QSL policy
The Radio Society of Great Britain is currently (April 2008) in the process of sub-contracting the United Kingdom QSL Bureau to Norcomm Ltd. At the present time, the exact arrangements for sending cards to the sub-contractor are unclear, so I will not be sending any bureau cards until the bureau is fully transferred. Hopefully, this will be within the next couple of months.
Updated 10-July-07: Please read the following statement:
Please note that as a result of the combination of the recent strength of the Pound Sterling and postage cost increases in the UK, one US dollar is no longer sufficient for return postage outside Europe.
A few common-sense and more-or-less standard rules that will keep me and other QSL managers very happy:
- Most of the QSL cards I manage use computerised logs and printed labels. A stamp will be printed on the label/card boundary in accordance with standard practice.
- Cards sent with a self-addressed envelope and return postage (see 14 below) will be replied to by airmail.
- Cards sent with return postage but no self-addressed envelope will normally receive an airmail reply but I cannot spend all my time writing out envelopes, so please include one!
- Cards sent with a self-addressed envelope but no return postage will normally be replied to via the bureau system.
- Cards sent with inadequate postage may be returned direct, unless the difference is significant, in which case they will be returned via the bureau
- Cards received via the bureau will be returned via the bureau
- Requests emailed to m0blf@domsmith.co.uk will be returned via the bureau
- eQSL™ cards are not accepted under any circumstance and will not receive a reply.
- Cards relating to QSOs which are not in the log will be returned marked 'Not in Log'
- QSL cards from SWLs are welcomed but at least one QSO shown must not have been reported on the DXCluster™ (ie you are strongly encouraged to include more than one QSO on your card). SWL cards will be replied to by the same means as cards from radio amateurs.
- Stations outside the UK are encouraged not to put UK postage stamps on envelopes due to the regular price rises - I don't have an endless supply of 1p stamps to make up the difference! If you must supply UK stamps, please do not stick them on the return envelope but include them seperately as this way I can use any excess for bureau postage, rather than wasting it.
- Please use sensible envelopes. Large, heavy brown envelopes often push the weight into the next price category and so the postage becomes insufficient. Envelopes using metal devices for closing them are very annoying and fiddly if you have several hundred cards to process in one afternoon.
- If your country requires that a return address is marked on the envelope, write it on for me. I will not do this.
- For the purpose of this advice, 'return postage' should be interpreted as one of the following:
- For UK residents only: A first or second class stamp
- 1 valid new-style IRC, marked to expire in 2008 or later
- 1 'green stamp' (2 if outside Europe)
Postage Rates
The current (April 2008) cost of stamps in the UK is shown below:
| Destination: | Up to weight* | Cost (£) | ($) | (€) | IRC: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK: | 100g | 27p | |||
| Europe: | 20g | 50p | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rest of the world: | 10g | 56p | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 20g | 81p | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Approximate information only. E&OE
- All currency conversions have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Based on $1=£0.51; €1=£0.80; 1 IRC=0.54. (Correct 13 Apr 08)
- UK Stamps marked '2nd' are worth 27p, those marked '1st' are worth 36p and UK stamps marked 'E' are worth 50p.
- Please do not send stamps from GU, GJ or GD as they are not valid here.
- Please do not send €1 coins in the post.
- For UK post office purposes, 'Europe' includes all parts of the Russian Federation.
- * - For most envelopes, 10g will hold 3 cards. Thicker envelopes will hold 2 cards at 10g. Stations in the UK are asked not to exceed the new 'letter' size (ie. A5 size envelopes).