Need Help with UK postage

[shadesofgrey]

I have been including IRC's for return postage when I send autograph requests outside the USA. I have not had any successes yet. Someone suggested to me that I buy UK postage online and affix that to my return envelopes when requesting from the UK. The problem is, I have no clue how much postage to attach for each envelope or what kind of stamps to buy. We are talking about a protective 9 x 12 chipboard envelope. I also have no idea what to write on the outside of the envelope: air mail, first class, etc. What lingo do I need to write on the envelope to ensure a speedy return?

[TheCollector]

I have been including IRC's for return postage when I send autograph requests outside the USA. I have not had any successes yet. Someone suggested to me that I buy UK postage online and affix that to my return envelopes when requesting from the UK. The problem is, I have no clue how much postage to attach for each envelope or what kind of stamps to buy. We are talking about a protective 9 x 12 chipboard envelope. I also have no idea what to write on the outside of the envelope: air mail, first class, etc. What lingo do I need to write on the envelope to ensure a speedy return?

Hi shadesofgrey,

The cost from the UK to the USA will vary dependent on weight. Your best bet is to weigh one of your envelopes with a 10x8 photo inside to get an accurate weight (needs to be in grammes/gm's). Then go to the Royal Mail website - http://www.royalmail.com and click on overseas postage, look up the weight and it will tell you how much the postage will be.

When you order your stamps, you can also order Airmail stickers free. You just need to put the correct postage and an airmail sticker on each envelope you wish to send as an SSAE.

To give you an idea, postage to the USA is 47 pence for up to 10gm (which is a postcard or a small envelope). Your heavier envelopes will obviously bump up the postage. To convert form pounds to dollars you almost double it, e.g. £1 = US$1.80 'ish'.

UK stamps are sold by money value, and as either 1st or 2nd class. 1st class is currently 30 pence, and 2nd class is 21 pence. So, if you needed 60 pence of postage for example you could order either 60 pence stamps, or use 2x 1st class stamps.

Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but it will be clearer when you know the weight you need. If you want to you can PM me when you know the weight and I can tell you which stamps you need!]

On the Royal Mail website you will see you can choose either airmail or surface mail. Surface mail is much much cheaper, but a letter to the US could take up to a month. Airmail is a couple of days.

Hope this helps!
Cheers {thumb2}

Ian