office on a Saturday morning, generally I sent 10 items using standard parcel which cost £5.40 per item. The price for my items has now gone up to £11.96 each which is too much of an increase for me to realistically charge my customers. Has anyone found or can recommend a courier service who will be cheaper then royal mail and who will collect on a Saturday morning. The only cheap one I've found gives a collection time of 8am to 9pm and I don't want to spend my day off waiting in for the courier. Cheers
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S
spamalot
I am not VAT registered and started using PacketPost today.
I was left with three piles.
Larger letters - I put these through at STL - Cost around £1.05 each
Packgets under 8cm thick - These BPL - Cost about £2.25 each
Packets over 8cm thick - These STL - Cost about £2.75 each
Were the codes right? Do the prices sound right to you?
I then put each different sort in a different sack, recorded it on the online order thingy, I then just put the cable tie round it with a 2nd class tag (with my posting number written on) and left it at the post office.
Was that the right thing to do, I have no idea?
Thanks for your help, I'm a little concerned. I tried calling them but they weren't very helpful.
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Yes (on sacks)... Only bit you didn't specify was whether you had 1st and/or 2nd class items together or separate.
You should separate into different sacks based on format AND class so if you have a mix of 1st and 2nd class on those items you would have 6 sacks as:
- Sack #1 for 1st Class Large Letters
- Sack #2 for 2nd Class Large Letters
- Sack #3 for BPL Packets (1st Class)
- Sack #4 for BPL Packets (2nd Class)
- Sack #5 for STL Packets (1st Class)
... and so on...
In terms of prices, I checked on OBA and shoved in some test figures with 2nd class, 100g small parcels (BPL) and 100g packets (STL) to get your prices with a penny difference on the STL code.
Sounds like you've done some experimentation to get those figures and looks like as non-VAT registered you've got the best mix (Disclaimer: unless someone finds a better way/mix
)Re-read and caught the reference to 2nd class in which case, if you've sent it all 2nd class, 3 sacks will be fine.
On the tags front, not sure if the tags have changed but you'll want to check if you should be using something else for the STL coded sacks. I know they're different with International Mail so that could be where I'm getting confused.
All in all, can't think of anything they'd find fault with... If your Post Office's collection depot do things differently or want you to adjust the way you sack things up (for eaxmple: put all the packets in one sack) they'll filter the information through the collection driver, to your PO and eventually to you but that's always specific to the collection depot so unless specifically told otherwise, stick with the system indicated by RM.
Hope that helps...
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I cant post a direct link to the petition as I am a new user, but google "petition 46737". It should be the first result.
In tune with all the discontent with the unjustified price hikes, we need to get the ball rolling.
Although it will probably fall on deaf ears as with most public pleas to this government, one has to try.
And for people looking for alternative courriers; Myhermes, interparcel and P4D are ones I am looking into.
Myhermes does have some scathing reviews, but I may forced to try them anyway and cross my fingers. If anyone else knows of more reliable and economical alternatives, I am all ears!
In tune with all the discontent with the unjustified price hikes, we need to get the ball rolling.
Although it will probably fall on deaf ears as with most public pleas to this government, one has to try.
And for people looking for alternative courriers; Myhermes, interparcel and P4D are ones I am looking into.
Myhermes does have some scathing reviews, but I may forced to try them anyway and cross my fingers. If anyone else knows of more reliable and economical alternatives, I am all ears!
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S
spamalot
Yes (on sacks)... Only bit you didn't specify was whether you had 1st and/or 2nd class items together or separate.
You should separate into different sacks based on format AND class so if you have a mix of 1st and 2nd class on those items you would have 6 sacks as:
- Sack #1 for 1st Class Large Letters
- Sack #2 for 2nd Class Large Letters
- Sack #3 for BPL Packets (1st Class)
- Sack #4 for BPL Packets (2nd Class)
- Sack #5 for STL Packets (1st Class)
... and so on...
In terms of prices, I checked on OBA and shoved in some test figures with 2nd class, 100g small parcels (BPL) and 100g packets (STL) to get your prices with a penny difference on the STL code.
Sounds like you've done some experimentation to get those figures and looks like as non-VAT registered you've got the best mix (Disclaimer: unless someone finds a better way/mix
Re-read and caught the reference to 2nd class in which case, if you've sent it all 2nd class, 3 sacks will be fine.
On the tags front, not sure if the tags have changed but you'll want to check if you should be using something else for the STL coded sacks. I know they're different with International Mail so that could be where I'm getting confused.
All in all, can't think of anything they'd find fault with... If your Post Office's collection depot do things differently or want you to adjust the way you sack things up (for eaxmple: put all the packets in one sack) they'll filter the information through the collection driver, to your PO and eventually to you but that's always specific to the collection depot so unless specifically told otherwise, stick with the system indicated by RM.
Hope that helps...
That helps loads, thanks.
However if I'm signed up for packet post should I not be using the crl code?
Very confused!
Edit- are the crl prices and sizes staying as they are?
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Cant believe what cost me last week to send a small parcel less than the size of a cup weighing just a few grammes now costs me over £5 rather than £2.20. You can purchase an item from china for less than £1 which can include postage (for small/medium parcel). How can any UK business compete. This has been the last straw for my business. I started as bricks and mortar shop, then moved onto e-commerce and now can no longer compete with this price hike. I removed all stock from my e-commerce shop yesterday. This could quite possibly nudge me into bankruptcy. No way will I ever go back to retail!
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C
cobwebknits
Hi. What is PacketPost? Sounds cheaper than trad RM but is it still part of RM?
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C
cobwebknits
I've actually googled ParcelPost and know what it is now, but why do I have to have 5000 parcels to qualify? I'm building a business. would love to have that quantity of orders but only have 1000 + at the moment.
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Sorry didn't realise you were on "Packetpost" (as was, now called "Royal Mail 24/48")
Yes, based on that you should be using the CRL code and putting all your CRL post together. HOWEVER, you might want to do some sampling of your standard sort of postage and do some math, comparing what you would be paying for CRL (RM24/48) vs' what you did yesterday.
From 2012-13? No... They went up somewhat... Check back to a post I put on, about a month ago for details of what changed price wise, it's all there.
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Royal Mail 24 and 48 are now both set at 1,000 unit per annum.
Ok, you're in danger of confusing yourself and others here.
Track and Trace is a service provided on the RM website to access tracking information from any Royal Mail parcel/letter with a tracking number.
You are thinking of "Royal Mail Tracked" (24 or 48)... The minimums for that have been changed as well and are also 1,000 units. But remember that's 1,000 units minimum for that service... You can't have 1,000 packages overall and be sending them 250 Tracked 48, 500 RM 24, 250 RM 48...
Hope that clarifies.
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and when i get to 15 posts i will put the url up!
I cant post a direct link to the petition as I am a new user, but google "petition 46737". It should be the first result.
In tune with all the discontent with the unjustified price hikes, we need to get the ball rolling.
Although it will probably fall on deaf ears as with most public pleas to this government, one has to try.
And for people looking for alternative courriers; Myhermes, interparcel and P4D are ones I am looking into.
Myhermes does have some scathing reviews, but I may forced to try them anyway and cross my fingers. If anyone else knows of more reliable and economical alternatives, I am all ears!
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Well, I'm despairing. First posting day today and calculating the same prices on Friday compared to today and the spend would have been £28.80 but was exactly £70 today.
That's crippling. I can't see any way around it but to use couriers which are of a comparable price and then charging the customer.
This is an absolutely shameful price hike which I can see putting many out of business.
That's crippling. I can't see any way around it but to use couriers which are of a comparable price and then charging the customer.
This is an absolutely shameful price hike which I can see putting many out of business.
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It's something you get quoted for depending on your projected volumes so it's not something I could just ream off for you.
As you can imagine the more you send, the cheaper it'll get, but talk to an account manager.
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I cant post a direct link to the petition as I am a new user, but google "petition 46737". It should be the first result.
In tune with all the discontent with the unjustified price hikes, we need to get the ball rolling.
Although it will probably fall on deaf ears as with most public pleas to this government, one has to try.
And for people looking for alternative courriers; Myhermes, interparcel and P4D are ones I am looking into.
Myhermes does have some scathing reviews, but I may forced to try them anyway and cross my fingers. If anyone else knows of more reliable and economical alternatives, I am all ears!
Hi Volatyle,
Thanks for the mention.
I used to be in this forum quite regularly saying "Royal Mail is the cheapest for under 2kg", but this is no longer the case. We are taking in a number of those now struggling to cope with the changes and price increase, so if you haven't yet been in contact with Rob here in Sales, you can reach him directly on [email protected]. He'll be happy to discuss your options and hopefully find you an affordable alternative, depending on your volume.
Cheers,
Nat
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P
puffin
Nat,
Presumably, P4D are only competitive 1kg+?
Can you give us a clue on pricing?
Thanks
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I've just finished my new flowchart for my packers and anything going to the UK mainland that doesn't fit into a small packet size is now going by Interlink which is much cheaper than RM and gets delivered the next day. Before we only used to send by Interlink if it weighed more than 1 kilo. That's another 20% of my business that RM have lost on top of the circa 30% they lost on the last lot of increases.
Silly thing is RM gets left with the stuff they don't want which is Scottish highlands, islands and NI rather than my 500-1000g local parcels which must be much easier for them.
Silly thing is RM gets left with the stuff they don't want which is Scottish highlands, islands and NI rather than my 500-1000g local parcels which must be much easier for them.
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E
Esk247
I imagine they'll sell off the highlands service and anything that's complicated. They can't be making a profit from it so they'll be working out a way of ditching it without causing blind panic.
There's probably a way of creating a rival to RM using the existing courier networks and local networks e.g. Use a courier hub in York and have small courier vehicles operating in surrounding areas and towns delivering to the hub every afternoon. Be a logistical nightmare for anyone wanting to attempt it though, and a marketing one too.
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Hi Puffin,
Looking at the new size measures it is only the Small category in the Under 1kg list that is still cheaper with Royal Mail. Everything else can realistically be matched or beaten on a P4D Pro account, but remember this depends on your shipments - the more you send, the less it costs. We're talking about high volume business accounts here, not adhoc bookings.
Naturally with a courier, this is a signed-for service and all business rates are for a Next Day service.
I hope that helps!
Nat
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