This post is purely about the Ripples Crafts business so apologies in advance if you're hoping to see pretty landscape photographs - but there are some important changes afoot of which customers need to be aware.

Since I set up Ripples Crafts in 2008 there have been very few changes in prices of the yarns, and where there have been changes these have been small changes to take into account changes in price of the base yarn.  In 5 years there has only been an increase of £1 on my basic, reliable sock yarn.  Laceweights have increased by slightly more.  I have always tried to keep increases to an absolute minimum.  I have also always made a clear distinction between the price you pay for the hand dyed yarn, and the price that you pay for postage.  Postage costs have always been charged at cost and where there has been a mistake on my part on the cost of postage I have refunded any excess paid or absorbed any shortfall in the cost of postage.

As of 2nd April 2013, postage rates will change.  Royal Mail have completely changed the way in which postage for parcels within the UK will be charged.  In the past postage has been calculated on weight and, to a certain extent, size of the parcel or envelope.  However from 2nd April all parcels posted within the UK will be charged according to size, and to a certain extent weight.  But size is the main factor which will determine the cost of the parcel.  Royal Mail have introduced two parcel sizes, small and medium.  The first class cost of a small parcel will be £3.00 and the cost of a medium parcel will be £5.65.  Second class is 4op less at £2.60 and £5.20 respectively.  Just to make matters even more complicated, Royal Mail are keeping the weight basis for calculating the postage for parcels outside of the UK.

So, how is this affecting Ripples Crafts?  Well besides adding many a grey hair to both myself and my IT Consultant, i.e. Stevan, it means that next week the cost of parcels will, sadly, be rising.  I'm really sorry about this but the increase is too large for me to absorb.  I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now, since the increase was announced, and I have been looking at different ways of perhaps including postage within the cost of the yarn, or having a flat rate across the board, but to be honest I think the best, and fairest way, is to continue to add postage on at cost when checking out of the shop, and that way the costs involved in buying yarn from me remains completely transparent.  As I am based in Assynt, a very rural area, Royal Mail remains the most reliable way of getting your yarn to you, so frustrating as it is, I have to find a way of working to their requirements.

I have not taken the increase lightly, and I have written to my MP, John Thurso.  I have received a letter from him confirming that he is talking to Royal Mail on my behalf, but I know that other businesses who have asked their MP to intervene in this unjustified and complicated increase have eventually got the reply "Tough!" so I am not expecting much help from the Westminster parliament.   More practically I have also been looking at ways of packaging my yarn so that I can fit as many parcels as possible into the "Small" parcel category, thus restricting the cost of first class from £2.70 to £3.00 for the majority of parcels.  The way your yarn is packaged may change over the next few weeks and I would ask you to bear with me while I try and find the best method to package yarn.  However, at the moment I think I will be able to fit 2, or perhaps 3 (depending on the yarn base) hanks into a small package for parcels within the UK.  Any more than that and parcels will fall into the "medium" category and the cost first class will be £5.65. Many orders are for fewer than three hanks at a time, so realistically for many, the increase will be about 30p.   Obviously this rise affects everybody, so if you wish to see the new postage rates you will find them on the Royal Mail website.

Temporarily, one product which I have removed from the website are the Ripples Crafts Yarn Clubs.  I need to work out how to price these given the new increase in postage.  In the past I have charged the same membership rate no matter where in the world you live, and I have always absorbed a percentage of the postage costs for yarn packages as that was part of the advantage of being a club member.  In addition, club members get a discount on other yarn purchases.   I'm not sure, at the moment, how to structure the club packages and neither do I want to chop and change how they are charged for.  I'd rather work out exactly how they are going to work and then release places only when I know I will be able to leave the pricing structure unchanged for a while.  Obviously those of you who already have memberships in place will not be affected for the remainder of your club membership.

So - there we are.  Postage prices will remain at the old rate until (probably) Sunday 31st March when they will rise.  So if you want to receive a package at the old rate, order now.  I am obviously finding this issue really frustrating,partly because I do as much as I can to maintain reasonable prices while it seems Royal Mail feel no such compulsion and do not understand the nature of the service they are supposed to provide to rural areas and elsewhere.

And to end on a positive note, I'd like to thank all of you for your continuing support.