please empty your brain below
In Germany we have something similar, matrixcode on stamps and some basic track&trace for letters:

I hope it won't confuse the postal systems if letters from Germany with German codes on the stamps arrive in the uk (or vice versa).

MK | 03.02.22 - 7:58 a.m. | #

Royal Mail could provide an app that allows you to scan the stamp you've put on the envelope, then upload that to provide Track and Trace.

Still Anon | 03.02.22 - 8:07 a.m. | #

Seems strange that they are calling it a barcode..it looks more like a QR code to me!

Jeremy Buck | 03.02.22 - 8:48 a.m. | #

Am I alone in feeling uneasy about this? For example a whistle-blowing letter would be easier to track. Stamps could be tracked to the purchaser, in theory.

Half a physicist | 03.02.22 - 8:54 a.m. | #

The code on the stamp looks like a QR code and not a bar code

John | 03.02.22 - 9:01 a.m. | #

Is it me, or is that “plum purple” suspicious,y the same shade as Crossrail purple? 😆

Geofftech | 03.02.22 - 9:02 a.m. | #

I love the practical information I read on your blog. Thank you, good to know.

Re old stamps - my mum collected stamps in the 50s / 60s and I've no idea whether any are valuable or not. Can anyone recommend somewhere in London to take them? I've googled and seen one place in the Strand, but wondered if any reader had any experience with old stamp collections. Some are really pretty - I know that doesn't mean anything re value but they are nice to look at - if bigger I'd probably frame them!

Jayne | 03.02.22 - 9:10 a.m. | #

I'd never noticed that the 1 in 1st looks much more like an I than a 1. but lets not get into stamp geekery.

Regards tracking, all it would do is track between the sorting office and the recipient.. which it already can do via the postmark. I guess they could in theory keep track of which retailer got which stamps but it's unlikely and even if they did all it would do is tell you which shop the sender bought their stamps. not when

Alistair Twiname | 03.02.22 - 9:10 a.m. | #

Further to my earlier comment it is a bar code but known as a 2D barcode the format is DATA_MATRIX and type TEXT

John | 03.02.22 - 9:11 a.m. | #

Wow - that's such a useful piece of information! This blog is leading the way in public information yet again, the news does not seem to be getting out otherwise.

dg writes: It was widely reported, but under ‘Shaun the Sheep’ news, not ‘obsolete stamp’ news.

cau1khead | 03.02.22 - 9:12 a.m. | #

Exchanging my old stamps via Freepost might be a challenge, given that no postage stamp is used for Freepost. Maybe there'll be a special 0p stamp?
And I wonder how business reply pre-paid envelopes will work. Can't imagine them all having unique QR/barcodes...

Rob | 03.02.22 - 9:17 a.m. | #

Terminology. Many people use the name QR code to refer to any 2-dimensional barcode, like the one on stamps. However it should be limited to a particular type of 2D barcode, the square ones with big squares in three corners.

Malcolm of Kent | 03.02.22 - 9:23 a.m. | #

With my lifetime supply of stamps purchased as a better investment than the interest on money in the bank years ago, I had a very nasty moment there, until I got to the swap scheme bit. Here's hoping there isn't a maximum limit on what one can swap.

I strongly suspect that the swapped stamps will be for a defined value not a generic 1st or 2nd service.

But sending valuables (stamps) via freepost... really? It's bad enough sending valuables by Special Delivery!

Blue Witch | Homepage | 03.02.22 - 9:40 a.m. | #

Thanks!
I like to think I keep up to date with stuff like this. Although I had heard about the "fun" side of the stamp app.; the implications had indeed passed me by. Also hadn't heard about the phone info. either.
Public service bloging at it's best!!

MikeK | 03.02.22 - 9:58 a.m. | #

Some people apparently buy presentation packs in auction lots. Despite being sold as collectable items, many of these sell sell at well below face value even after paying a buyers premium.
Ebay sellers and the like stick several of these stamps on each parcel to make up the postage value. Some people have thousands of these stamps and will be hard pressed to get through them in a year, so there will be a lot of exchanging to be done.

Martin | 03.02.22 - 10:04 a.m. | #

There are huge volumes of forged stamps being sold on Ebay - you can buy 99 second or first class stamps for less than £16. Sellers says they are for "collectors" but in reality, they are brought for postage. That even undercuts those who sell used but unfranked stamps which often go for half their face value.

Hence the reason for Royal Mail switching to bar codes to try and crack down on the present high levels of fraud.

kerspatula | 03.02.22 - 10:24 a.m. | #

Royal Mail might see mild revenue potential for entertainment content by third-party providers, similar to ringtones on mobiles. I’m sure there will be a target audience, however small, who likes to raise a pint to that personalised poem recited by a divisive former fringe party leader. That’s probably the level of “entertainment” we can expect.

commonliner | 03.02.22 - 10:32 a.m. | #

Wow, who knew there was such stamp fraud going on! And there was me worried about occasionally reusing the odd 2nd class stamp!!

First I've heard of any of this! At least my horde of stamps is down to 1 book of each - I only go through a book of 2nd class every few years and 1st less often than that!

Cornish Cockney | 03.02.22 - 11:43 a.m. | #

I am puzzled by the discrepancy between "definitive" stamps and the "special/commemorative" ones. Royal Mail say they have no plans to barcode the special ones, which means that all the mechanism and procedures for delivering barcodeless letters will have to stay. So why the short deadline for barcodeless definitives?

Malcolm of Kent | 03.02.22 - 11:46 a.m. | #

Definitives are far easier to forge - we have had the same basic design in place for over 40 years with a Queen who has never aged. There are vast quantities of forgeries being sold, allegedly Customs intercept pallet loads entering the country on a regular basis. Its a bit like when the old £1 coin was replaced - it was for the same reason - large quantities of forgeries in circulation.

Commemorative designs are only published shortly before the stamps are issued and are withdrawn after 12 months.

kerspatula | 03.02.22 - 1:10 p.m. | #

Jayne - I suggest you google one of the stamp collecting forums and then post some pictures of your stamps on there for an honest opinion of what they might be worth. The shop on the Strand is only interested in very high end items. Very few stamps that are post WW1 are worth much. Victorian and Edwardian VII can be worth a bit. As with all collectibles, condition is everything.

kerspatula | 03.02.22 - 1:16 p.m. | #

Jayne, you could also check out here - "Info and advice regarding your inherited Stamp Collections". But if you then register to ask a question, please do follow the introduction email rules - the site owner is quite scathing to those who don't.

Graham | 03.02.22 - 5:25 p.m. | #

oh they've finally launched this? Was wondering when that would happen, saw proofs ages ago

Al__S | 03.02.22 - 7:15 p.m. | #

given the questions about forgeries. i wonder if there will be an app which allows people to check if the QR code has been used already...

Alistair Twin | 03.02.22 - 8:07 p.m. | #

Wow, looking at stamps on Ebay was a revelation. I wonder if the sellers use their own product when sending out their orders.

Malcom of Kent- reading the announcement, and especially the bit about stamps without barcodes being no longer valid next year, I'd assumed this meant the commemorative stamps would not actually be usable as stamps any more.

2d53 | Homepage | 03.02.22 - 8:16 p.m. | #

If Royal Mail are going to sell unbarcoded stamps that won't be valid for postage, then they're just frilly-edged stickers. Will people still be interested in collecting them?
I understand the need to protect against forgeries, but are the losses there really so great compared to the revenue from philatelists?

I recently bought a job lot of old commemorative stamps on eBay (and yes, the envelope they came in had some nice ones on it too) - suppose I'd better start using them up a bit faster.

martin | 03.02.22 - 10:28 p.m. | #

kerspatula - thank you so much, that's a great idea and good advice.

Graham - thank you as well, will look into that and greatly appreciate the tip re site owner.

Jayne | 04.02.22 - 7:54 a.m. | #

As long I I don't need an app to post a letter I won't object!

NickW | 04.02.22 - 8:12 a.m. | #

Non-barcoded special issue stamps will remain valid for postage after 31 January 2023. This information is in the final FAQ on the relevant page of the Royal Mail website, where it says:

"What if I do not want to use barcoded stamps? What are my options?

Until 31 January 2023 all non-barcoded Definitive stamps remain valid for use. Thereafter it will remain possible to use Royal Mail Special Stamps which will not be barcoded."

Alan S | 04.02.22 - 8:33 a.m. | #

Alan - that bit wasn't there on Tuesday. They must have had a few enquiries!

martin | 04.02.22 - 4:53 p.m. | #











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