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Royal Mail stamp prices are set to rise for the second time in six months from Tuesday, the fourth time prices have been hiked by the postal service over the last two years.
The price of a first class stamp will surge by 10p from £1.25 to £1.35, while second class stamps will increase by the same amount – from 75p to 85p.
Large letters will see first class stamps increase from £1.95 to £2.10, but second class large letters will remain at £1.55. It comes after prices rose by 15p back in October 2023 – while prices were also hiked back in April 2022 and April 2023.
Martin Lewis has warned people who use stamps a lot to stock up before price rises come into play, writing on his MoneySavingExpert website: “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.
“This has been an effective tactic, as a first-class letter stamp is now £1.25, soon to be rising to £1.35 – in 2012 it was just 60p. So you may as well stock up now.”
The Mirror reports that at the time of the announcement, Nick Landon – who is the chief commercial officer at the Royal Mail – said: “It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion. As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter.”
The number of parcels being sent through Royal Mail has risen to record numbers – with 3.6 billion deliveries between 2022 and 2023.
How much are stamp prices going up?
- First class – standard: £1.25 – rising to £1.35 (hiked by 10p or eight per cent)
- First class – large: £1.95 – rising to £2.10 – (hiked by 15p or eight per cent)
- Second class – standard: 75p – rising to 85p – (hiked by 10p or 13%)
- Second class – large: – £1.55 (No change)
