[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
some sort of conection like this.

Can anyone work it out?

This page http://tinyurl.com/fpf9u shows the value of individual
stamps I can get from my post office are as follows:

1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

And thse pages is a list of charge bands for different weights of
first or second class post:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...9&catId=400028
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...0&catId=400028

What is the connection?

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Will wrote:
Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

They pick random numbers out of a hat.

Perhaps you could ask them.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Will wrote:
Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

What is the connection?

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you choose,
by using no more than three stamps.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Will wrote:
Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
some sort of conection like this.

Can anyone work it out?

This page http://tinyurl.com/fpf9u shows the value of individual
stamps I can get from my post office are as follows:

1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

And thse pages is a list of charge bands for different weights of
first or second class post:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...9&catId=400028
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...0&catId=400028

What is the connection?

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order* and the value comes to
3.62GBP the stamps make up the *pence* difference as the PO are in GBP only

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Willy Eckerslyke wrote:
[stamp values]
1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you choose,
by using no more than three stamps.

How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?


Neil Sunderland
--
Braunton, Devon
Please observe the Reply-To address.

NP: Black Crowes - Sting Me (from the album 'Southern Harmony & Musical Companion')

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Neil Sunderland wrote:
Willy Eckerslyke wrote:
[stamp values]
1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you
choose, by using no more than three stamps.

How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?

10 + 5 + 2

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Grumps wrote:
How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?

10 + 5 + 2

*slaps forehead*


Neil Sunderland
--
Braunton, Devon
Please observe the Reply-To address.

NP: The Smashing Pumpkins - Soma (from the album 'Siamese Dream')

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Neil Sunderland wrote:
Willy Eckerslyke wrote:
[stamp values]

1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you choose,
by using no more than three stamps.


How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?


Neil Sunderland

10p + 5p + 2p ;-)

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Will" wrote in message
...
Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
some sort of conection like this.

Can anyone work it out?

No.

What's worse are the special issue stamps - I call them 'fancy' stamps and
do like them but they have 1st, 2nd then jump to high values which don't
correspond to any real charges.

I send a lot of packets and parcels and it's frustrating. I've asked Royal
Mail about it but haven't had a satisfactory reply. I have to keep a large
stock of stamps which is quite an investment. The alternative is to go to
the post office several times a week which costs time and petrol so is
environmentally unfriendly. Most of our packets are small enough to go into
a pillar box but weigh more than 100g.

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Andy Burns wrote:
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are
barely used these days?

Some ebayers do, as do pensioners even.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

The message
from Andy Burns contains these words:

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

I'd love to use ours - but it's shut. To post anything larger than a
letter (and our letterbox has gone too) I have to walk a couple of
miles. Or wait till I'm out in the car.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Neil Sunderland wrote:
Willy Eckerslyke wrote:
[stamp values]
1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you
choose, by using no more than three stamps.

How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?


Neil Sunderland


Neil - don't bother entering "Countdown" :-)
--
LSR

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:15:51 +0100, Will wrote:

|Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
|single stamps?
|
|I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
|usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
|some sort of conection like this.
|
|Can anyone work it out?
|
|This page http://tinyurl.com/fpf9u shows the value of individual
|stamps I can get from my post office are as follows:
|
|1 pence
|2
|5
|9
|10
|20
|37
|42
|44
|49
|50
|72
|
|And thse pages is a list of charge bands for different weights of
|first or second class post:
|
|http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...9&catId=400028
|http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...0&catId=400028

Stamps are also used for overseas mail
Follow the links for *eight* different categories from
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...mediaId=400033

I keep a stock of stamps in the traditional steps of 1, 2, 5, 10.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk Google Groups is IME the *worst*
method of accessing usenet. GG subscribers would be well advised get a
newsreader, say Agent, and a newsserver, say news.individual.net. These
will allow them: to see only *new* posts, a killfile, and other goodies.

Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Guy King wrote:
in a thread about postal orders
Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

I'd love to use ours - but it's shut. To post anything larger than a
letter (and our letterbox has gone too) I have to walk a couple of
miles. Or wait till I'm out in the car.

I haven't used a PO in years - however, I've used a DIPSY, a LA-LA and
a TINKY-WINKY. I've also used an ARNO and a TIBER.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Will wrote:
Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
some sort of conection like this.

Can anyone work it out?

This page http://tinyurl.com/fpf9u shows the value of individual
stamps I can get from my post office are as follows:

What is the connection?

Don't forget that stamps not just used to inland items. The stamps
between 37p and 72p have specific uses thus:

37p 2nd 60g100g
42p ROW Surface Letter 020g
44p Europe 020g
49p 1st 60g100g
50p ROW Airmail 010g and 2nd 100g150g
72p ROW Airmail 1020g and ROW Surface Letter 2060g

The other values (1p, 2p, 5p, 9p, 10p, 20p, £1, £1.50, £2, £3 &
£5) are used to make up the other values for the various services e.g.
Recorded, Special, Airmail, Surface etc...

Don't forget though that the price structure for inland post will
change in August to take account of size, not just weight (e.g. it will
cost more to post a A4 letter than a A5 letter the same weight.)

Mike

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

They have only recently updated the entire postal order system, due to their
much increased use for ebay small purchases, IIRC

Paul

Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

In uk.railway TheLastMinute twisted the electrons to say:
Don't forget though that the price structure for inland post will
change in August to take account of size, not just weight (e.g. it will
cost more to post a A4 letter than a A5 letter the same weight.)

If only they'd also made it much more expensive to send really small
envelopes (eg: 2inch x 2inch) whilst they where at it.
--
These opinions might not even be mine ...
Let alone connected with my employer ...

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

In uk.d-i-y, Dave Fawthrop wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:15:51 +0100, Will wrote:

|Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
|single stamps?
|
|I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
|usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
|some sort of conection like this.
|
|Can anyone work it out?
|
|This page http://tinyurl.com/fpf9u shows the value of individual
|stamps I can get from my post office are as follows:
|
|1 pence
|2
|5
|9
|10
|20
|37
|42
|44
|49
|50
|72
|
|And thse pages is a list of charge bands for different weights of
|first or second class post:
|
|http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...9&catId=400028
|http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...0&catId=400028

Stamps are also used for overseas mail
Follow the links for *eight* different categories from
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...mediaId=400033

I keep a stock of stamps in the traditional steps of 1, 2, 5, 10.

I keep 1st, 2nd, 5p, and 1p. Those suit my needs pretty well - mainly
letters, and some small packets up to about 200g.

With a spreadsheet it's easy to construct a table showing the values of
combinations of 1st and 2nd, from which I pick a convenient value at or
just below the target. Then I make up any difference with the 1p and 5p
stamps. Sometimes when feeling lazy I pick the next higher value and
waste a penny or two.

First
Second 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 0.00 0.32 0.64 0.96 1.28 1.60 1.92
1 0.23 0.55 0.87 1.19 1.51 1.83 2.15
2 0.46 0.78 1.10 1.42 1.74 2.06 2.38
3 0.69 1.01 1.33 1.65 1.97 2.29 2.61
4 0.92 1.24 1.56 1.88 2.20 2.52 2.84
5 1.15 1.47 1.79 2.11 2.43 2.75 3.07
6 1.38 1.70 2.02 2.34 2.66 2.98 3.30

(I'm amazed at how well that copied from Excel. One paste operation and
absolutely no editing required.)

--
Mike Barnes

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 12:51:05 +0100 Mary Fisher wrote :
What's worse are the special issue stamps - I call them 'fancy' stamps and
do like them but they have 1st, 2nd then jump to high values which don't
correspond to any real charges.

They correspond to rates for air mail letters

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Owain wrote:
Mary Fisher wrote:
I send a lot of packets and parcels and it's frustrating. I've asked
Royal Mail about it but haven't had a satisfactory reply. I have to
keep a large stock of stamps which is quite an investment. The
alternative is to go to the post office several times a week which
costs time and petrol so is environmentally unfriendly. Most of our
packets are small enough to go into a pillar box but weigh more than
100g.

You could try Smartstamp from www.royalmail.com which allows you to
print postage labels online. It does cost 4.99 a month (or 49.99 a year)
but with the cost of petrol these days it might be worth it.

http://www.royalmail.com:80/portal/r...diaId=21200343

The best thing about keeping a list of sellers who use Smartstamp is
when you know Christmas is going to be free this year thanks to Paypal.
Make sure to do some small £10-£20 orders with memorable feedback before
putting in for the Free £100+ mega order.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

We're not sent many but they are still around.

My mother used to send me cash but then started using postal orders because
they were more secure. But she never even put my name on them ...

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Guy King" wrote in message
...
The message
from Andy Burns contains these words:

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?

I'd love to use ours - but it's shut. To post anything larger than a
letter (and our letterbox has gone too) I have to walk a couple of
miles. Or wait till I'm out in the car.

Oh - I assumed he meant postal orders!

We have several post offices around, I used to walk to them before the
arthritis got bad :-( now i send spouse, he enjoys any excuse to get on his
scooter.

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message |37

With a spreadsheet it's easy to construct a table

It's not actually all that difficult using your brain :-)

showing the values of
combinations of 1st and 2nd, from which I pick a convenient value at or
just below the target.

Yes, but if you use a 2nd class stampo as part of a combination the whole
thing can be treated as second class :-(

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Owain" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
I send a lot of packets and parcels and it's frustrating. I've asked
Royal Mail about it but haven't had a satisfactory reply. I have to keep
a large stock of stamps which is quite an investment. The alternative is
to go to the post office several times a week which costs time and petrol
so is environmentally unfriendly. Most of our packets are small enough to
go into a pillar box but weigh more than 100g.

You could try Smartstamp from www.royalmail.com which allows you to print
postage labels online. It does cost 4.99 a month (or 49.99 a year) but
with the cost of petrol these days it might be worth it.

Thanks, but it's not worthwhile for us.

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Joseph" wrote in message
. uk...
Owain wrote:
Mary Fisher wrote:
I send a lot of packets and parcels and it's frustrating. I've asked
Royal Mail about it but haven't had a satisfactory reply. I have to keep
a large stock of stamps which is quite an investment. The alternative is
to go to the post office several times a week which costs time and
petrol so is environmentally unfriendly. Most of our packets are small
enough to go into a pillar box but weigh more than 100g.

You could try Smartstamp from www.royalmail.com which allows you to print
postage labels online. It does cost 4.99 a month (or 49.99 a year) but
with the cost of petrol these days it might be worth it.

http://www.royalmail.com:80/portal/r...diaId=21200343

The best thing about keeping a list of sellers who use Smartstamp is when
you know Christmas is going to be free this year thanks to Paypal. Make
sure to do some small £10-£20 orders with memorable feedback before
putting in for the Free £100+ mega order.

I don't understand that ...

Mary

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

In uk.d-i-y, Mary Fisher wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message |37

With a spreadsheet it's easy to construct a table

It's not actually all that difficult using your brain :-)

Using the brain method, you don't need to construct a table. However,
any table that you do construct is more likely to be correct with a
spreadsheet, and it's certainly easier to update when the rates change.

showing the values of
combinations of 1st and 2nd, from which I pick a convenient value at or
just below the target.

Yes, but if you use a 2nd class stampo as part of a combination the whole
thing can be treated as second class :-(

Please explain.

--
Mike Barnes

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

In uk.railway Mary Fisher wrote:
[Postal Orders]
We're not sent many but they are still around.

My mother used to send me cash but then started using postal orders because
they were more secure. But she never even put my name on them ...

I had reason to apply to the Egyptian Embassy for a visa about two years ago.
For some reason the only currency they accepted was Postal Orders. I think
it was 18 pounds so I sent two nine-pound orders. All bone fide, but for
sone reason it seemed "as bent as a nine bob note".

Theo

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Will wrote:

Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?

I can't for the life of me see how the stamp values relate to any
usefulness based on the cost of sending a letter. But there must be
some sort of conection like this.

Can anyone work it out?


Many years ago, someone working at Royal Mail won a substantial prize
for working out an optimised series of values that allowed the least
number of stamps to be used across the board. Today's stamps follow
the same principles that were established then.

You have made the error of looking only at the rates for first and
second class inland postage. The stamp values also cover standard
rates for overseas postage, plus Parcelforce.

In addition, there are other stamps that are not used singly, but in
combination with other stamps. Finally, there are stamps that are
intended for use with the issuing of Postal Orders, although that
application has been replaced in the last few weeks by the new printed
Postal Order. There used to be other transactions that needed stamps
of specific value(s) but I cannot recall what they were.

The number and values of stamps is less important than it used to be
because almost all postage is now applied at Post Office counters
using custom printed postage labels. Stamps are used almost entirely
by individuals at home and by businesses that are so small they cannot
justify owning a postal franking machine. Even then, they can buy
postage online and print out their own stamps.

Stocks of stamps carried in Post Office branches are therefore very
much lower than before.

Tony

(former Post Office proprietor)

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Andy Burns wrote:

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?


I regularly use Postal Orders. I bought three last week alone.

There is a new system, where the Post Office counter staff insert a
pre-printed postal order into the label printer and the Postal Order
gets printed with the payee's name, the amount - and the crossing if
required. No stamps required!

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Mary Fisher" wrote:

What's worse are the special issue stamps - I call them 'fancy' stamps and
do like them but they have 1st, 2nd then jump to high values which don't
correspond to any real charges.


On the contrary, at least some of the higher values are just right for
overseas mail.

Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Tony Polson wrote:
Will wrote:

Why does the Royal Mail have all these weird and wonderful values for
single stamps?



1 2 5 10 20 50 £1 - stock values to make up other amounts
9p - 2nd to 1st class supplement
rest - first and sometimes second weight steps for different classes of
mail, both inland and overseas, airmail and surface.

You can no longer stick stamps on postal orders BTW - they are now
printed on demand for the exact amount you want up to £250.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

In message , Neil Sunderland
writes
Willy Eckerslyke wrote:
[stamp values]
1 pence
2
5
9
10
20
37
42
44
49
50
72

That's Richmoud's sequence. It allows you to make any number you choose,
by using no more than three stamps.

How can you make 17p with just three stamps? Is the 9 supposed to be
an 8?

Err ... 10, 5 & 2 ?

--
geoff

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Theo Markettos" wrote in message
...
In uk.railway Mary Fisher wrote:
[Postal Orders]
We're not sent many but they are still around.

My mother used to send me cash but then started using postal orders
because
they were more secure. But she never even put my name on them ...

I had reason to apply to the Egyptian Embassy for a visa about two years
ago.
For some reason the only currency they accepted was Postal Orders. I
think
it was 18 pounds so I sent two nine-pound orders. All bone fide, but for
sone reason it seemed "as bent as a nine bob note".

You got an Eguptian visa for £18?

I had to pay $50 for a WAIVER US visa :-(

Mary

Theo

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
...
Andy Burns wrote:

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

If your paying for something via a *Postal Order*

Don't think I've used a PO in the last 30 years, presume they are barely
used these days?


I regularly use Postal Orders. I bought three last week alone.

There is a new system, where the Post Office counter staff insert a
pre-printed postal order into the label printer and the Postal Order
gets printed with the payee's name, the amount - and the crossing if
required. No stamps required!

I like that idea but I haven't received any.

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
In uk.d-i-y, Mary Fisher wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message |37

With a spreadsheet it's easy to construct a table

It's not actually all that difficult using your brain :-)

Using the brain method, you don't need to construct a table. However,
any table that you do construct is more likely to be correct with a
spreadsheet, and it's certainly easier to update when the rates change.

Oh come on! Tables don't need to be constructed when you add up the values
of stamps ...

showing the values of
combinations of 1st and 2nd, from which I pick a convenient value at or
just below the target.

Yes, but if you use a 2nd class stamps as part of a combination the whole
thing can be treated as second class :-(

Please explain.

Apparently there's a something on the stamps - I can't remember the words
but some smarty pants here will insert them. Photo something perhaps ... I
can't be bothered raking through the remaining grey cells :-)

If there are any stamps which display this 'code' on an envelope or packet
it will make the whole sum of the stamps, even if all the others are coded
as 1st class, be shunted into the 2nd class system.

At least, that's what I was told by Royal Mail.

Who am I to argue?

chortle

Mary



--
Mike Barnes

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Owain" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Joseph" wrote in message
The best thing about keeping a list of sellers who use Smartstamp is when
you know Christmas is going to be free this year thanks to Paypal. Make
sure to do some small £10-£20 orders with memorable feedback before
putting in for the Free £100+ mega order.
I don't understand that ...

I don't either, but it sounds a teensy-weensy bit on the less than
impeccably honest side.

Yes ...

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

Apparently there's a something on the stamps - I can't remember the words
but some smarty pants here will insert them. Photo something perhaps ...
I
can't be bothered raking through the remaining grey cells :-)

If there are any stamps which display this 'code' on an envelope or packet
it will make the whole sum of the stamps, even if all the others are coded
as 1st class, be shunted into the 2nd class system.

At least, that's what I was told by Royal Mail.

If you hold stamps up so that light is reflected off them you can detect a
narrow band on 2nd class, and a broad band on others. However AIUI if the
sorting machinery, which uses this band of whatever it is to turn envelopes
the right way up, detects one 2nd class stamp only it treats the item as 2nd
class, but if it detects a broad band, or more than one stamp, it treats it
as 1st class.

Peter

[OT] Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

Mike Barnes wrote:
Yes, but if you use a 2nd class stampo as part of a combination the whole
thing can be treated as second class :-(


Please explain.

Postie sees 2nd class stamp, treats as 2nd class despite other stamps.
Which is annoying because a 1st + a 2nd isn't much more than the cost of
1st for 60-100g and beats queueing in the PO, but often gets treated as 2nd.



--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with blueyonder dot co dot uk

Face value of stamps and the costs of posting
 

On 6 Jun 2006 06:42:33 -0700, TheLastMinute wrote:

(e.g. it will cost more to post a A4 letter than a A5 letter the same
weight.)

Someone please tell me this is a (bad) joke.