It won't have escaped many compers' notice that Royal Mail stamps are about to see a price rise.
First Class stamps are going to see their cost go up to 62p - a rise of two pence - on March 31st.
Second Class stamps will go up to 53p at the same time, meaning they'll set you back three pence more than they currently cost.
Royal Mail has said that it put careful thought into the effect customers would face before it raised prices. And this is actually the first stamp price rise for two years, meaning compers have enjoyed current rates for a while now. Royal Mail also says it would have been possible to raise Second Class stamp prices by another four pence, but it did not do this.
Using OECD and Eurostat data, it claims that its stamp prices are some of Europe's best.
And so that it can provide its Universal Service, the organisation does need to spend a massive £7 billion each year on its infrastructure.
It also says that, according to Ofcom data, households don't spend much each week on post, on average. And Office for National Statistics (ONS) stats suggest that they spent about 60p weekly on post as of 2012.
But all this might not be enough to prevent disappointment among compers - some of whom may actually use the post rather more than the average person, given that post card entry comps are still a part of the competition arena.
That said, if you send-off three postcard or small envelope comp entries using second class stamps each week, you'll still be paying less than £5 more each year when the price change happens than you would have been before.
Still, in order to help readers make the most of their money, here are just some top tips that could help you save on postage more generally.
Second class is probably best
When it comes to sending comp entries off by postcard, Second Class is probably a better bet than another, more costly, postal type - unless you're really worried that you won't get the entry in on time with a Second Class stamp.
It's actually possible to buy 100 Second Class stamps at once from the Royal Mail for £50 - in other words, at their current price. This will give you a small saving of £3 on what you would pay for the same number of stamps after March 31st.
Is there another entry method?
When you're considering entering by post, but want to save cash, do consider whether there might be another entry method that wouldn't involve buying a stamp or postcards at all, and might be cheaper. This sort of information is usually included in a comp listing and in T&Cs, for example.
If you've stuck mainly with postal comps all these years because you're not used to technology, it's always a good time to take your first steps towards learning and diversifying your comping style.
With website and social media comps plentiful these days, some compers may never need to use a single stamp to pursue their hobby if they don't want to - not that we want to discourage people from postal-entry comps, which can still be a great way to win!
Win some postage!
It's actually possible to win stamps by comping. We give them away in Compers News comps, in fact! For example, in the latest issue of the mag (March 2014), which members can read online, there's a puzzle comp to enter, with people who get the correct answer and send it in to us in with a chance of getting 100 Second Class stamps. This would doubtless sort their comping postage needs for some time to come!
