We have long championed small Irish businesses on this page and have frequently highlighted the importance and the benefits of shopping locally, so we were alarmed when alerted to a dramatic increase in delivery charges imposed by An Post.
We were told that some small businesses selling arts and crafts online could even go out of business as a result of an increase in the cost of sending some parcels by more than 130 per cent from the beginning of next month.
As you many be aware, last month An Post announced a range of price increases that came into effect at the start of February.
Those changes have seen the cost of a national stamp climbing by 20c to €1.85, while a new €3.50 stamp for letters to anywhere in Europe, including Britain, has been introduced – which represents an increase of 85c.
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As part of its pricing move, An Post also announced an increase in the cost of self-adhesive labels, which are aimed at business customers.
[ Days appear to be numbered for daily delivery of lettersOpens in new window ]
These had been priced at €149 for 25 labels, which could be affixed to parcels weighing up to 10kg, but following the price increase a packet of 25 labels is priced at €174 – with An Post reducing the maximum associated parcel weight from 10kg to 5kg.
Online retailers who use the labels to send goods to their customers pointed out that when the higher prices and the lower weight limits were combined, it amounted to an increase of 135 per cent for businesses shipping between 5kg and 10kg.
Tara Prendergast of the Biscuit Factory business collective for creatives retailing online contacted Pricewatch to say the hike had “tipped from uncomfortable into unsustainable” for the small enterprises that she deals with. “For product‑based creative businesses selling in the €20–€60 range, an extra €2–€4 per parcel isn’t background noise, it wipes out already thin margins and forces people to choose between raising prices (and losing customers) or absorbing costs they can’t afford,” she told The Irish Times.
She said many creative enterprises “really want to keep their shipping Irish, but the numbers are pushing them towards foreign‑owned couriers and online brokers”.
She added that the price hike and the pressure it placed on small businesses was “especially painful for those relying on their local post office as their only realistic shipping access point. The message is ‘shop local, support Irish’, but the shipping bill is effectively punishing the smallest traders for doing exactly that.”
In response to queries, a spokeswoman for An Post said it was “well aware that some of the price increases are very steep in certain categories”.
She said the Advantage Card parcel prices had not increased in six years, adding that if An Post “could retain these prices we would. But it’s simply not sustainable, and increases are necessary in order to continue providing services across the country. Sometimes there is a belief abroad that An Post is somehow immune from the labour, transport, energy and insurance costs that impact other businesses. But this is not the case.”
She said that the majority of parcels are under 5kg, but “heavier ones, of which there are more and more each year, require additional manual handling, sorting and transport, and sometimes it takes two people to shift them, incurring higher processing and delivery costs. The current rates mean we are incurring losses on these services, and this is not sustainable.
An Post initially planned to impose the new limit on February 3rd, but that has been deferred, with the spokeswoman saying it will continue to sell 10kg labels until early March and will honour all such labels for as long as customers continue to present them on items.
“With volumes increasing steadily, we will continue to review costs and pricing to apply SME discounts wherever possible. But we cannot operate at a loss,” she said.
