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Royal Mail Brexit Tariff change 1st January 2021

Royal Mail today announced significant increases in the cost of Inland Letter mail and simplification via the removal of weight steps for international letters to take effect from 1st January 2021

1st class inland rises from 76p to 88p and 1st Class large rises from £1.15 to £1.29

For International Letters the 20g Europe weight step has been removed – a single weight step 100g and under now applies to all European Letters with a corresponding increase to the cost of posting those letters to £1.70.

For Worldwide Letters, the three existing zones have been removed with a single tariff of £2.55 applying for items over 20g but equal to or under 100g. For items 20g or under the same £1.70 tariff as European 100g rate applies.
This simplifies the values required for international letters to £1.70 and £2.55, which is likely to be reflected in future commemorative issues.

With a standard 1st Class set of four values, Royal Mail has taken the opportunity to add the two ‘missing’ International Large Letter rates for Europe and International Large Letters of £3.25 and £4.20 , resulting in a eye watering cost of £13.84 for the 1st class collectors strip.

Each of these new rates will now be reflected in the SSK and RM Museum 1st class collectors strip with corresponding Machins issued or reissued.

All Post and Go stamps will be available individually from the day of issue with all dashes removed, which will please collectors and dealers alike.

Some of the newer, smaller Post Office outlets recently trialed with single SSKs could, of course, be open on Jan 1st, so a first day strip is not beyond a possibility, as well as a first day listing on Ebay.

Post and Go NVI Stamps – What are they worth for postage?

One of the most common questions sent to us is from readers trying to confirm the current ‘worth’ or face value of obsolete (or even current) Post and Go ‘Non Value’ or NVI stamps where used for postage. There doesn’t appear to be any official reference for this information but there has been previous confirmation of the principles used by Royal Mail’s revenue protection, which allows us to produce the following, updated and indeed simplified by the tariff change of 1st September 2020.

InlandStatus Current Value for Postage
1st ClassCurrent£0.76
1st Class LargeCurrent£1.15
2nd ClassCurrent£0.65
2nd Class LargeCurrent£0.88
International
Europe up to 20gObsolete£1.45
Euro 20g World 10gCurrent£1.45
Europe up to 60gObsolete£1.70
Europe up to 100gObsolete£1.70
Worldwide up to 10gObsolete£1.45
World 10g Euro 20gObsolete£1.45
Worldwide up to 20gObsolete£1.70
Worldwide up to 40gObsolete£2.55
Worldwide up to 60gObsolete£2.55
Worldwide up to 100gObsolete£2.55
Euro 100g World 20gCurrent£1.70
World 100g Zone 1-3Current£2.50
World 100g Zone 2Current£2.55
Post and Go NVI Stamp Postage Values September 2020

The rule applied is that any NVI stamp that indicates a weight step that no longer exists should be rounded up to the next weight and take on the value of that weight step. Where a zone is not indicated then all zones are covered and the stamp takes the value of the most expensive zone in that weight step.

Where these stamps are being used for pre-payment at a Post Office counter posters should consider that NVIs stamp were originally supplied for use for a particular purpose – e.g. specific inland or international mail letter rates and although techncially they are valid for use for other services, such use is exceptional and may result in refusal or re-direction to direct Royal Mail channels.

Royal Mail /Jersey Post ‘Joint Flag Issue’

At Spring Stampex Jersey Post will join the Post and Go club and will taken ownership of their own ‘Series B’ machine- number J001 – that will vend a unique Jersey Flag  stamp with six relevant NVI values  on one reel alongside a GB Union flag stamp on the other – a truly unique, modern and innovative way of producing a joint stamp issue.

The print string will be (For items purchased at Stampex)

B2GB14 J001-0000-001

For the back office/preorders a different string will be used.

B2GB14 B001-0000-001 etc.

 

Royal Mail ‘Next Generation’ ‘Series A Machines to retire ?

Royal Mail ‘Next Generation’  ‘Series A Machines

The existing three Royal Mail Post and Go machines will be retired and semi-permanent sites found for them (promising overprinted versions! ). Before this, the last roadshow for these machines will be at York Stamp and Coin Fair  on 17th/18th January 2014 where machines A3 and A4 will appear for the last time in a mobile environment.

 

NEW ! Royal Mail Next Generation ‘Series B’ Machines

Royal Mail Series B

Appearing from the outside as taller with a slicker, more streamlined appearance, inside a faster PC able to process orders and print stamp quicker with an improved screen combined with software with a simpler interface and capability to connect to smart phones apps promises a powerful package ready for the road in the UK and worldwide.

The first appearance of the “series B” machines will be Spring Stampex where three new Royal Mail series B machines will be showcased.
These machines will be designated ‘A003’, ‘A004’, ‘A005’ (‘A’ Indicating Self-Service) and will have updated print string as follows:-

B2GB14 A001-0000-001

The first character ‘B’ indicates a ‘Series ‘B’ machine , followed by Month, print location and Year designations.

The print counter has additional characters allowing for 999 prints in a single session and a reduced number of characters in the session number before the counter resets to zero.

 

Will Post and Go come of age in 2014?

As a relatively new area of stamp collecting, Post and Go stamps are proving to be both exciting and popular with GB collectors. ‘Armchair’ stamp collectors are realising that they can no longer expect all of their collection to arrive in an envelope from Tallents House and they are going back to the roots of collecting in larger and larger numbers – experiencing the thrill of the chase combined with the satisfaction of new and unique find- that won’t be available tomorrow , from anywhere else or via mail order.

So last years ‘Post and Go Roadshow’ was a success- Royal Mail took it’s (now infamous) ‘Series 1’ self-machines machines combined with a newly invigorated ‘Instant Smilers’ offer in various combinations to locations all around the UK- both as part of the  regional Stamp Show calendar (Perth, York, Salisbury, Stafford) and via the Post Office Stamp Shop (Main shopping centres in Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, Croydon and London) to give the maximum opportunity for collectors and non-collectors to purchase, many for the first time, their unique offering.

So building upon last years events , Royal Mail is continuing to improve and develop the products and services available- and continuing to make them available to as wide an audience as possible. As part of this ongoing development Royal Mail iscontinuing to invest in new, improved technology and have purchased a number of new ‘Post and Go’ machines – designated series ‘B’ -that promise to be faster and will allow further development of new products.