postcard.co.uk

I sell the occasional duplicate PC via eBay and sometimes wonder whether I'm tempting fate by posting it and the packaging as a "Letter", rather than as a "Large Letter". I do have one of those card-size guides and quite often the envelope brushes the edges of the slot - but I've been putting it through short side on. In future I'm going to insert it long side on, when it can be snugger.

This follows on from my having to pay £1.09 (including a £1 administration fee) because Royal Mail deemed an envelope containing one PC sent by a well-known dealer was a "Large Letter"; he'd sandwiched it between two pieces of protective card, each 2mm thick. Before I opened his envelope I passed it through the guide short-side on easily enough, but I can't honestly say that long side on it passed "freely through the 5mm slot in its entirety".

I politely emailed the dealer about this and within an hour or two he had offered a partial refund that more than covered the £1.09 penalty, and I was very happy to accept this.

Personally I feel that one stiffener about 2mm thick suffices, but then I've always been inclined to spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

Moonraker

Here is the Royal Mail view on Size and Weight for a standard letter:

Greetings cards, personal letters, postcards and bills are just a few examples of items that are likely to fall into the Letter format
Length: 240mm max
Width: 165mm max
Thickness: 5mm max
Weight: 100g max

Hope it helps

The trick is to gauge accurately the thickness of the envelope and to determine if it's passing freely through the slot. My own Royal Mail gauge is of thin card, so the sides of the slot are a little more forgiving than the rigid plastic (?) one that Royal Mail staff use, and more prone to wear.


Moonraker