Best courier service for eCommerce sellers

[Parcelhub]

Bit of market research here:

Which courier have you found to have the best all-round service for your eCommerce business, out of all of the mainstream carriers?

DHL

YODEL

Royal Mail

DPD

UPS

FedEx

UK Mail

Parcelforce

TNT

DX

 

[JamiePMortimer]

I think it depends on size of parcel. I deal with lightweight items and haven't found anyone to beat royalmail.

 

[FrontierMan]

Up to 2 KG Royal Mail, then I use FedEx, also trying out MyHermes but they have a max of 15KG and also a minimum of 3 days delivery, but I find that their tracking is good almost real time

 

[Parcelhub]

Thanks guys, and what do you value most of all, out of:

Speed of delivery

Overall Price

Insurance

Do you send via 3rd party logistics providers or direct with the carrier (i.e. Royal Mail or Hermes)

 

[RedOnion]

We're not the type of business you asked for comments from, but we use Royal Mail and UKMail - depending on size or packages.

Customer Service is the most important to us, makes all the difference.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Up to 2 KG Royal Mail, then I use FedEx, also trying out MyHermes but they have a max of 15KG and also a minimum of 3 days delivery, but I find that their tracking is good almost real time

From what I can gather, myHermes use local drivers (as opposed to being 'time' controlled by a central warehouse) ...pparently often folks with cars who just want to earn a bit of extra cash. Just had a situation where the driver for myhermes attempted to deliver a parcel on two consecutive days *after* business hours to a business customer( of course being after business hours, nobody was there).....not once, but twice!!! (there should have been a bit of a hint the first time they tried to deliver).

(remember this delivery was to a business customer)....

Anyway, I contacted them & the conversation went something along the lines of "yeah, mate it's an 8.00am to 8.00pm service ....obviously the driver in that neck of woods likes to do his deliveries at the end of the day...it may not be his main job - if it happens again tonight [note: already 4 days over due] can you ask your recipient to leave a note on the door along the lines of 'leave with a neighbour"

I kid you not...if you're serious about your business avoid myHermes.

in my opinion UPS take some beating...it's who Amazon use to collect FBA seller shipments to their warehouses.

 

[FrontierMan]

I kid you not...if you're serious about your business avoid myHermes.
.

Of course everybody has a story to tell about couriers, so far MyHermes has been good, I have been using FedEx for about 5 years, every time something is damaged, it's been with FedEx !, Royal Mail has been. OK Of course you can claim (from FedEX) but it's COST price of the goods and the minimum you can claim is £20.00 they will not even reply to any claim less than £20.00, and as we make all our items (picture mounts and frames) the cost price can only be £10.00 so have to resend, out of pocket
So far I have found UPS far too expensive

 

[Pish_Pash]

This wasn't just a horror story (as you say everyone has one), but more the news that resulted from the horror story...basically, MyHermes are an 8.00am to 8.00pm service (there's not much use delivering to a business after 5.00pm!) & then when it all goes completely Pete Tong, you're 'business' is basically in the hands of someone who only delivers parcels part time when it suits him/her & worse still who can't be contacted!

It's a very embarrassing situation to be in, your delivery is 3 days late to a customer ...& you can't get an update....my company's cred took a big knock.....simply because we (unknowingly) chose a mickey mouse courier.

If you go through a broker like Parcel2Go the UPS are typically only 80p -> £1.00 more for a 1 day delivery service)...I'd say always stick with a courier that you can get updates from when it all goes pear shaped. (Royal Mail are useless for this too...when an item hasn't been delivered 1st class signed for , their response is...wait 20 days & then submit a claim!....yeah, that's gonna work when I tell the client he has another 16 days to wait!)

in answer to the question...what do I value in a courier most....

'dependability' coupled with competitive pricing....in other words dependability is needed, but not at an un-viable price!

 

[FrontierMan]

It's actually on their website that they deliver deliver between 8am to 8pm, which suites us fine as we deal mainly with private customers not businesses, so it depends on who and what you are sending, horse for courses

as a side note having a real problem posting on here as there seems to be a time lag due to a bugged script running

 

[Pish_Pash]

It's actually on their website that they deliver deliver between 8am to 8pm,

We book via Parcel2go, where it's not quite so obvious.....It's typically when things go awry when you establish these things (I should say until this one occurrence, we'd used them without issue)....wouldn't you think that a driver delivering to an address 'unit 3, acme industrial estate' might have a bit more nous than to attempt a deliver at 7.45pm ....& wouldn't you think he'd have a bit more nous not to do the same thing the following day?!

My point being, when it goes very wrong...they appear to be unaccountable & a law unto their own (i now have a mental image of a guy from Bulgaria using a 1990 Ford Escort, ciggie hanging out the side of his mouth delivering my goods)

8am to 8pm, which suites us fine as we deal mainly with private customers not businesses, so it depends on who and what you are sending, horse for courses

exactly, hence adding input that if you are sending B2B...you might want to avoid myHermes.

 

[Paul Norman]

We use DPD and Fedex, depending where in the world the parcel is going. That works well for shoe boxes! Smaller packages, frankly, the post office are going to be the cheapest.

Avoid Yodel (volume related meltdowns) and myHermes. Unless you don't mind refunding items for taking a long time to arrive.

Most others are pretty much even - you will get reasonable service at reasonable cost. And close to zero help when it goes wrong.

 

[Dejay1788]

We send a lot of small packets, which usually fit through a letter box and weigh under 500g, and Royal Mail really are unbeatable for this type of work.

 

[Kay]

My own horror story was with DHL. They lost my passport and some important, time sensitive documents. Then they wouldn't lift a finger to help because it was the weekend. They suggested I should contact them on the Monday. After that fiasco, I wouldn't pee on them if they were on fire.

On a slightly different issue, "Amazon Logistics" provides dreadful service. It's on my "to do" list to write. The latest annoying thing they did was last week when I ordered a book. It didn't come the day it was supposed to, although I stayed in and listened out for them. The following day the doorbell rang - I thought, "Ah, that'll be Amazon at last with my book", so I answered the door. It wasn't Amazon. It was the bin man! He said he'd found the parcel and since it "wasn't in a safe place", he thought he'd hand it in personally.

Of all the qualities I'd most want from a courier, it would be reliability. If they would just do what they're supposed to do, I'd be very pleased.

 

[mtools]

up to 1kg / small cheap items royal mail, DPD are pretty good for higher value and larger stuff (i like the 1 hour window SMS they send)

 

[deniser]

It depends on the individual doing your collection and the people running the depot to a large extent. We would vote for Interlink (missing from your list) because of the great driver who does our route but had a bad experience with DPD (which belongs to the same parent company) because of the unreliable driver we had on our route at that time.

So any company is only as good as the staff you personally have to deal with.

 

[RogerBa]

I'd agree with deniser, a lot to do with the local staff, although you can't account for the people at the other end. Get to know your local depot and staff and they can be your allies.

We use Royal Mail for small parcels and Interlink Express for larger ones and consignments.

Still occasionally use Hermes for one item that is higher weight and volume but lower value than the average, easy drop off on way home at night as I drive past the drop off shop, not been any issues so far.
Used to use UPS and their service is excellent, however surcharges for residential deliveries made them too costly as our business is both B2B and B2C

 

[kulture]

I have re-opened the thread, there were no duplicate accounts involved.

 

[IanDade]

As a fulfilment house we use a wide variety of carriers as you would expect. i would say that domestically 75% of our parcels go via Royal Mail services, be that 24/48 service, Recorded or Tracked.

This tends to be true for parcels up to around 1.25kg, then it is more cost effective to use a parcel carrier for us.

80% of our parcel carrier traffic is sent via DPD. We have used a number of carriers over the years and DPD customer service is great.

The other 20% goes through a company called 13ten who utilise MyHermes and Yodel. This is generally for low value, 2/3 day delivery parcels

 

[bizzyrizzy]

For smaller packets under 2kg i'd vote for Royal Mail and DPD. I have seen the cheaper alternatives do bad things for business's that do high volumes.

Cheapest delivery is not always the best so I will stick with RM even if I can shave the odd pound off delivery using cheaper couriers.

All depends on weight and bulk of parcel I suppose..

 

[japancool]

Avoid Yodel (volume related meltdowns) and myHermes. Unless you don't mind refunding items for taking a long time to arrive.

Never had an issue with parcels arriving late from Hermes. 2-3 parcels have gone missing but the loss rate is no worse than anyone else.

Our issue with them has been collection, since our regular driver quit, they've had temporary drivers on our route, which means they've turned up at completely different times of the day.

DHL also use self-employed delivery drivers for domestic parcels.

 

[japancool]

We also used to use UPS via Interparcel for express next day deliveries. Very good, but expensive. We now use DHL via Parcelbright. Seems to be as reliable, not had any problems so far - although the reseller's service leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[shoplover]

It depends on the country you sent to and your budget and other things. Based on my Client's experience, they would prefer to use multiple couriers.

 

[Moggie77]

We use DHL for all our shipments. Fast, tracked and Insured. Great customer service too. We now have a direct account with excellent prices although we used a broker before. Had UPS before but kept raising their tarrifs and adding in little 'extra' costs. UKMail was terrible (maybe better now that it has been purchased by DHL!) and would lose parcels, claim they had been delivered when they hadn't etc etc

 

[Pish_Pash]

UKMail was terrible (maybe better now that it has been purchased by DHL!) and would lose parcels, claim they had been delivered when they hadn't etc etc

UKMail were terrible a few months ago ...they were fine once they actually collected your parcel, but they use self employed drivers (mine was Polish & barely spoke any English whatsoever) ...and their driver who seem to be a law unto their own.(the drivers basically get a request to collect a parcel when they're out & about...if they've already been in your neck of the woods & don't fancy backtracking, then they just reject the request, meaning your collections can not be counted on)

I'm with UPS now...overall they're pretty good.

 

[pelparc]

...they were fine once they actually collected your parcel

I experienced the opposite they collected OK, but the parcels had a shocking habit of vanishing when in their network, arriving damaged or very very late. And forget about making a claim. DPD also damage and late with possibly one of the rudest customer service experience i have experienced. UPS and Parcelforce both are pretty good but not cheap.

 

[Pish_Pash]

UPS and Parcelforce both are pretty good but not cheap.

UPS are exceptionally cheap (way cheaper than UKMail!)...I can send a package weighing up to 20kg via a 'guaranteed next day delivery' service for about £3.70+VAT.

I actually wrote the the head honcho of UKMail (just to warn him that - at the pointy end - their service was shite...sometimes CEOs don't get to hear about what it's like at ground level)- he assigned the issue to one of his laccies, who in the main was woefully disinterested & a touch snarly.

 

[14Steve14]

I use RM for any small parcel size up to 2kg and apart from after the first lot of snow we had, I have experienced no problems with deliveries. Anything larger and I use Myhermes and advertise it as a 5 day service. I do take them to a local parcel drop off shop point to avoid the missed collections that I was getting. Only ever had one problem with a delivery and that was when the driver couldn't find a business address. Most of my parcels are to private customers but some have them delivered to their works address. I looked on google maps and there was a 8' x 4' sign at the business address which could be seen from both ways on the road. I phoned the customer to ask whether the sign was still there and he said yes. Driver did eventually find it, They also have the phone number to call if needed so why they didn't ring it I have no idea. I suppose as others have said it is down to the drivers. I also receive deliveries from all of the couriers and have to say that UKmail seem to damage more and UPS are very good. I do like the one hour time slot of DPD. Not much between them all really.

 

[pelparc]

I can send a package weighing up to 20kg via a 'guaranteed next day delivery' service for about £3.70+VAT

How many parcels do you send with them for that price? The biggest problem i find in there pricing is that they charge an additional £2 residential fee per parcel. Do you send many parcels to households?

 

[Pish_Pash]

How many parcels do you send with them for that price? The biggest problem i find in there pricing is that they charge an additional £2 residential fee per parcel. Do you send many parcels to households?

I mainly send to Amazon Fulfilment Centres (& B2B) ...occasionally I use UPS to send larger (monetary value) orders to households ...becuase if there's only a couple of quid in it between UPS & Royal Mail...I'd rather have a quieter life using UPS! (Royal MAil are woeful if somethign doesn't arrive "YOu need to give it 20 working days"). The cost savings for UPS are most significant if you have a UPS drop off point nearby.

 

[pelparc]

Thanks. Unfortunately we don't have a drop point we can get to, such a shame they also add a charge for domestic deliveries.

 

[Mixture]

We are quite a high volume domestic and international shipper, and have tried most couriers. We currently use UPS and I have to say UPS is excellent. We are lucky enough to have access to their preferred customer service team which is all UK based and very helpful in resolving any rare issues.

 

[RjMaan]

All of the companies are providing good servicing.