Not content with the cost of a first class letter being almost prohibitive at £1.65, it will be increasing the cost to £1.70. Fortunately, second class postage, as it is regulated, is only rising 2p from 85p to 87p.

The latest rises will simply exacerbate the issue of declining mail volumes, as the more the price is raised, the less people use the post. Online services are now starting to proliferate and most major institutions now nudge their customers to dealing with them online, meaning no more paper bills in the post.

The rises, whilst expected, come as another blow to those who regularly use the postal system as currently second class post can take between two and ten days to be delivered, even when the recipient is a few miles away. First class post is often delayed and Royal Mail are regularly being fined for missing their standard delivery targets.

To deal with this, Royal Mail are looking to vary the conditions of the Universal Service Obligation and drop at least one of their deliveries. Whilst this is meeting with residence amongst consumer groups, it would simply be an official recognition of what has already become ‘de facto’ standard practice. Many homes simply don’t receive mail on certain days of the week and some, just on one or two specific days.

At 87p, second class post still represents good value, given the cost of running a nation-wide postal system, but further rises will make the service even less appealing and the end result could well be the same as Denmark, who will officially cease all mail services in the country at the end of 2025.

So, price rise or no, use it or lose it is the message for all fans of second class stamps!

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Today’s increase in the price of first-class stamps is the second price rise in a year, with a first-class stamp in September 2023 costing £1.10, today it has gone up to £1.65 following a shift to £1.35 in April of this year.

Of course, most people these days tend to use second-class stamps if possible as they understand that adding a first-class stamp does nothing to improve its speed of delivery to certain parts of the country.

As an example, sitting today in the North West of England, we’ve had no post through the door since last Thursday, meaning three days without any mail deliveries. Given that we typically get over a dozen pieces of mail every week, it’s a rock solid certainty that somewhere at our local sorting office there’s a small pile of letters waiting to be delivered.

Like many other households, we understand the issue. Royal Mail have dropped or consolidated rounds (known in the trade as ‘dropping a frame’) which means that often, our pastiche cannot physically complete the whole round in a day. When post does arrive, which is likely to be tomorrow, it’s almost guaranteed that the postmarked items will have Friday’s date on them, irrespective of whether they were sent first or second class.

A recent online commentator suggested that someone take Royal Mail to court under the trades description act, as their ability to deliver a letter the following day now seems in question for anyone outside of the major conurbations.

Either way, the price rises today for first-class stamps to £1.65 for a standard letter and first-class large letter jumps up 50p to £2.60. When the second-class equivalents are so much cheaper it makes you wonder if first-class post in the U.K. is sustainable moving forward.

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When it comes to the price of postage stamps in the UK, there has long been an ongoing debate regarding what makes 1st Class Royal Mail Stamp worth more than its lesser sibling: 2nd class stamp. While both have different prices and features, many people would say that such a difference is negligible or even non-existent at best. Let’s take a look at what might be a viable reason for the current price gap between these two services.

1st & 2nd Class Stamp Pricing

When it comes to the price of postage, a 2nd class stamp is undeniably better value. A first-class letter costs 85p while a second-class one runs 66p – both stamps are relatively good values when compared to rates in Europe and America and of course, this differential continues for both small and large parcels at 1st and 2nd class rates.

When comparing the costs to mail a letter domestically and internationally, it varies wildly depending on which country you are in. As an example, USPS I the United States of America is much cheaper than their EU counterparts. Typically, it only costs $1.15 USD for 1st class postage in America while rates range between €0.85-€2 ($1-$3) in Europe depending on what you are mailing (such as an A5 envelope or “large letters”).

The gap between current 1st and 2nd class stamp prices is quite large, with second class stamps costing 66p and 1st class stamps 85p (correct in September 2021). Historically, this differential has never been so large and increasingly it seems unjustified, but what it is based on?

Postal Delivery Services

According to Royal Mail, a letter will reach its destination within the UK with a 1st class stamp on it in one working day. A 2nd class stamp on your letter means that you can expect to receive it between two and three days, but most of the time, letters arrive at their destinations by the second workday after they were mailed out.

It’s only when you look closer at the process Royal Mail follows that you can see the differences, or lack of them. If you were to post two identical envelopes in a post box today, one with first class stamps on it and the other with a second class stamp on it, the chances are they would both arrive the next day.

The reason for this is that on collection, they are both put into the same bag, they are both sent to the sorting office where they are separated, albeit briefly, by their first and second class status. But then they are bundled together for onward distribution to the next delivery hub. So, a letter from London to Glasgow would make its way from the London Sorting office to the Glasgow Sorting office typically by road or rail. They don’t run separate trucks or trains for first and second class, it’s all bundled together, so both letters are going to the same place in the same bag.

When they arrive at the destination sorting office they are sorted into the rounds for postmen and women and sent out for delivery, hence they may well arrive together, despite being different postage rates.

Of course, this doesn’t happen all the time, there are obviously exceptions and times when second class will sit for an additional day on a sorting office floor. But not often. The postal service in the UK is quite efficient and they aim to clear all mail the day it arrives.

Is 1^st class postage worth it?

If you search online you will find that much is made of the fact that it is possible to claim up to £20 in compensation from Royal Mail it an item is lost in the pot and send first class. What they always miss, however, is that the same compensation exists if you’ve sent the item second class.

Sure, there are hurdles to jump through to claim for a lost item, not least of which a minimum 10 day hiatus whilst they wait to see if it turns up, but after that their compensation process is fairly straightforward.

Royal Mail makes a feature of the compensation on their website saying:

• Aims to deliver the next working day including Saturdays
• Includes compensation cover up to £20*
• Prices start at 85p for letters up to 100g
• Same price for all UK addresses

When you compare it to the 2^nd Class stamp list there’s not a great deal of difference:

• Delivery in two to three working days including Saturdays
• Includes compensation cover up to £20*
• Prices start at 66p for letters up to 100g
• Same price for all UK addresses

As you can see, the main difference is simply speed, but in today’s online and interconnected world, just how important is this, and given the nature of the distribution network, is it worth the premium?

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11.7bn letters were sent 2016-2017, a 5% decrease from the previous year, which is a larger decrease than the 4% decrease of previous years. This has caused a decrease in profit for Royal Mail of 221 thousand, another potential factor for the increase in stamp prices. However, it must be considered whether the increase in cost to the user is causing the decline in postage. Whilst price increases can be used to cover the loss of less customers, Royal Mail must identify the point at which consumers will refuse their service due to too high prices.

Another factor in the decline is the rise of the internet age. It has never been easier to send a message instantly across the world which could take an unknown amount of time by snail mail. Perhaps the future of post will lie only with parcels, with letters being mainly composed of legal documents and other such important paperwork of which a physical copy is needed. However, many companies now employ metered mail such as franking as a way to cut costs.

It is also important to consider the demographic of postal and internet users; typically, younger people prefer email and older people are more used to letters. As our population becomes an aging one, could we see a reversal, and thus an increase in postal usage? Also note that people are more trusting towards companies they can pinpoint, a reason why every company has to list its address.

Will the postal service go the way of the high street? Nowadays there are complaints on the lack of physical shop, a product of our love of internet shopping. A similar effect could occur with our treasured postal service; this opening could open the way for private companies to expand into the market.

Stamps bought before the change will still be useable without the need for extra stamps to increase their value.

1st class stamps have also risen in price by 2p. to 67p. These prices should remain stable until March 2019.

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