BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Can somebody from the UK help me about the right stamps to use?

**Posted by zeratul** February 3, 2014 12:31 pm

Hi,

I tried to ask Royal Mail via Facebook already, they answered, but it wasn't completely helpful.
Well I would like to send a letter to Ben's autograph address and want to put an reply enevlope with it.
So I obviously will need british stamps.
Royal Mail told me to buy them here:
http://shop.royalmail.com/stamps/stamp-books/icat/cat157

So what they didn't tell me is, what kind / how many will be needed for a letter to Germany?
I don't understand the system ^^ I expected to be told it has to have the amount of x,xx pound for a letter with this and that size...
As in Germany the stamps have the actually value printed on it and you need to know how much which costs....

So I would be thankful, if someone can help me .

**Posted by belis** February 3, 2014 1:17 pm

This should help you find the right stamp:

http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder

**Posted by zeratul** February 3, 2014 1:45 pm

Thank you. Well it seems to be only to buy online, not saying which stamps to use.
So if I buy it online, has it to be used right away?

**Posted by belis** February 3, 2014 1:51 pm

If you fill in the form and go through the steps it will give you appropriate price options. For example a stamp for a letter up to 100g to arrive in Germany within 5 days will cost you £2.38.

It won't tell you which stamp as the cost varies with the destination and weight. You need to input all the information before it will calculate the exact price for you. If that makes sense.

Depending on the delivery option you choose there may be an expiration date.

Last edited by belis (February 3, 2014 1:51 pm)

**Posted by zeratul** February 3, 2014 1:53 pm

Yes I got that same result with same parameters .
But then again I read on some FAQ page, that online purchased stamps have to be used on the same day?

What confuses me is, that there is different stamps for each letter, in Germany it is just a value of money and you can still combine them...

Sorry if this might sound bit stupid...

Last edited by zeratul (February 3, 2014 2:00 pm)

**Posted by belis** February 3, 2014 2:09 pm

It doesn't sound stupid at all. I know exactly what you mean. You can still buy the 'make value stamps' here although most post offices are set up now to simply print the correct stamp out. You can purchase stamps like that online but not individually:

http://shop.royalmail.com/stamp-sheets/make-up-values/icat/makeupvalues

**Posted by zeratul** February 3, 2014 2:18 pm

Okay Thank you very much.
Maybe I can also try the "International reply coupon" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reply_coupon but I found that bit strange and wasn't sure if it would fit... Also it seems not to be possible to buy it anywhere...

It's a bit of a shame, that it is so hard to just be able to pay the stamps for an hopefully answer. Putting money into the envelope also doesn't help, as I only got Euros .

Last edited by zeratul (February 3, 2014 2:22 pm)

**Posted by Mattlocked** February 3, 2014 4:46 pm

I bought some british stamps a while ago, I can check if I still find the link if you like.

**Posted by zeratul** February 3, 2014 5:49 pm

That would be awesome!
I tried to buy them at royal mail, even registered, but I cannot go to checkout... I just recieve an error message .

**Posted by zeratul** February 11, 2014 1:01 pm

As Royal Mail doesn't work, I gave that part up.
I actually managed to get a reply coupon from German post, I actually bought 6 ^^ now they are gone again, so I will have some for the future.

I did it, I actually put the letter to the post box in my lunch break, now there is no way bag *hides*.