OREANDA-NEWS. October 23, 2015. The Deutsche Post price for mailing a standard letter (Standardbrief) within Germany will rise to 70 euro cents starting January 1, 2016, and remain stable for three years. The German federal network agency (Bundesnetzagentur) announced details today about the purposed benchmark decision for the mechanism governing postal rates from 2016 to 2018, which grants Deutsche Post leeway to raise prices. If the general parameters published today are confirmed by the ultimate benchmark decision expected by the end of November, Deutsche Post intends to request official approval of the new tariff from the German federal network agency. The agency then has until the middle of December to make a decision. Deutsche Post is publishing news of the planned price measure now to give its customers the opportunity to ready themselves for the new prices ahead of time.

In addition to the above-mentioned adjustment of prices for standard letters in Germany to 70 euro cents, the prices for international standard letters and postcards heading abroad will also be raised, from 80 to 90 euro cents. Large international letters (Grossbrief) up to 500 grams will also rise from 3.45 EUR to 3.55 EUR. Prices for all other letter formats, domestic or otherwise, will not change. The new price for transporting standard letters in Germany also applies to business customers, but here discounts for downstream access for standard letters will climb 5 percentage points.

Price hikes for selected special services for letters also planned

Alongside the rate hikes for certain letter formats, price adjustments are also on the table for individual special services. They include charging 2.50 EUR for registered items (Einschreiben) both in and out of Germany as well as increasing the rates for registered mail to addressee's mailbox (Einschreiben Einwurf), delivery to addressee only (Eigenh?ndig) and/or with advice on delivery (R?ckschein) to 2.15 EUR each.

Even after the envisaged adjustment to 70 euro cents, the price for standard letters in Germany will still be in the mid-range compared with letter prices in other European countries. This position will continue to improve thanks to the stable prices foreseen for the next three years and the price hikes that continue to be expected for other countries in the following years.

For customers who still have unused stamp stocks at the end of the year, Deutsche Post will be selling 8-cent supplemental stamps at its retail outlets and online at www.efiliale.de. This will allow current stamp stocks to be used following the year-end price adjustments. Other types of supplemental stamps that customers may have from previous years can also still be used. It is not necessary to exchange them. Stamps with the new postage value of 70 euro cents and supplemental stamps will be offered in Deutsche Post retail outlets and on the Internet starting December 3. Customers can also print out individual stamps of any desired postage value at any time at one of the 2,700 stamp machines nationwide.