Postage prices UP....Big time.

packages are a different thing altogether, I dont use the post office for them, I can get them picked up from my house or work, and delivered the same way at a lot less than the post office, like most things nowadays, you have to shop around, insurance is the same, holidays, banking.... lots of things, internet is a powerful tool you have to use it to your advantage

 

It cost me lots to post a letter, my nearist post box is 9 miles away

 

I had the most incredulous experience with the postal system in the UK back in the early 80s. I lived in Bucks and my friend lived in Bedford. She was going to buy me a pair of jeans in the Commissary at Chicksands so as I went into work at 8.30am I popped an envelope in the post to her with £???s in it. When I got home at 5.30pm she rang me to say the money had arrived safely. I said to her that I had only posted it at 8.30am and she said it was delivered to her at 2pm! Now that delivery would be hard to beat anywhere!

 

I remember those days, Victoria! Doubt we'd ever have that happen again! *sigh*

My sorting office is very accessible and obliging. But then I still have their proper phone number, not the 0870 one! (say no to 0870)

As for the stamps, I'm still using the stash I got before the last rise - which actually doesn't seem all that long ago!

 

Daisees, I guess you have the stamps that have 1st and 2nd written on them as opposed to price? They do that here as well with an E for Europe and an N for Portugal (as they call it Normal) and of course the stamps are good irrespective of a price increase and we haven't had one for a year.

Looking back at my chart, I notice that Spain is only 57c for us, 68c Europe (excluding Spain) and 80c for the rest of the world. As I mentioned above, post within Portugal is 32c.

 

when I sold full time on ebay a few years ago, many people on the ebay forums refused to sell to Portugal or Italy, because the items were stolen (even when sent via recorded mail/or signed for courier)

South Africa is even worse .... if it does get there, the customs department levy excessive import duties to the person receiving the item .... many items of value get 'lost'

not sure if things have changed now in Portugal and Italy, but it is still the same for South Africa

 

I buy a lot from Amazon (as does my t'other and he also from e-Bay) and on-line stores and have never had a problem with anything being 'lost' or 'missing' .. but that is not to say there is not one, perhaps I have been exceptionally fortunate. There are still quite a number of suppliers who will not ship to Portugal for whatever their reasons may be.

I do know that the Customs here also levy excessive import duties on items from the States ... but I also know they do that in the UK ... once we had to pay more in duty tax than the items cost that t'other half's mother sent us! Sadly what she sent us was silver made in the UK and we told her the problem. She sent us cash thereafter and told us to buy ourselves what we wanted.

 

Well the cost increase will only cost me about an extra 60p a year

I basically mail 3 items uk mail a year XD

Us mail however i spend more on (my co writer& best friend lives in usa)

 

I've got a sneaky feeling that as the difference in price for first and second has narrowed t so much now that they will eventually do away with second and first will arrive as and when.

 

Well they did away with the early morning post and the so called second post.

Now we just get the second post.

 

Yes, I agree with you strongy .. it will be like here then.

Also, as pete says, there will only be one post as day as here.

Perhaps it's 'catching up with the times' ...

 

We were officially told a couple of years ago that the second post had been discontinued, in actual fact ours was stopped five years before.
The main effect will be the reduction in Xmas post.

 

We don't have first and second class here. Just stamps for the island or mainland. Ours are going up from 37p by a penny to 38p and the mainland 38p going up 3p to 41p. I'll point out we use Royal Mail here as does the mainland.

We only get one delivery a day with the exception of Christmas.

 

I believe it has a lot to do with the internet, since email is now so common, and for that matter so is texting the post office have considerably much less to deliver, so less staff are required ............