1st Class Stamp to cost almost double 2nd Class from October

From the 7th of October 2024, the price of 1st Class stamps will increase to £1.65. The price of 2nd Class stamps will remain unchanged at 85p.

This 30p rise from £1.35 in the cost of a 1st Class Stamp follows a previous 10p rise in April this year, meaning the cost of a stamp has risen from £1.25 to £1.65 in six months.

For the first time in Royal Mail’s history, the cost of a 1st Class Stamp is fast approaching double the cost of a 2nd Class Stamp!

Royal Mail say that they have sought to keep price increases as low as possible in the face of declining letter volumes, inflationary pressures and the costs associated with maintaining the Universal Service.

We always consider price increases very carefully. However, when letter volumes have declined by two-thirds since their peak, the cost of delivering each letter inevitably increases.

A complex and extensive network is needed to get every letter and parcel across the country for a single price – travelling on trucks, planes, ferries and in some cases drones before it reaches its final destination on foot. We are proud to deliver the Universal Service, but the financial cost is significant.

The Universal Service must adapt to reflect changing customer preferences and increasing costs so that we can protect the one-price-goes anywhere service, now and in the future.

– Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer, Royal Mail

If you are wondering why they’re not increasing the cost of a 2nd Class stamp, it’s because prices for these are regulated and they can’t. What Royal Mail are asking for (and Ofcom are considering) is to cut Saturday 2nd Class deliveries and only pop 2nd Class letters through your door a couple of times a week.

A 1st Class Stamp would still see deliveries supposed to take place six days a week, but judging by Royal Mail’s Quality of Service reports even that hasn’t happened for the past couple of years, leading to fines from Ofcom. For the 2023/24 financial year, Royal Mail only delivered delivered 74.5% of mail with a 1st Class Stamp within one working day against a target of 93%.

This price rise in the cost of a 1st Class stamp significantly widens the gap between the two services. Until recent years, 1st & Second Class stamp costs roughly tracked each other, but from 2020 onwards the gap widened dramatically seeing 1st Class costs accelerate rapidly in comparison to 2nd Class.

It looks very much like if you want any hope of letters arriving on time, you’re going to have to pay a significant premium. Or you’re going to have to accept that 2nd Class really is an inferior service and going to get even slower if Ofcom accept the proposals to cut the number of delivery days.