UK international Postage - sending cards abroad

[John Little]

We have got quite close to our daughter-in-law's family in Brasil and send birthday and Christmas cards to them. It's not a tradition in Brasil so I think it's quite a nice novel concept for them.

But, over the years the cost has increased a lot. We bought a job-lot of £1.80 stamps a while back but then had to add stamps when it went up to £2.20. then last year we had to buy a job-lot of £2.80 stamps but now, with summer birthdays coming up, we have had to add a second class stamp to the £2.80 to bring it up to £3.20!

No wonder Brazilians don't send cards!

[HeyMarlana]

My best friend and I always send each other greeting cards during the holidays. We are both very interested in some classic traditions, mailing cards being one of them.

I [sort of] collect stamps. I'll buy a booklet to use and one to preserve.

If I were to buy a pack of greeting cards and a booklet of stamps, each containing 8 pieces, then I'd be looking at spending about $20 or so. This means each card and to send it would cost about $2.50 CDN.

I ask myself: Is spending $2.50 worth it to show someone I'm thinking about them and wishing them well?
Answer: Certainly.

[John Little]

I ask myself: Is spending $2.50 worth it to show someone I'm thinking about them and wishing them well?
Answer: Certainly.

Although, by UK standards, that is bloody cheap!!!!

[HeyMarlana]

I had to check the rates for Canada Post. It's $2.51 CDN for a stamp sending a similar sized item to the US. It's $3.65 CDN for international.

Most of my card-sending is done within Canada. But for my neighbour/friends, I'll drop something directly into their mailbox in person to save a dollar. (But I usually host a hot chocolate gathering which makes up for it.)

[lrai]

When I started living in China I stopped sending anything by post to the US from here. One it's not cheap but two, it may never arrive. Oh, to be clear the China side does well with getting it sent, it's the US side where it bogs down and gets lost. I once shipped a box from the US to arrive in China by the time I flew back, so it was shipped 14 days before my departure. The box arrived 6 months later because it got lost in US customs for that long and would still be lost if I hadn't kept asking about it. It was after that fiasco that I gave up sending stuff through the post, also the costs were getting so expensive. Nice idea to send a card and I used to love getting mail, now I check my emails each morning instead, LOL (BTW some of those get lost too...LOL)

[HeyMarlana]

Is this why whenever I send something [from Canada] to the US they don't get it until two months later? I wondered this. Here I was blaming Canada Post for being too slow, when all the while it sounds like it's the system in the US that gets backed up.

[lrai]

The postal system in the US is not great, it costs too much and too little service really

[Davey944676]

The postal system in the US is not great, it costs too much and too little service really

The post office guy out of Cheers is pretty likeable though. That's about the best I can say.

[HeyMarlana]

I'm not sure if anyone outside of Canada knows this, but at the moment there is a labour dispute between Canada Post and the union. They already took strike action back in November/December of 2024, so sending seasonal cards was out.

Anyway, there's another work-stoppage looming as Canada Post makes a "final offer" to the union...which I know they're already saying they're not happy with. I think it involves having service on Saturdays or something that they're against.

[lrai]

does anyone still remember the old saying; Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. That was the motto of the US Postal service way back when...now you're lucky if they deliver the mail to your home.

[HeyMarlana]

Reminds me of the film The Postman (starring Kevin Costner) where I think they also used that motto. I remember seeing it when it came out, and if I recall, it was painfully boring.

[Davey944676]

Yes, I think I once probably sat through all of "The Postman".

I'm really not sure, though. I know it was there, on the telly, right in front of me, but I kinda glazed over into a Homer Simpson state....