It looks like Royal Mail are definitely preparing to extend the dimensions of Small Parcels so that items of up to 350 x 250 x 160mm will be classed (and priced) as Small Parcels.
Following the consultation, the change means that over 80% of parcels delivered by Royal Mail will qualify as Small Parcels and it’ll now include the typical “shoe box” sized parcel. We’re not currently sure if the weight will be up to 1kg or 2kg, but definitely for those whose items are currently classed as medium or large parcels the price will plummet.
We’ve heard from Tamebay reader Brian that his Post Office has received the official bulletin on their terminal informing them of the change and that they will be receiving a new template with a live date of the 28th October. However Mark, another Tamebay reader was shown a live date of the 4th of November.
Interestingly the official (internal) Royal Mail memos apparently referenced the competitor prices from myHermes and Collect Plus, so it would appear that these companies have been hurting Royal Mail’s business.
Of course when announced this news could turn out to be a bit of a damp squib if the CWU’s planned Royal Mail strike goes ahead on the 4th of November. However drastically reduced prices will almost certainly tempt some business back from Royal Mail’s competitors once any strikes are over.
Bravo Royal Mail, now can we have an official announcement please? We like good news and, with prices rising with almost every supplier, we know a price reduction will be very welcome news!
17 Responses
I was told this morning in the post office that it begins on the 28th October, though they said that they are not advertising the change in price.
The change in parcel size is great news, as I gave up with myHermes last month due to parcel losses – which seems to be a major problem at the moment at Hermes as they are currently taking a lot longer than 28 working days to process lost item claims due to the amount of claims they are receiving.
Will the 180x180x180 cube no longer be a valid small parcel size?
Those packaging supply companies who geared up to providing box sizes to meet the the current small parcel format will be a little peeved at this change due to the resulting lowering of interest in the 80mm deep format box.
As a PPI business customer I am disappointed by this change as I loose one of the advantages I had over smaller sellers.
The other side to this is the impact it will have on folks like me . . . non VAT payer – send many ‘large letters’ . . . . this looks like very bad news!
Is nobody concerned or even bothered that the other 2 dimensions will be reduced from a maximum of 450 x 350mm to 350 x 250mm?
This is a game changer for me and it would appear that there may not be as many people bemoaning this change so it may not be revised in the future.
I take it there will be some sort of grace period of change over due to the amount of boxes people will have stocked up on or lack of communication from Royal Mail?
That’s great news ! It will certainly make life easier for us , but the strikes are another headache.
Good article, is this for OBA users or just for over the counter users?
This will help a lot considering I’ve been using the 48 Signed For (CRL) service instead of BPR code for the items thicker than the recommended size.
They must have felt it in their pocket.
Got leaflet about this change today on post office, so good news!
Those worried that this is a shrinking of size should check out the actual statement where RM proposed this earlier in the month. It’s the “exception” to the rule that’s changing not the rule:
https://www.royalmailgroup.com/sites/default/files/Proposal%20to%20amend%20the%20United%20Kingdom%20Post%20Scheme_23_09_2013.pdf
So the large flat box size continues, the change is that the 6 inch cube grows rather than the other box size shrinks.
What this means is massive price hike in April 2014. Small parcels will probably cost somewhere between current small and medium parcel prices.
that’s my prediction.
I was told by my Hoddesdon Post Office that as of next week the “Parcel” I was sending at £6.50 today will cost £2.60 next week. Thats because of this thing where they are reclassifying small shoe box sizes more sensibly. This makes good sense to me too. We send out the odd sample etc and it was a bit rich to pay those sort of prices. The woman also showed me a box about the size of an A4 ream of paper box that holds 5 reams of paper (if you know what I mean) So quite a bit of room. You could easily get quite a lot of stuff in a box that size.
Shame about the strikes tho…
I have picked up a leaflet from my local post office today detailing the new small parcel sizes – basically there will be 2 small parcel sizes, the current size of 45cm x 35cm x 8cm remains the same but the 16cm cube exception is replaced with a size of 35cm x 25cm x 16cm (similar to a large shoe box). All small parcel prices remain the same (and are applicable to both sizes) starting at £2.60 for 2nd class and £3.00 for 1st class.