Size matters, says Post as major mail shake-up looms

Wednesday 24th February 2010, 2:29PM GMT.

Guernsey Post chief executive Gordon Steele shows off the PIP literature. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0922381)

GUERNSEY Post is changing the way it calculates postage in what it called the biggest shake-up in pricing for 140 years.

Charges are currently based solely on weight, but will from 1 April depend on both the size and weight of an item.

The system is called pricing in proportion and is already used in many countries, including the UK.

Postal services director David Blake said the system was better because it reflected how much it cost them to process mail.

‘It’s a fairer way of pricing and more efficient; costs are driven as much by size as by weight and large items cost more to deliver than smaller ones.’

From April the cost of mail will be calculated using three formats: a letter, a large letter and a packet. A leaflet with all the information about the new formats will be sent to every home in the island on 8 March.