Sold at just 1.14 euros, the gray stamp was the cheapest way to frank non-urgent letters and small parcels weighing less than 250 grams in mainland France. On December 31, La Poste announced the end of the marketing of the Ecopli, which will now be replaced by the green stamp, at 1.16 euros and which allows delivery in France within 3 working days. Is it possible to continue using purchased gray stamps before they are sold out?
No, it is not necessary to exchange unused gray stamps and La Poste does not currently provide any refunds. It nevertheless announced that the gray stamps could continue to be used without restriction and under the same conditions to send its mail in metropolitan France throughout the year 2023.
New year, new rates! The main novelty is the introduction of the red e-letter at 1.49 euros, the equivalent of the priority letter. The green stamp, which replaces the gray stamp, remains at the same price, but the franked letters will be distributed in 3 days instead of 2. Questioned by MoneyVox, the Post office justified its decision by several reasons: on the one hand the difference in price of only 2 cents with the green stamp, but also the low demand for the gray stamp which “represented only one letter per household per year, i.e. a total of 20 million out of 7 billion mailings”. The registered letter will now be marketed from 4.83 euros against 4.55 last year. La Poste is also introducing the turquoise letter at 2.95 euros for shipments requiring traceability.
