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Today Royal Mail confirmed it planned to raise the price of stamps again – the sixth rise in first class stamp prices in three years. And that means, the price of a first-class stamp is getting closer to the £1.89 average cost of a greeting card in the UK.
The rise comes in the wake of plans to remove second class deliveries on Saturdays and reducing deliveries to two or three days a week.
The price of a first-class stamp will go up by 5p, bringing the cost to £1.70, the postal service has confirmed. The cost of a second-class stamp will rise by 2p, moving from 85p to 87p. Royal Mail said the price increase will come into force from April 7.
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Larger items will also face sharper price hikes, with the cost of a first class large letter up to 100g increasing from £2.60 to £3.15. Meanwhile, the cost of postage for small parcels weighing up to 2kg is set to increase, with first class rates rising from £4.79 to £4.99 and second class rates climbing from £3.75 to £3.90.
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We always consider price changes very carefully but the cost of delivering mail continues to increase. A complex and extensive network of trucks, planes and 85,000 posties is needed to ensure we can deliver across the country for just 87p.
“Ofcom has recognised that reform is urgently needed to protect the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to around 32million UK addresses six days a week.”
The postal service added that even with the revised prices, the cost of second and first class stamps in the UK remains below the European average of £1.41 and £1.87 respectively.
Martin Lewis said previously: “For years, every time stamps go up in price I’ve suggested people stock up and bulk-buy in advance, as provided the stamp doesn’t have a price on it and instead just says the postage class, it’s still valid after the hike.
“So you may as well stock up now, even if it’s just for Christmas cards for the next few Christmases.”
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