Brits fume at startling cost of Royal Mail stamps as Christmas card sales fall again

A recent survey found 49% of businesses won’t be sending Christmas cards this year, while boxed card sales have reportedly fallen by 23% compared to 2023

Brits are up in arms over the “shocking” cost of stamps, which they blame for the plummeting sales of Christmas cards in 2024.

Boxed card sales have tumbled by 23%, and individual card sales have seen a 15% drop compared to last year’s figures, according to reports. A Moneypenny survey, meanwhile, discovered that nearly half (49%) of businesses are ditching the tradition of sending out cards to clients and suppliers this year.

TikTok user Jade Doutch expressed her astonishment after shelling out £6.60 for a book of four first-class stamps, exclaiming in her video: “Since when is a book of four stamps £6.60? I just had such a shock – I thought they were about 25p each!”

Another TikTok commenter shared their disbelief: “I couldn’t believe it, I shouted, ‘£1.65’ in shock. That’s the last stamp I buy.”

A third person was equally as frustrated, adding: “I bought a book of four a few months ago, I nearly had a heart attack at the price.” While a fourth admitted: “I work in a Tesco Express and I actually warn people how much they are before scanning them. It’s unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, one generous individual found an alternative approach, which they detailed: “I decided a couple of years ago to stop sending cards because of the cost of stamps. Decided to send money instead to Crisis at Christmas.”

Elsewhere, someone claimed they recently “saw a post showing if you post 100 cards it’s cheaper to fly to Spain, post from there and fly back.” And indeed, this isn’t just social media banter; for an eye-opening report by The Telegraph with data from Skyscanner revealed six international spots where posting 100 cards trumps UK postal charges – even when adding the price of return flights.

Brits are currently forking out a whopping £165 to send 100 first-class Christmas cards locally. Whereas in Albania, you’d be set back merely £85 for shipping the same quantity at an international stamp rate of just 100 Lek (around 85p), assuming delivery within five business days back to the UK.

Skyscanner lists December flights from Luton to Tirana as low as £27, tallying up your Albanian posting adventure to a mere £112 – potentially pocketing you a tidy saving of £50 versus using Royal Mail.

On another note, TikTok user and Benella Home Organisation founder Jo Jacob shares her own thrifty hint related to festive stamps, saying: “I just want to make sure you’re aware of this trick to save money if you happen to be posting Christmas cards this year.”

She offered a savvy tip: “Make sure you don’t get the barcoded [stamps] ones – don’t get the first or second class normal ones. Get proper Christmas stamps, because when the prices of stamps go up, they don’t change – they are still valid. So if you have Christmas stamps from five years ago and you bought them at whatever [price] they were, they’re still valid now. So maybe buy more than you’ll need as you can use them next year.”

Meanwhile, a Royal Mail spokesperson previously told us: “Our stamp prices of 85p for second class and £1.65 for first class remain well below the European average of £1.33 and £1.73 respectively.”

They added: “We always consider the price of stamps very carefully in the face of declining letter volumes and the increasing costs associated with maintaining the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service to all 32 million UK addresses.”