In terms of today's UPU Convention, International reply coupons (IRC) are exchangeable in all member countries for the minimum postage of a priority item or an unregistered airmail letter sent to a foreign country.

kimmylee wrote:The rules are not crystal clear, in my opinion it all depends on the envelope- if it's a jiffy/padded bag/mail bag then it will be classed as a small packet.
A normal envelope would be letters rate.
Where a board-backed envelope fits I don't know.

kimmylee wrote:

Bill73 wrote:

whisperwarrior23 wrote:I am planning on sending an envelope with 4 photos (2 8x10 and 2 4x6) to the London area.

I am unsure on exactly how many IRCs to send with my request. Any help will be much appreciated

I am facing that same problem right now as well. For starters, weigh your letter at the USPS. Once you find the weight in ounces, convert it to grams. Then go to the Royal Mail website and use their postage calculator.

I did all of that, but am now waiting on Royal Mail to respond to my email letting me know how much postage can be received for one IRC. I think it's 87 pence worth of stamps, but that's just a guess on my part.

If that guess on my part is correct, then 2 IRCs is probably not going to be enough for your package. I plan on sending 2 8X10s to London as well, and when I calculated my postage, it came back at 2.38 pounds, or 3 IRCs.

Actually I helped you out with that Since IRC's are worth the minimum amount for an airmal letter, and £0.87 is the cheapest airmail in the UK, that is how much they will be worth. I understand you'd want that confirmed though.

The Royal Mail page havsn't been updated since December 2011, and the prices went up in April 2012. So the rate of £0.76 is out of date as it rose to £0.87.

kimmylee wrote:

Bill73 wrote:

whisperwarrior23 wrote:I am planning on sending an envelope with 4 photos (2 8x10 and 2 4x6) to the London area.

I am unsure on exactly how many IRCs to send with my request. Any help will be much appreciated

I am facing that same problem right now as well. For starters, weigh your letter at the USPS. Once you find the weight in ounces, convert it to grams. Then go to the Royal Mail website and use their postage calculator.

I did all of that, but am now waiting on Royal Mail to respond to my email letting me know how much postage can be received for one IRC. I think it's 87 pence worth of stamps, but that's just a guess on my part.

If that guess on my part is correct, then 2 IRCs is probably not going to be enough for your package. I plan on sending 2 8X10s to London as well, and when I calculated my postage, it came back at 2.38 pounds, or 3 IRCs.

I can't remember if I asked you this before, but is a 9 inch by 12 inch envelope considered a letter or a small packet for international shipping purposes? I did the postage calculator on the Royal Mail site for a 60 gram letter being sent from the UK to the US, and it came back as costing 2.38 pounds. However, if I classified it as a small packet, the cost goes up to 3.3 pounds.

Actually I helped you out with that Since IRC's are worth the minimum amount for an airmal letter, and £0.87 is the cheapest airmail in the UK, that is how much they will be worth. I understand you'd want that confirmed though.

The Royal Mail page havsn't been updated since December 2011, and the prices went up in April 2012. So the rate of £0.76 is out of date as it rose to £0.87.

Bill73 wrote:

whisperwarrior23 wrote:I am planning on sending an envelope with 4 photos (2 8x10 and 2 4x6) to the London area.

I am unsure on exactly how many IRCs to send with my request. Any help will be much appreciated

I am facing that same problem right now as well. For starters, weigh your letter at the USPS. Once you find the weight in ounces, convert it to grams. Then go to the Royal Mail website and use their postage calculator.

I did all of that, but am now waiting on Royal Mail to respond to my email letting me know how much postage can be received for one IRC. I think it's 87 pence worth of stamps, but that's just a guess on my part.

If that guess on my part is correct, then 2 IRCs is probably not going to be enough for your package. I plan on sending 2 8X10s to London as well, and when I calculated my postage, it came back at 2.38 pounds, or 3 IRCs.

whisperwarrior23 wrote:I am planning on sending an envelope with 4 photos (2 8x10 and 2 4x6) to the London area.

I am unsure on exactly how many IRCs to send with my request. Any help will be much appreciated