Book Shipping: The maths behind large letter tariffs

Book Shipping: The maths behind large letter tariffs

Do you want to mail your books in the most economical way with as little thought at possible?

Do you find yourself having to go through the maths every time you want to send a book in the post, or just not worry, and suffer the expense of creeping into the next price band?  If you are only sending out the odd package, this is probably not too problematic, however, when mailing out on a larger scale, this would be time consuming and possibly very costly.

Many countries operate volumetric cost assessments.  Large letter is a tariff used for small packages that don't exceed 35.3cm in length and 25cm in width. The maximum thickness allowed in the large letter category is 2.5cm, and with a weight limit of up to and including 750g.  The cost of sending out a package in this category is £2.46 to send the item 1st class with Royal Mail and £2.09 for 2nd class delivery.  Too much information here comes a little more

If your package doesn't free fall through the large letter slot, it will be classed as a parcel.  Once into the next category of small parcel, the price leaps up to £3.35 to send the package 1st class and £2.85 for 2nd class delivery.

There are penalties in operation for incorrect postage payments which can be charged to the recipient of the package. You don't want your customer to be on the wrong end of a fine plus the discrepancy in the postage fee.

Ensuring that your package fits into the large letter bracket, can therefore involve a whole lot of measuring, squashing and calculating as mentioned in our 'book packaging guide'.

Read on to make your life a whole lot easier

As long as your packaged items weigh 750g or below, by using the products mentioned below, Lil Packaging can help you get your 'pricing in proportion' right every time:

  • Lil A3 envelope. Our 1.8mm thick Lil envelopes provide a really snug fit for up to 23mm thick paperbacks.  Sleek, rigid and letterbox friendly!
  • Lil F3 flatpack. Even stiffer than the A3 envelope, the F3 is corrugated. Ideal when you need a little more protection for your books.
  • Lil C3 bukwrap. As the name suggests, this book wrap was specifically designed with books in mind.  This product has variable depth creases.  Perfect for hardbacks, reference books and multiples.

Significant postal cost savings are there to be made with the help of our fantastic range of large letter compliant packaging products.  Keep your pennies in your pocket don't throw them through the mail box!

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