PRICING IN PROPORTION, what is it?
In 2006 the Royal Mail copied many other countries and
changed the way mail is charged for by introducing Pricing in Proportion or PIP.
What is Pricing in
Proportion?.
With out Pricing in Proportion it costs Royal Mail
more to sort, handle and deliver larger envelopes and items than they were are currently charging customers to
send. Large and irregular shaped packages take up more space in postbags and vans and cost more to handle. This
meant that most light but bulky items were priced below cost, whereas smaller, heavier
items were generally overpriced. So the Royal Mail changed to Pricing in Proportion system to more
accurately reflect their costs.
Before all post needed to be weighed to determine
the postage rate. With pricing in proportion not only the weight is required but also the size. This includes
width, length and thickness.
Letters Size Guide
The Letter size for Pricing in Proportion the item
needs to be less than 100-grams in weight no more than 5mm in thickness and no more than 240mm x 165mm. Just a bit
bigger then a A5 or c5 envelope.
You can get 3 x A4 sheets folded 2 times for a DL
envelope in this category or in a C5 envelope you can get 6 x A4 folded once.
The post that many people forget about pricing in
Proportion is when something is put into the envelope like a badge or pen because this is enough to bring it up to
the next level. People have had problems with celebration cards Birthday etc in the past because they for get to
take the badge or something similar into consideration. When you buy a birthday or anniversary card look on the
back and quite often their you will see it tells you which postage you require.
If the item is bigger or over 100 grams then this
it becomes known as a large letter with regards pricing in proportion.
Here it has to be less then 25mm thick under 750
grams and no bigger than 353mm x 250mm.
Any size after this in pricing in proportion it becomes
a package with a weight of less than 1000 grams for 2nd class or 4000 grams
1st class. You can
go heavier in 1st class at a cost of £2.80 per 2Kg.
The ultimate Letter size guide has all this
information and more.
Here are some examples where it may get confusing which
postage to use.
Let’s say you have to send a glasses case to someone
because they forgot to take it with them home.
It weighs less than 100 grams but because it does not
fit through either slot in pricing in proportion it has to be sent as a packet. The postage therefore would be £1.28
1st class or £1.08
2nd class.
Another example is a CD. This would go as a Large
letter again as it will not go through the small slot. The postage would be 61p for 1st or 47p for second.
If you have a Letter Price size guide from us please
remember that the letter or package
MUST FALL
THROUGHT T
HE SLOT FREELY. It will not
be accepted by the Royal Mail if it “sticks “at all at that price point.
If you are unsure if it will
be accepted at that price point. I would suggest you put the higher postage on.
If the Royal Mail declines your mail for being the
wrong size at the price point you have used. They will charge the recipient £1.10 plus the difference of your
postage value and the next postage value up at 2nd class.
So for an example let’s suppose you put on an envelope
a 1st class stamp. When
it is sorted and does not got through FREELY the slot for a letter size it is a Large Letter. The price of a Large
letter is 61p 1st and 47 2nd.The Royal Mail will charge £1.10 plus the difference between a
1st class stamp and a
2nd class large stamp
letter is 8p. Therefore the recipient of your letter will have to pay £1.18. i.e., 39p from 47p =8p plus £1.10
=£1.18
If you have any query's or question . Please visit our
Q and A or E mail us
info@lettersizeguide.co.uk
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