Deutsche Post today announced plans to raise the basic stamp price by 14%, increase other postage charges and hike the price of some express shipments sold through its retail outlets in Germany from July 1.
Once approved by the postal regulator, the price for a domestic standard letter of up to 20g would go up from €0.70 to €0.80. This would be a 14% rise but also the first increase for three years. In comparison, the average price in Europe (across 31 countries) is currently €0.97, according to the company.
There will also be increases of €0.10 for medium-sized, large and very large domestic letters, and a €0.20 rise for standard and medium-sized international letters.
The price rises will mostly impact consumers and SMEs. For business customers with large quantities of mail, the price increase will be compensated to a large extent as part of downstream access including an infrastructure discount. Downstream access customers will be informed about the timing of the next discount adjustment in the second half of 2019.
Moreover, prices for lightweight express products bought through retail outlets will also go up after three years of price stability. The price for a DHL ExpressEasy shipment up to 500g within Germany will increase by over 13% from €11.90 to €13.50 from July 1.
At the same time, the price structure is being simplified and the weight limits are being reduced so that domestic ExpressEasy products from 500g to 5kg will in the future incur a standard charge of €16.50. At present, they range from €12.90 (up to 1,000g) to €20.90 (up to 5kg).
Customers can save by using online franking, which is at least €1.50 cheaper, depending on the product. The prices of additional options with specific delivery times will remain unchanged, according to the company.
In line with postal law, Deutsche Post today officially applied for approval from the Bundesnetzagentur (German Federal Network Agency) for the new prices. After approval has been granted, which is expected to take place in June, the new prices will come into force from July 1, 2019 and apply until December 31, 2021.
