Increases to letter tariffs and reduction in parcel prices
Guernsey Post has announced that it will be introducing changes to its postal tariffs from 3rd January 2024.
Boley Smillie, Chief Executive of Guernsey Post said “The restructure of our tariffs has been very much designed to reflect the way in which customers are now using our services. Standard parcel rates to the UK will either reduce in price or remain frozen and that will be funded by a combination of internal efficiencies and the extra revenue we raise from an increase in the price of letters.”
For parcels below 1kg the prices are frozen or reduced depending on the weight step. A new 1.5kg weight step has also been introduced to provide better value and the prices for parcels between 5kg and 30kg have been reduced significantly.
Boley Smillie said, “The implementation of a new 1.5kg weight category, coupled with the elimination of size and weight restrictions for small parcels, will result in substantial price reductions at most weights for parcels weighing over 1kg.”
Product/Weight | Old Price to the UK | New price to the UK | % Difference |
250g Small Parcel | £4.38 | £4.38 | Price freeze |
1.2kg Small Parcel | £13.12 | £10.50 | 20% reduction |
1.5kg Medium Parcel | £14.14 | £10.50 | 26% reduction |
10kg Medium Parcel | £41.24 | £27.50 | 33% reduction |
30kg Large Parcel | £60.00 | £30.00 | 50% reduction |
New price cap on ecommerce returns
As part of its tariff restructure the company has announced a price cap of £5 on the cost of returning parcels weighing up to 10kg from UK based retailers, including Amazon, where they do not otherwise offer free returns.
Boley Smillie said, “We are really pleased to introduce the £5 price cap for returning standard parcels, which addresses the feedback we have received from our customers who have asked for an affordable returns service.”
A list of those retailers, and the pricing coming into effect from 3rd January will be available on the Guernsey Post website from 18th December 2023.
Letter prices aligned closer to Royal Mail
The price of sending a letter to the UK will increase to £1.20 which is still 5p less than the same service provided by Royal Mail in the UK.
The additional revenue raised from the increase will partly offset increases in transport costs as well as funding better prices for parcels to the UK.
“We continue to face unprecedented cost increases in our supply chain, and whilst we are reshaping our business to make sure we are as efficient as possible the cost of conveying product across the Channel and the price charged by our partners for delivering to international destinations continues to increase at inflation busting levels.”