Sizes for postage

This is a rough guide to sizes of items for Letter, Large Letter and Small Parcel items.  Full details can be found in the Our Prices leaflet, which you can get from the Post Office, or the Royal Mail website: I won't put a link to it, as each year it's published on a new pdf file so the link would get out-of-date.

Letter: basic Letter rate applies only up to items weighing 100 grams.  Maximum size is 24cm by 16.5cm (think A5 plus a bit) and no more than 0.5 cm (5mm) thick. A single price range, First or Second Class.

Large Letter: Large Letter rate applies to items weighing up to 750 grams - that will include items which are within Letter measurements, but are more than the 100 gram Letter weight.  Maximum size is 35.3cm by 25cm (think A4 plus a bit) and no more than 2.5cm (about an inch) thick.  Four price ranges (up to 100 grams, 101-250 grams, 251-500 grams, 501-750 grams), First or Second Class.  The 100 gram price for Second Class at Large Letter rate isn't a massive amount more than the Letter price: at the time of writing, it's only 20p more for Second Class.

Small Parcel: Small Parcel rate applies to items weighing up to 2kg - that will also include items which are within Letter or Large Letter measurements, but are more than the respective weight maxima for these two categories.  Maximum size is 45cm by 35cm by 16cm.  Two price ranges (up to 1kg, then up to 2kg), First or Second Class.  This is the biggest price jump of all: an item which was within the weight, length and width measurements for a Letter, but more than 2.5cm thick - say a card with a very 3D embellishment - would have to go as a Small Parcel and cost more than five times as much as the Letter rate.

The next price rate is a Medium Parcel, which is about 10 times the Letter rate.  This rate would apply if you couldn't fit your items into a box 16cm deep or less.

The measly allowance for thickness/depth of the three rates is the problem, as the lengths and widths are quite generous.  It can be quite difficult to measure the thickness/depth of your item as the thickest part is often not at the edge of the envelope: some Post Offices have one of the Perspex measuring templates mounted on an area of the counter away from the cashiers where you can put your item through to see if it qualifies for the rate you expect it to.  If not, you can queue up and the cashier will put it through the template and check for you.  I take cards in batches to the Post Office and slip them through the template: I write L or LL on the envelope in pencil, where the stamp will go, so I know I've checked them.  I re-check if I enclose anything else with the card when I post it.

Please don't chance it: check before you send, otherwise the recipient will pay the difference in postage cost PLUS the Royal Mail handling fee - £1.00 at the time of writing.

Lynda

Cheers Lynda.

PO told me today that the £2.60 promotion is staying until March.

That's the one they introduced for Christmas/January, where you can send 2kg of Small Parcel for the price of 1kg, I'm guessing? And it's £2.80 rather than £2.60, isn't it - the Second Class Small Parcel rate? They're probably only carrying on because they find most people don't send more than 1kg, so it won't cost them much, whilst seeming to be generous!

Lynda