Deutsche Post - the German postal service

The German postal service is called "Deutsche Post".

All essential information about their services is published in English on their website:

www.deutschepost.de

Via their website you can:

• Find the address and opening times of your local post office
  
• Look up the postcode for an address - a.k.a. zipcode or Postleitzahl (PLZ)
  
• Get info on postage rates and the cost of stamps
  
• ...and pretty much anything and everything else to do with the postal service
  

I am just writing my Christmas cards and I have one for the US. What value of stamps do I have to put on it? It is just a normal sized envelope.

Check here: Deutsche Post / Portokalkulator

It may be too late, but just a bit of info about sending Christmas cards to UK. I sent a few off last week, and had one come back to me yesterday, with a sticker saying I needed to add 1.20€ in stamps. Helpful guy at the Postamt explained that rectangular envelopes need .70€, but square envelopes are 1.90€! There must be a good reason although I don't know what it is.

They don't fit into the automated sorting machines and need to be sorted by hand. If you cut about 3mm off of each card and envelope, they will fit. Perhaps not exactly what you want to do with a pretty card, but it's what I did one year when all my cards were already addressed, sealed and stamped with the regular stamps.

I dont think its to do be square or rectangular...

There are max dimensions for each price category & if your envelope doesnt fit
you move up to the next catagory...

Tiz nothing to do with any of the above. It's just another Excuse for DPAG to charge you more for "Non German Standard" envelopes.

I wish they would hurry-up and open up the Local/Letter mail market to competition, and not let DPAG get away with this #&@@ anymore..

<sigh>

Funilly enough, Royal Mail in the UK has recently moved over to a German style system becasue of the simple fact that non-standardised sizes cost more to process.

The liberalisation issue was in the SZ this week. There is a European row going on at the minute on postal liberalisation. Germany already has the laws in place and is posed to open the market from I think 2008 or 2009. However, France and Poland are blocking liberalisation to protect their own postal monopolies.

In France's case it is to do with the fact that liberalisation would come at the same time as the preseidential elections and La Poste is one of the largest single employers. The cover story being used though is that liberalisation of the market of letters under 50g would exclude a large number of people from postal services as I think the liberalisation does not oblige any postal provider to guarantee to delivery any letter to any adress for a fixed fee.

Edit: As the law stands now, the Germn market will be openend from 2008/2009 but Deutsche Post won't be able to operate elsewhere, which can't be right.

I guess this means that, they can't offer local Delivery of under 50g letters in other countries.
But would still retain their International business for Packages and stuff larger than 50g (Via their sister company DHL)

Yes, as it stands, Deutsche Post would lose their monopoly on letters under 50g in Germany but not be able to operate in other markets European markets where there would still be a monpoly under 50g. Becasue DPAG already have DHL, they already have a logistical network set up all over Europe so could possibly take some of the business in other countries under 50g

DJohn is right, I paid 70c for a christmas card to the UK this week, a christmas card to Holland cost the same. I remember vaguely reading about this, that letters to other european countries were going to cost more. I didn´t realise the difference to inland mail (still 55c) would be so great.

Postage for a letter to the UK used to be 55c but went up in January (I think) to 70c.

It did.

And at last the Post have caught up with their own prices and started to sell 70c stamps.

Does anyone know how much it would cost per kilogram to be sent from munich to amsterdam (a box, obviously). I am not in munich right now but upon arrival have to send a box accross. Thanks for your help.

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