Universal Mail stamps

[AY1975]

Last year I bought some postcards and asked if the shop sold stamps for postcards for abroad. Instead of Royal Mail stamps, they sold me a set of Universal Mail stamps which they told me were valid for anywhere in the world. I had never come across Universal Mail stamps before.

I have just discovered that I still have one of those stamps left. I went into a Post Office yesterday and showed it to the postmaster and asked if they were indeed valid for anywhere in the world, and he said they weren't valid for any country because they don't have the Queen's head on. I would guess that many Royal Mail staff aren't very familiar with them, though - presumably Universal Mail is a rival carrier to Royal Mail.

Does anyone know what the position is with Universal Mail stamps? Are they just decorative stamps that aren't valid for postage? Or if they are valid, can you still post a card with a Universal Mail stamp in a normal Royal Mail postbox, or are there special postboxes or drop-off points for them?

The Universal Mail website at http://www.universalmail.co.uk/usage-guidelines/ appears to suggest that they are valid for all countries and doesn't say anything about special drop-off points.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Appears to be a rival company to Royal Mail, and the Universal Mail stamps only seem to be valid for use on postcards being sent to overseas addresses.

Opinion also seems to be divided as to whether the service provided is worth the money (various reports online of extended/slow delivery times). Possibly what's happened is that the Universal Mail items are being gathered up, forwarded to a courier and then re-posted from somewhere overseas.

 

[westv]

Not sure why you would need to buy a different stamp to send something abroad. Royal Mail stamps are valid to anywhere.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not sure why you would need to buy a different stamp to send something abroad. Royal Mail stamps are valid to anywhere.

Me neither. Books of Universal Mail stamps tend to be sold at touristy outlets that also sell postcards, I believe, so presumably the shopkeeper gets a bit of a commission to sell/push the things. Possible easy upsale to an overseas tourist?!

 

[mailbyrail]

Universal Mail stamps are valid to send a postcard to any country except internal within the UK. They are not valid on a letter or as part payment for any Royal Mail service. Cards with a Universal Mail stamp can be posted in any Royal Mail pillar box.
Universal Mail started off as a postal operator in New Zealand and then began operations in the UK, although I'm not sure if they still operate in NZ. They are the only private postal operator providing a service for individual postings as opposed to contract services.

The company produce a large number of stamps sold in strips of five, usually sold in tourist areas. The stamps are normally priced at the rate as Royal Mail worldwide basic airmail rate, making them expensive for cards to Europe. My own experience of using them is that delivery to the addressee can take considerably longer than using the comparable Royal Mail service
The stamps all show pictorial scenes along with part of a flag - Union, Scottish, Welsh, English, N.Ireland or Cornish as appropriate for the scene. Several stamps over the years have shown railway views - a total of 23 in all out of well over 150 stamp designs.

Besides their own issues, they also offer a facility for tourist sites to commission their own stamps using the standard Universal Mail format and then sell the stamps, often at a premium. The National Railway Museum and the Severn Valley Railway have both produced and sold their own stamps showing railway subjects. I don't know if either issues are still available.

Stamp Subject	Code	Railway Stamp included	Date of issue
East Midlands	UK0013	Great Central Railway	May 2009
		Re-issued	July 2011
West Midlands	UK0016	Severn Valley Railway	May 2009
		Re-issued	July 2011
North East England	UK0018	National Railway Museum	May 2009
The West Country	UK0044	Great Western Railway	June 2012
Yorkshire	UK0054	Ribblehead Viaduct	June 2012
		National Railway Museum	June 2012
North Wales Attractions	UK0064	Snowdon Mountain Railway	June 2012
		Ffestiniog Railway	June 2012
		Re-issued	March 2015
Severn Valley Railway *	UK0065	5 different railway scenes	June 2012
Wiltshire	UK0100	Great Western Railway	January 2014
Somerset	UK0102	West Somerset Railway	January 2014
Science Museum *	UK0128	Rocket	December 2014
National Railway Museum *	UK0129	5 different railway scenes	December 2014

* a bespoke sponsored issue

 

[XAM2175]

My own experience of using them is that delivery to the addressee can take considerably longer than using the comparable Royal Mail service

The reason for this - at least in the past - is that they were collecting all of the mail they received and then taking in bulk to other countries where it could be handed over to the actual postal service at a lower rate then if they'd handed them over the service in the country they'd originally been posted.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The company produce a large number of stamps sold in strips of five, usually sold in tourist areas. The stamps are normally priced at the rate as Royal Mail worldwide basic airmail rate, making them expensive for cards to Europe.

The price for postcards sent air mail by Royal Mail (items up to 20g) is currently the same whether the item goes to Europe or World Zones 1, 2 or 3. All are £1.70.

 

[mailbyrail]

The reason for this - at least in the past - is that they were collecting all of the mail they received and then taking in bulk to other countries where it could be handed over to the actual postal service at a lower rate then if they'd handed them over the service in the country they'd originally been posted.

I complained to the company about the delays and they explained that they are responsible for the service throughout but have sub-contracted the entire service. Royal Mail collect from the pillar box and segregate all UM cards from the rest of the post, handing the cards over to UM.
Universal then use whatever contractors they can to get the mail to the destination and whichever agents they have contracted in the destination country.

I sent four cards to a rail enthusiast in Japan using the National Railway Museum stamps. One arrived in a few days as would be normal with the Royal Mail service, the other three took about a month. I've heard other European posters complain they have arrived home before their cards. I won't use the stamps again.

 

[Starmill]

They recently had 'celebration of sport' stamps available somewhere, which made me think they looked like fake Olympics stamps!

 

[najaB]

I hadn't heard of them before either, but a bit of Googling suggests that they are useful souvenirs but shouldn't be used for anything you want to arrive in a reasonable amount of time. Some people report that their cards have been re-posted from The Philippines.

 

[XAM2175]

Some people report that their cards have been re-posted from The Philippines.

I vaguely recall reading at another time of cards sent in New Zealand being re-posted in Singapore.