Royal Mail postage rates are changing on Oct 20 - Jan 19 for a trial run!
Just got a heads-up from my local postmistress - some prices are going down, 1st & 2nd class parcel sizes are going up, and they will be adding a 0-60g category for international postage!
She only got the info today, I can’t remember what the new prices are going to be…
Oh, I’d love to see the smaller package cost for intl orders. I’m surprised it’s not done yet!
1st & 2nd class up…again?? It was increased in March!
I can’t understand the prices increasing (AGAIN!) for small parcels when they’ve already lost so much business to the couriers.
Thanks for the tip off @lookingglassdesigns
I’ve looked up the changes and here’s the info:
http://www.royalmail.com/prices-2014
This is the new price guide:
As far as I can see they’ve just adjusted the small parcel dimensions to Length: 45cm Width: 35cm Depth: 16cm. And they’re temporarily dropping the price for a 2nd class small parcel up to 2kg so it’s the same as the price for up to 1kg (until 18th Jan).
There are no price increases, they’ve probably realised they need to compete with the couriers over Christmas.
Increasing the depth of a larger small parcel from 8cm to 16cm is a bonus!
the sizes are going up not the prices!
the size is going up not the price… @thesherbetpatch
the big change for me is the international 0-60g category - it will be significantly cheaper to post my camera buddies internationally!
Oh, ok! Read that too quickly.
Thank you for the heads up
thank you for the information.
The small parcel size changed a while back to include a 16 cm deep parcel option, as well the the 8cm option, with smaller length/width dimensions, so that’s not a new change unless they’re combining the two sizes into one larger one now. So confusing…why can’t they just leave things alone so we can get used to them!
That’s actually benefiting me. The under 2kg small parcel is the service I use most. The last time they had their price change (April?) the cost of that service came down from around £5.50 to just under £4 because they finally realised they were losing business hand over fist to the couriers after raising it from around £3 to over a fiver in a very short amount of time (that is what’s caused this mess for them in the first place, it was too much of a hit to take for most in the space of time it happened in). Now it looks like they are trying to claw back more business by lowering it from £3.80 to £2.80. Although that does say trial period to Jan 2015 so I guess they’re going to see if it tempts enough people back to sustain keeping it low.
Those two under 2kg small parcel sizes came in in April too. You could either have 35 x 45 x 8cm, or 16 x 25 x 35cm. Now it looks like it’s all the longest sides have been combined and small parcel is up to 16 x 45 x 35 which is great for me too.
Jo
They’re combining both sizes into one, which is definitely better for me!
I wish they would increase the large letter size, only by a centimeter would do me fine! Then I could send jewellery in a gift box that way instead of as a small parcel! Can’t see it happening though 
I posted a couple of parcels this morning recorded delivery and I was asked about the contents!
It’s new apparently, they have to ask. Can’t quite work that one out. It’d be like getting the bus and the driver asking what you are planning on doing once you’ve got off :-0
Sue
They were told to ask months ago, it depends on who you get and where you go; they added more items to the restricted list for inland delivery a while ago so it matches the list for international delivery.
I always go to the same PO, and they quickly learn not to bother asking me…
They have a list of forbidden items - I usually answer ‘nothing on your list’ - nowadays they say it for me!
Thanks for the info everyone. My Post Office has asked about contents for a while say it is for security reasons. One time a lady ahead of me was doing a favour for a neighbour and was unable to say what was in it so the counter staff wouldn’t accept it.
If it was something forbidden and you knew it was surely you would just lie about it? Just wondering.
Gill x
If you knew it was forbidden! But there are some odd things on there, like perfume and mobile phone batteries.
I see they are not changing the width of a letter internationally… When they changed things in April, letters which were thicker than 0.5cm were now classed as a parcel! This meant that several of my cards with buttons on them went from costing me £1.88 to send to the USA to costing £3.80 as a small parcel! I was rather outraged. Sadly, this has not been changed for October it seems…