Post Update: Changes, Prices, Dates and Products

All the posting information you need to be ready for Christmas

Christmas is a busy time for the UK postal service and there are always regular updates to systems and procedures which could affect your personal mail and business transactions. In today's post we'll be running through all the important posting information that you need to ensure a stress-free service in the lead up to Christmas.

As well as the changes and delivery details for Royal Mail posting, which is essential for small businesses and personal parcel sending, Kite customers need to be aware of our own delivery dates - particularly for customised products that have longer lead times. The packaging sector enjoys a shutdown during the Christmas period (lucky us!), so orders need to be placed before the festive week. We'll give more details about specific delivery times later in this post.

If you have any questions about delivery and postage guidelines, or simply want to chat we are always here on Twitter - @kitepackaging

Royal Mail Pricing in Proportion Changes

The changes to Royal Mails' Pricing in Proportion (or PiP) guidelines have been in place for a couple of weeks now, however for those who aren't up to date you can be relieved to know the changes aren't drastic. These guidelines are designed to inform RM customers of the cost and stamps needed to send certain size parcels and envelopes through the post

A new category has been added to the PiP guidelines which divides the small parcel option in to two categories - 'wide' and 'deep' which are the same cost to send. The wide option has always been known as the standard 'Small Parcel', however the newly added 'Small Parcel Deep' will mean that larger packages are now cheaper to send through the post. This has replaced the 16 x 16 x 16 option that although existed, was not well publicised by the authority.

In regards to the products we sell, this means that our postal boxes such as our single wall cardboard boxes can now be used and sent out via the 'Small Parcel Deep' option - this is a great saving for our customers who previously had to use the 'Medium Parcel' guidelines which start at 5.65 for 1st class postage. You can read the full guidelines, including the mailing bags, envelopes and boxes that match each category in our PiP Postal Guide

Christmas Posting Dates

Each year the Royal Mail produce a guide which states the closing date for sending our packages before the Christmas period. For international send-outs, which are frequent in the holidays if you have relatives or customers abroad, these dates are very soon so get cracking! We would also recommend trying to send out goods just before the closing date to ensure arrival before Christmas.

Take a look below at the dates for both International and UK Christmas posting, if you have packages to send to Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa the closing dates are this week so plan your trip to the Post Office as soon as possible. If you're not sure where that is you can use the handy branch finder tool on the Post Office website.

International Christmas Posting Dates

International Airmail including Airsure and International Signed For:

• Wednesday 4 December: Asia, Far East (including Japan), New Zealand
• Thursday 5 December - Australia
• Friday 6 December - Africa, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East
• Monday 9 December - Cyprus, Eastern Europe
• Tuesday 10 December - Canada, France, Greece, Poland
• Friday 13 December - USA
• Saturday 14 December - Western Europe (excluding France, Greece, Poland)

UK Christmas Posting Dates

• Wednesday 18 December - 2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed For
• Friday 20 December - 1st Class and Royal Mail Signed For
• Monday 23 December - Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed

And remember, there will be no postal deliveries during the Christmas bank holidays which include Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Normal service will resume on Friday 3rd January 2014.

Kite's Last Order Dates

Kite Packaging, and all other packaging suppliers and manufacturers enjoy a Christmas shut down from Christmas Eve up until the New Year - as do our carriers. This of course will affect the site, and mean customers will have certain dates they can order up to in order to receive goods before Christmas. You will still be able to place orders on the website after this time, however they will not be processed until Thursday 2nd January 2014.

Below is the closing dates for ordering via the Kite website, depending on the type of delivery method selected. Please take note that some of our specialist products have a much earlier closing date, with the most urgent being customised tape which cannot be ordered after this Friday (6th December) if it is needed before Christmas. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to email service@kitepackaging.co.uk

Standard Order Dates

• Monday 16th December 2013 by 4.30pm - Out of area deliveries
• Wednesday 18th December 2013 by 4.30pm - Standard 2-4 day delivery orders
• Friday 20th December 2013 by 4.30pm - Next day delivery and Saturday delivery orders

Normal service will resume on 2nd January for most products, however take a look below at some products that will have different order times. This is due to products coming straight from a manufacturer, which we do to keep costs low and deliveries speedier.

Specialist Products Order Dates

Printed Logo Tape

• Standard Delivery - 6th December
• Next Day Delivery - Not Available
• Normal Service Resumes - 3rd January

Pulp Bottle Packs - All Sizes

• Standard Delivery - 18th December
• Next Day Delivery - 19th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 6th January

Electronics Products - Anti-Static, VCI Products and Corstat Boxes/Totes

• Standard Delivery - 18th December
• Next Day Delivery - 19th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 2nd January

Blister Packs

• Standard Delivery - 18th December
• Next Day Delivery - 19th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 6th January

Carton Sealing, Strapping, and Wrapping Machines

• Standard Delivery - 18th December
• Next Day Delivery - 19th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 6th January

Tamper Evident Document Wallets

• Standard Delivery - 17th December
• Next Day Delivery - 18th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 2nd January

Cable Ties - Plastic and Steel

• Standard Delivery - 17th December
• Next Day Delivery - 18th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 2nd January

Full and Half Truck Loads of Bubble Wrap (Large and Small)

• Standard Delivery - 13th December
• Next Day Delivery - Not Available
• Normal Service Resumes - 6th January

Eco Flow Void Fill

• Standard Delivery - 13th December
• Next Day Delivery - Not Available
• Normal Service Resumes - 6th January

Shredding Machines

• Standard Delivery - 18th December
• Next Day Delivery - 18th December
• Normal Service Resumes - 2nd January

Thanks for joining us for today's post, we wish you all good luck with your Christmas posting!