Another 5cent stamped on postage price

THE price of a national stamp is going up by 5cent to €1.40 from the start of next month, An Post announced yesterday.

The increase is exactly a year after a 5c increase last February. However, An Post says the price is ‘well below’ the average European charge for a comparable nextday letter service.

An Post also pointed out that the 3.7% increase is below the latest official inflation figure of 3.9%.

It blamed ‘sustained transport, fuel and energy cost inflation’ for the jump in price but said it will ‘ensure the continuity of national letter services based on customers paying the same price for delivery of letters nationwide, regardless of distance’.

Letter volumes have plummeted across the world in recent years as growing electronic communications take over and post such as utility bills and bank statements are sent and viewed online.

An Post commerce chief Garrett Bridgeman said: ‘We have made every effort to minimise the necessary price increases by spreading them across letter products and services while ensuring top quality, sustainable services for all customers, wherever they live. ‘An Post’s quality of service is amongst the highest in Europe while our prices remain well below the average tariff. ‘For the first time ever, our comparable domestic tariffs are below those of the United Kingdom.

‘We’re pleased to leave our digital and international stamp rates unchanged, and we’re very excited to be launching our new international digital stamp later this month. These increases are necessary to cover rising costs and ensure service continuity and innovation on a par with the best in Europe.’

Heavy post users can trim costs by buying books of ten stamps at €13.50, a saving of 5c per stamp, while a box of 100 stamps will work out at €1.30 per stamp, a 10c saving per stamp.

Businesses can use a €1.25 national stamp price through the An Post Advantage Card – which represents a discount of 11%.