2nd class post - the same as 1st?

[gtechrob]

heard something about there not really being a first class post anymore - bit of a fagbut rumour - but as we do a lot of dispatch using Royal Mail first class it would make a big impact on bottom line if this is the case.

 

[ExpoPublishing]

Why dont you give it a try...

Post one parcel to yourself first class... Then another parcel second class...

And see which one arrives first

 

[Truemanbrown]

Why dont you give it a try...

Post one parcel to yourself first class... Then another parcel second class...

And see which one arrives first

Great minds think alike!!!

 

[roydmoorian]

2nd class post is NOT the same as 1st class post - It is cheaper

 

[gtechrob]

Why dont you give it a try...

Post one parcel to yourself first class... Then another parcel second class...

And see which one arrives first

think it's a bit more complex than that tbh and only someone with direct experience in sending deliveries would really know. thank you for your enthusiasm though

 

[RevaxMedia]

2nd class post is NOT the same as 1st class post - It is cheaper

Agreed, thats what we use. Occasionally the second class will be slower but most times it's the same.

 

[tony84]

Ive sent a letter second class and it was there the next day...amazing when you think half the stuff i send first class doesnt get there for 2-3 days.

 

[kulture]

In the quiet months 2nd class can be as fast as 1st class. The second the Royal Mail get a backlog 2nd class gets dumped in a corner and takes forever. The tend to go for a simple stack approach. The oldest mail gets dumped then the next oldest put on top etc. So once 2nd class ends up on the bottom of the pile it can take a long time to get it out.

We use 2nd class all the time, BUT once Christmas approaches we switch to 1st.

 

[Posilan]

heard something about there not really being a first class post anymore - bit of a fagbut rumour - but as we do a lot of dispatch using Royal Mail first class it would make a big impact on bottom line if this is the case.

I read about this a couple of days ago - Royal Mail "strongly deny" it of course
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...s-first-class-letters-are-given-priority.html

 

[deniser]

In the quiet months 2nd class can be as fast as 1st class. The second the Royal Mail get a backlog 2nd class gets dumped in a corner and takes forever. The tend to go for a simple stack approach. The oldest mail gets dumped then the next oldest put on top etc. So once 2nd class ends up on the bottom of the pile it can take a long time to get it out.

We use 2nd class all the time, BUT once Christmas approaches we switch to 1st.

Same happens to 1st when they get really busy or something causes a backlog. First in last out!

 

[kulture]

Same happens to 1st when they get really busy or something causes a backlog. First in last out!

Very true. The snow last year proved that. BUT they did seem to have 2 piles. A first class pile and a second class pile. The first class did get delivered MUCH faster than the second class. Indeed most of my mail got delivered before christmas and I had very few negative feedbacks. Some of my competitors who clearly stuck with second class did not get off so lightly.

So, if the post is running with few delays, then second class is as fast as first and thus first is a waste of money. As soon as there are delays, either local or national, then second class naturally suffers more then first.

 

[Mark_J]

Welcome to Royal Mail modernisation.

 

[tom cady]

hi ,
Now a days there is almost no difference between First and Second Class, as far as service is concerned, although there remains a price difference.
The one area where a service differential still exists is in bulk-mailed items. Direct Mail is a big industry. Some mailing houses may need delivery on a specific day, or very quickly, and be prepared to pay for First Class, but most would prefer to pay a lower price, and can plan their mailshots in advance. They often pre-sort, saving the Post Office much work, and this helps them to negotiate lower prices.
For the typical consumer or small business, posting normal quantities of mail, there is almost certainly no difference in the service, or speed of sorting or delivery between First and Second Classes. It is hardly worth the Post Office's time and effort to sort the two classes.

 

[ITsoldUK]

hi ,
Now a days there is almost no difference between First and Second Class, as far as service is concerned, although there remains a price difference.

Says who?

I have to say that with my mail, there is a HUGE difference between the 2.

1st class invariably gets there when it should, 2nd class gets there when they like

 

[deniser]

I analysed my first class packets once and 80% arrived the next day. That's at least 80% happy customers and they often write to say how impressed they are with the speed of delivery - as if it has anything to do with us!

I've never used 2nd class but don't think you would achieve that sort of figure for next day and in any case, there is quite a low weight limit for 2nd class which precludes you using it for most parcels anyway.

 

[kulture]

I use 2nd class. I pack and send the order the day we get it. I constantly get positive feedback saying how fast, how it arrives the next day, etc.

It is better to try a service, do a test to get real metrics, before assuming that the service is not good enough. You may be right, but in my actual experience my orders get delivered faster than my customers expect.

 

[belmorefinance]

heard something about there not really being a first class post anymore - bit of a fagbut rumour - but as we do a lot of dispatch using Royal Mail first class it would make a big impact on bottom line if this is the case.

Last time I have used RM for posting smth to one of our clients was 2 weeks ago. As the stuff needed to get to him urgently we used 1st class delivery. We paid 5 pounds extra and the parcel arrived to him the next morning.

We normally use 2nd class delivery as posting things is not smth that we do on a daily basis. What really surprised me was that there several cases when customers didn`t receive any post at all from us, though weeks have passed.

Sometimes they get the post in 3 days, sometimes in 5 days, or at all.

So definately not smth to rely on.

Probably using a courier may be a better idea ..

Cheers

 

[GraemeL]

Lthat there several cases when customers didn`t receive any post at all from us, though weeks have passed.

Evening! You were surprised?

Oddly enough, the Post Office seem to know what is inside an envelope and adjust the delivery schedule accordingly. The technology they use must be something else!

Customers tell me that junk mail arrives consistently next day. Order forms are often cleverly pushed through the letter box in a way that makes them fall to the bottom of the pile and be hidden, until the customer remembers there is a free gift inside. But invoices and statements definitely take longer, sometimes as long as into the next month. Wonder where the PO's holding warehouse is? It must be big.

 

[Deleted member 74679]

I realise this is not applicable to most sellers, but if you affix 'make-up value' stamps to your parcels, they are all treated as 1st Class even if you send them 2nd class/standard parcels (i.e. I only send two sizes of parcels, so I 'make up' the values to the 2nd class/Standard Parcels postage rates with a mixture of 1st Class Large and 2nd class stamps (which I buy in bulk to save me time at the post office each day)).

My customers invariably get their parcels the next day (which is an unexpected bonus to them and helps enormously with my feedback on ebay/amazon sales).

 

[KeithGreen]

I realise this is not applicable to most sellers, but if you affix 'make-up value' stamps to your parcels, they are all treated as 1st Class even if you send them 2nd class/standard parcels (i.e. I only send two sizes of parcels, so I 'make up' the values to the 2nd class/Standard Parcels postage rates with a mixture of 1st Class Large and 2nd class stamps (which I buy in bulk to save me time at the post office each day)).

My customers invariably get their parcels the next day (which is an unexpected bonus to them and helps enormously with my feedback on ebay/amazon sales).

This is interesting. I dabble on Ebay and buy stamps from a stamp dealer at 20% discount. This means I have to make up postage using all sorts of odd stamp values.

However, although I always send 2nd class I often get feedback the next day. I often wondered why, so if it is true that made-up values get 1st class priority that would explain it.

 

[FandB]

Never noticed too much difference between 1st & 2nd class - send an equal amount each week and they usually arrive around the same time

 

[Deleted member 74679]

This is interesting. I dabble on Ebay and buy stamps from a stamp dealer at 20% discount. This means I have to make up postage using all sorts of odd stamp values.

However, although I always send 2nd class I often get feedback the next day. I often wondered why, so if it is true that made-up values get 1st class priority that would explain it.

I don't think they get priority as a policy, it's just that no one who handles it as it goes through the system bothers to add up the values and check whether it is 1st or 2nd, so it is treated as 1st by default (least that is what my local postmaster told me).

 

[kulture]

I suspect that in a normal day, the Royal Mail cannot be bothered to treat 1st any different from 2nd class.

 

[Mark_J]

In my experience, first class has a greater chance of being delivered earlier than second.

Poor Royal Mail, they finally improve the second class service massively and yet the general public still complain about it.