Update 24-08-2022
Royal Mail announce POSTAL STRIKES for Summer/Autumn 2022
Being Stamps Dealers currently all of our customer orders are dispatched using Royal Mail stamped mail services, therefore we want to make customers aware of the significant disruption the planned Royal Mail strike dates will have on these services resulting in longer delivery times. I would not be surprised if 7 to 10 day delivery times become the norm for first class packages and longer for second class mail.
The planned strike dates are: 26th & 31st August and 8th & 9th September.
On these dates we can in theory still dispatch orders by Royal Mail however, there will be no collections or deliveries, or on the 25th & 30th August. Mail will just sit in the Post Offices waiting to be picked up. Some smaller Post Offices may refuse to take mail if they lack storage space.
As a result delivery times will be much longer for all Royal Mail packages (see above) and we expect the delays to span not only the strike days, but also for a number of days following each strike day. If things get really bad we will probably send orders of £100 and above by courier.
We kindly ask customers to plan well ahead when making orders and where possible avoid the strike dates all together. As a business, just to be safe, we may not dispatch any orders on the confirmed strike dates. We cannot afford our valued customer orders to go missing. Unfortunately we cannot give refunds for any late deliveries, at least not until 30 business days have passed following the date of dispatch.
Lets hope the situation gets resolved soon and services get back to normal.
Update 04-03-22 from first post on 1st Feb 2022
The Royal Mail have finally done it. All existing definitive stamps from 1971 to date including 1st Class, 2nd Class are being phased out and replaced with new stamps which have barcodes. These will be known as "Barcoded Stamps".
Importantly all existing Commemorative picture style and Christmas stamps from 1971 to present day are not affected by the move to barcodes so they will remain fully valid for use after January 2023.
There will be a Royal Mail "Swap Out" old for new scheme details to follow including terms and conditions. We will actively advise customers on the best options when we know more information.
From today the Royal Mail will no longer produce the standard definitive first and second class stamps, which were first introduced in 1989. The old format stamps are only valid for postal used up to 31st January 2023 after which they can no longer be used for postal service in the UK. Up until the 31st January 2023 they can be purchased, used and sold just as before (so no need to panic - we a a full year to get organised). From 1st February 2023 any mail sent using the the old stamps may result in your mail being surcharged (payable by the recipient) or your mail returned.
The good news it that The Royal Mail are introducing a "Swap Out" scheme so this should allow any genuine old stamps, which are surplus to requirements to be exchanged for the new barcode stamps. This definitely be exchange only with no cash alternative. The "Swap out' scheme has still to be finalised and will be introduced sometime in March 2022. We will keep customers updated as soon as we know the terms and conditions.
In the meantime we can continue to buy and sell the old stamps without any issues, although there is bound to be some impact on postage values as the older stamps are sold to the market on mass. we have already lowered some of our buying and selling prices in anticipation. As full members of the Philatelic Traders Society (London) we are well placed to help collectors and stamp dealers liquidate their collections or existing stocks stamps which are affected.
The move by the Royal Mail does not affect the commemorative or picture stamps as new issues of those special stamp sets are not going to have barcodes and therefore the millions of existing stamps sitting in collections are still going to be valid for postal use. This includes 1st and 2nd class non value indicated commemorative stamps.
Update 02-11-2021
Beware of fake website WWW.DISCOUNTEDSTAMPS.NET
This bogus company has been selling counterfeit 1st and 2nd class stamps via it's website by tricking people into thinking they are buying genuine stamps from our company. This company has stolen our identity in the pursuit of selling counterfeit stamps which are illegal to use and have no commercial value or validity to be used for any postal services in the UK. We have opened an investigation case with Police Scotland to try and resolve this matter. We only sell 100% genuine stamps from this website only with proper invoices and receipts provided for every order.
Update 29-04-20
Special Offer! Royal Mail Special Delivery for just £4.95
Today due to the ever growing Royal Mail delivery delays we have decided to offer Royal Mail Special Delivery for just £4.95. A typical postage package costs £7.50 to £14.00 by special delivery so this is a great offer for customers. Special Delivery mail is treated as essential mail by Royal Mail and therefore most packages get delivered next day, even in these trying times. This service is fully tracked and provides a minimum £500 insurance cover. IT WILL CERTAINLY GIVE YOU PEACE OF MIND.
To make this even more cost effective it would be best if customers make bigger orders, but perhaps less frequently so as to keep the volumes of mail down.
Update 23-04-20
Some First Class post and Signed For mail has been taking up to six weeks to be delivered.
We have received communications today from two delighted customers stating that their postage orders have now been delivered some six weeks after we posted their packages. This demonstrates how patient you need to be under the current COVID-19 restrictions. First class and signed for mail items are now categorised as non essential mail so please be warned. If you need stamps quickly or next day please pay the extra £6 for Special Delivery. It would appear that all mail apart from SPECIAL DELIVERY is now categorised as NON-ESSENTIAL and an 'IT WILL GET THERE SOMETIME' approach has been adopted by The Royal Mail. This is understanding given the pressure Royal Mail Workers are under to stay safe at work.
Update 24-03-2020
Coronavirus Restrictions change of business operation and delayed dispatch of orders.
From today 24th March 2020 we can no longer offer same day dispatch of orders. We have put in place an arrangement with our local Post Office to drop off our mail at 9,00 am every morning so this now means customer orders won't be dispatched until next working day.
Importantly Royal Mail have also cancelled all of their normal postal service guarantees including guaranteed next day special delivery. We would not be surprised if standard 1st class mail now takes up to a week or longer to be delivered. Please be patient the Royal Mail are doing their best but working with reduced manpower means they now have to prioritise services.
Update 15-03-20
Royal Mail change delivery service due to Coronavirus
Until further notice we have been told by the Royal Mail that Postmen will no longer allow recipients to sign for Special Delivery and Signed For packages. Instead they will ring your door bell to make sure you are in and tell you they have left your mail outside your door. Apparently they have a special code they can use which allows the Postman to sign receipt of delivery on your behalf. I'm not sure how the emergency practice would stand up in court should a valuable package go missing.
Update 09-03-20
Today we have dropped all our selling prices for stamps £1 to £10. This good news for now all customers will receive at least 20% discount on the Post Office counter price.
Buy now and beat the Royal Mail price rises which come into force on 23rd March 2020
Update 29-01-2020
We are closed on Friday 31st January 2020 through to Monday 3rd February.
Due to a family event we are having this entire weekend off so apologies for any delays in advance.
Update 28-01-2020
Postage deadline now 3.30 pm daily, we need last orders by 1.00 pm daily.
Our local Post Office is now demanding that we have our daily mail dropped off with them by 3.30 pm each day. Some days we can have over 100 packages to dispatch and this has been making it difficult for our local Post Office to process all of our mail before their daily deadline of 4.30 pm. The knock effect is that we will now need to receive customer orders before 1.00 pm daily instead of 2.00 pm so that we can can all orders packed ready for the 3.30 pm drop off. If you are needing stamps in a hurry please try to place your orders in the morning, or the day before.
Update 15-01-2020
New lower selling prices on all stamps £1 to £5.
We have recently noticed on the run up to Christmas that there has been a drop off in demand for the higher value stamps. As a result we are now offering a full 15% discount on stamps purchased individually and 20% discount where we are able to offer stamps in bags of 100.
Update 19-12-2019
I would like to wish all customers a Very Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Hopefully by now all orders for Christmas Stamps will have been delivered. It's been another frustrating year with Royal Mail delayed deliveries and we really appreciate your patience in waiting extra time for your deliveries. We usually get a well earned break between Christmas and New Year as demand for stamps subsides. Then it's all go again from 3rd January onwards on the run up to Royal Mail price rises which always go live last Monday of March each year. With Royal Mail predicting trading losses next year we are speculating they may have to increase postage prices by a higher percentage than usual. The problem for them is that they still have to remain competitive in a saturated market place.
My wife Ann, myself David and my son Martin wish you all the very best for 2020.
Update 04-12-2019
Christmas post delays are getting worse so please allow at least a week for 1st Class Post to arrive.
Today we have been inundated with emails from customers who ordered stamps over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales weekend. We post out approximately 200 package on Monday 2nd December at it appears today Wednesday 4th December that royal Mail have delivered very few of them. Please remember that Royal Mail do not guarantee normal delivery times during December. It's been the same story for at least the last five years so please be patient. We are convinced that priority is given to large online sellers like Amazon/Argos etc. who no doubt can impose large financial penalties on the Royal Mail if they don't deliver their packages in time.
Sadly I think when all available vans are full the standard mail is just left in depots until next day or later.
Update 28-11-2019
Christmas post delays have started already - please order stamps early.
Today we have received a number of emails from customers who have not received their packages, which we posted on Monday. Royal Mail normally delivery 1st class mail in 1 to 3 days but at this time of year they do not guarantee 1 to 3 days performance and seem to take as long as they like. Based on our experiences over the last few years many 1st class packages were taking between 4 and 12 days to be delivered so please be patient and order early. This BLACK FRIDAY 29th DISCOUNT WEEKEND WILL NOT HELP. We always post packages same day but we do have to be at our Post Office before 3.15pm or they refuse to process packages same day. So again try to order the evening before or in the morning. IF YOU NEED STAMPS URGENTLY PLEASE OPT FOR NEXT SPECIAL DELIVERY AT CHECKOUT.
Update 19-11-2019
Closed for business on Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th November
We are having a long weekend break this weekend and we are only working Monday to Thursday this week. We kindly ask customers to place orders early (before noon this Thursday) or wait until Monday 25th before ordering so that we are not inundated with too much work when we arrive back late on Sunday evening.
Update 05-11-2019
Royal Mail delivery performance beyond a joke!
Customers please note we are experiencing very poor delivery performance on a growing number orders delivered by the Royal Mail. In the last month we have had at least a dozen first class or first class signed for packages which have taken 7 to 12 days to be delivered. What's more a lady customer contacted us today to inform that an order containing 100 x 1st class stamps, which we posted first class on 14th October just arrived today. That means the Royal Mail took 21 days to deliver a standard first class package. This is very concerning as the Christmas rush has not yet started.
Update 31-10-2019
'E' NVI stamps are confirmed valid for postal use on UK mainland packages
There has been some confusion regarding issues with Royal Mail not taking consistent approach to businesses using 'E' stamps on their internal UK packages. A recent article in the Philatelic Exporter confirms that 'E' rate stamps are perfectly valid for use on UK packages. This Royal Mail Policy should be applied by all Post Offices and Royal Mail Depots in the UK.
