Tuesday 15 February 2011

Top Tip Tuesday ...Number 4...

This week's Top Tip is a money saving one - a very important one too for UK Bah! Humbuggers!  It's no good having made the most gorgeous Christmas cards ever if when December comes round you just can't afford to post them.
Royal Mail have already given a huge blow to us crafters with the introduction of the dreaded Large Letter stamp which means that most of our cards cost a fortune to post.  None of ours at Humbug Hall have ever been slim enough to get through the slot yet, but things are going to get worse.  So sorry to be the bearer of this doom and gloom, but needs must.

This is the official notice of the price rises by Royal Mail...

'The  main price increases are:
  • The price of First and  Second class stamps for standard items weighing up to 100g will rise by 5p to  46p and 4p to 36p respectively.
  • The cost of a Large Letter  stamp will rise by 9p to 75p for First Class items and 7p to 58p for Second  Class mail.'
Eeeeeeeeeeeek  75p to send a card!  Well, here at the Hall we're going to try and combat this by buying as many stamps as we can over the coming weeks.  As none of the stamps have the price on them it's possible to stock up now and avoid the price increase for a little while at least.  
Our plan is to add a couple of books of stamps in with our weekly shop which hopefully won't dent the budget too much, but will make a big difference come December.  
Remember too that because your cards will be all done and dusted by the end of November you'll be able to post them early and use Second Class mail. That will make a huge saving, especially if you post a lot of cards.
Even if you are lucky enough to live somewhere where there hasn't and isn't going to be a price rise (is that possible?) it's still a good idea to buy a few stamps each week.  It will certainly save you from a nasty shock come December.
Our current challenge of Doilies is here.  We've had some amazing entries so far.  Keep them coming - we're learning so much from you all.

Ann and Max xxx

11 comments:

  1. Wow! Unless Spanish mail follows suit, it will be cheaper for me to post from here than, for friends and families to post to me. When do the new charges come into force?
    A good tip about buying stamps in advance. Thank you. Kate x

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  2. Good Tip and WHAT A RIDICULOUS PRICE? I'm STILL waiting for a Christmas card to make the 12 mile trip from Bristol to Bath!!!!

    Kathyk

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  3. That is certainly a good tip - I did much the same the last time postage rates went up but it is good to be reminded that I need to go shopping again for stamps - thanks. Whatever happened to the 'penny post' - no I'm not quite that old!!

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  4. I found a bunch of stamps left over from last Christmas and checked with out PO if I could use them next time round. Yipee, I can

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  5. OMG that is ridiculous!! Thanks for the tip, I think I will be stocking up too!

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  6. I have no idea how much 75p is in Canadian dollars, but for the past year it costs around $2.10CA to send a homemade card to the States, and $4.00CA to send one to Europe if it has any embellies at all. I guess we will all have to go back to CAS (clean and simple) cards if we are mailing them! I spend a small fortune in postage last year.
    Sharon

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  7. Thanks for reminding me. I did buy in last time and it certainly saves you a fortune.

    Janet xx

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  8. Good idea to pop a few in with the weekly shop, I never thought of that. I don't know about anyone else but a lot of my mail doesn't get franked, haven't a clue why. So I snip the stamps off the envelopes & re-use them.lol.
    Sally x

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  9. Phew - thanks for the heads up. The last time they went up I found out the next day.
    Beryl xx

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  10. themessycraftroom15 February 2011 at 23:30

    Thanks for the tip, off to write a note to get some tomorrow. Hugs x ChrisB

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