An Post parcel prices for an Irish webshop in 2026

Your webshop needs a postage rule that survives the second item in the basket. A light single product can fit a packet rate, a heavier bundle can become a parcel, and a prepaid label has its own ceiling. Choosing the cheapest headline without measuring the finished order can leave you collecting too little delivery money from the buyer.

This comparison is for stock already in Ireland and orders dispatched by an Irish business. It uses An Post's official retail guide and live Advantage product pages, checked on 14 October 2026. The separate AirPost example uses a domestic quoted service. These are different purchasing arrangements, so keep the included work visible when comparing them.

What does An Post charge for the box I actually send? #

Read the weight column as an upper boundary for the sealed shipment. Product weight alone is not enough: a protective insert, box and packing slip all travel with it. Weigh a completed representative order, then repeat for bundles and gift wrapping. Do not round a box down because the unpacked item fits the cheaper band.

An Post separates letters, large envelopes, packets and parcels. The name you use in your product catalogue does not establish the postal format. If your packaging does not qualify for a packet, the lower packet price is irrelevant. For a product that needs rigid protection, reducing postage should come after testing suitable packaging, rather than removing protection to reach a weight target.

Does an Advantage Card make every parcel cheaper? #

The official Advantage page says applying is free and the discount applies to bulk label packs. It does not describe a universal percentage reduction at the counter for every item. Budget the specific pack you buy, rather than applying a marketing percentage to an unrelated retail service. Online offers can change, so retain the purchase confirmation.

Both product pages also specify a maximum length of 1.5 metres and length plus girth of 3 metres. Girth means twice the combined width and depth. A long light item can therefore be unsuitable even below the weight ceiling. Treat these as pack-specific eligibility checks; they do not make every postal service share the same restrictions.

Keep Standard and Express labels physically separate in your packing area. A buyer paying for a faster option should not receive whichever prepaid label happens to be nearest the printer. Your order record should identify the intended service before packing. An upgrade also needs enough margin to cover the actual service cost, rather than the Standard pack's average.

How many eligible orders justify buying 25 labels? #

Divide the pack payment by labels actually used during the period you are evaluating. For a worked cash-flow scenario, suppose you purchase the €174 Standard pack and dispatch 18 eligible orders. The cash paid per dispatched order is €174 ÷ 18 = €9.67, with seven labels still available. That is different from the eventual €6.96 unit cost if all 25 are consumed.

Against €9 retail parcel postage, the pack payment is lower than purchasing individual labels once you need 20 eligible labels: 20 × €9 = €180. Against the €11 retail band, 16 labels reach €176. These are arithmetic comparisons for those specific bands, not universal break-even volumes for your shop. A packet that qualifies for €4.40 changes the calculation completely.

Count eligible orders, not total orders. An international sale, a parcel above 5 kg or a buyer choosing another service does not consume the same pack. Use completed order measurements to estimate your mix. Do not justify a pack by including every checkout merely because every checkout generates some kind of shipment.

Unused labels still have value if you can use them later, but they are money already committed. Keep separate records for purchase cash, remaining labels and postage assigned to completed orders. This prevents a profitable-looking month from hiding a cash shortage when you have also paid for stock, packaging and another pack.

How does paid local preparation change the comparison? #

AirPost's Irish domestic shipping-options page showed An Post Standard for a small parcel at €7.76 on 14 October 2026. The listed small profile was up to 5 kg and 35 × 25 × 15 cm. That quote already includes the €0.85 platform fee; the sender's preparation charge comes on top.

Using the shared recommended small-parcel preparation amount of €2.25 gives €7.76 + €2.25 = €10.01 per prepared dispatch. The recommendation is a calculation input, not a promise that a particular sender accepts it. Packaging and getting your stock to that sender are outside this sum.

For an illustrative batch of 25 matching orders, the two components total €250.25. The €174 prepaid pack instead buys your own labels and leaves preparation with you. The difference cannot be called a carrier saving or an outsourcing penalty without accounting for that work. Ask what you need to delegate, then compare the complete arrangements.

The AirPost webshop page describes local stock held by a sender who prepares and hands over orders, with no subscription or storage charge. Your carrier account and a sender relationship solve different tasks. Do not assume an Advantage pack can be loaded into AirPost or combined with its quoted label price.

What should I charge buyers for delivery? #

Build delivery pricing from the basket you promise to fulfil. Separate the amount the buyer pays from your actual dispatch cost. If you offer free delivery, the postage remains an order expense funded from product margin. If you charge a flat delivery amount, check whether heavier bundles and Express upgrades remain affordable.

A useful internal product profile contains the packed format, sealed weight, dimensions, permitted service and preparation arrangement. Start with the baskets you already sell. Where your basket can cross a boundary, create a second profile instead of hiding the difference in a blended average. This makes exceptions visible before a label is purchased.

1. 1

   Measure your main baskets

   Pack a single item and the common multi-item basket using the materials you intend to ship. Record the outer dimensions and full weight, including inserts.

2. 2

   Match the buying method

   Identify the eligible retail rate, specific prepaid pack or actual quoted label. Check service and destination before comparing amounts.

3. 3

   Add the preparation arrangement

   For self-dispatch, keep your work and materials in the margin calculation. For delegated preparation, use the sender’s agreed charge and the matching label quote.

4. 4

   Track remaining prepaid labels

   Reconcile labels bought, used and unused with your order records. Reprice bundles when the packaging or service changes.

For the stock-location decision, use shipping to Ireland without an Irish warehouse. For incoming cross-border orders, parcel prices to Ireland covers a different origin. Neither substitutes for measuring the domestic parcel you send today.