Courier for large parcels

[JDM2012]

Hi everyone,


Looking for some recommendations here hopefully.

I need a courier/broker who can offer me reasonable price on large parcels (approx 140 x 23 x 75 CM, 15KG weight).

Ideally like to use UPS as always found them reliable and there depot is close to us in case we need to drop any parcels off but will consider others. I dont send enough to open an account direct with the courier firm so a third party company would be ideal. Aiming to get it around £15-18 per parcel on a 24 hour courier.

Currently paying £23 with TNT but the company im using to book through are terrible in terms of customer service so I want out ASAP.

Thanks

 

[john1989]

Get a comparison?
https://www.parcel2go.com

 

[serendipitybusiness]

I second Parcel 2 Go they offer good rates for low volume with a good choice, the problem is that you are just on the edge in terms of size for many of the options. It is a long time since I sent large parcels (Distribution is no longer inhouse with my current businesses) but I used to use parcelforce. I have just checked on parcel 2 go and they still seem to be the ones with the best flexibility in terms of size Maximum

Parcel Weight - 25 kg (used to be 30KG with a direct account so I am not sure is that still applies)
Maximum Parcel Length - 1.5 m
Maximum Parcel Length+Girth - 3 m

and they are still in budget. However they used to accept accounts at a flat rate (about £6.50 per parcel regardless of size or weight with a relatively low output (20 per month). They introduced a £5 monthly fee not long before I left for low volume but it may be worth contacting them directly and seeing what they offer now.

I keep getting emails from what seems like a new company that looks very cheap parcelbright (I had just deleted it so thought I would look at them quickly) no idea what they are like or the length limitations but it may be worth checking them out.

Hope this helps

 

[JDM2012]

Thanks for the advice so far.

Parcel2go comes back at approx £34 for me incl vat?

I have spoken with Parcelforce just now and they actually turned work away, not due to the volume of parcels but due to the fact they have enough of this size parcel going through and with it being fairly big they generally 'cherry pick' which companies they take on. He did say it is common for them to do this now where as 6 months a go I would have been given an account there and then.

The search continues!

 

[JDM2012]

ParcelBright have just got back to me, £12.49 excl VAT with UKMail. Best quote we have had so far.

Anyone on here use UKMail, if so what do you think of them?

 

[serendipitybusiness]

Thats weird it was coming back to me at £13.07 inc VAT for 15KG on Parcel to go with parcelforce the cheapest option was UPS at £7.79 inc VAT but you are just over their 2.2M size limit. You must be adding other data that I am not that is dramatically pushing up the price.

Can't believe parcelforce! Wow you can't give people your business. I have never used UKMail not even heard of them. Hopefully someone on here has.

Good Luck

 

[roydmoorian]

Like all overnight parcel companies UKMail (was Business Post) have occasional bad reviews, as do UPS, TNT, DHL, APC, Interlink, DPD et al.

Our own experience is a 98% first time delivery but we are anal about getting the correct address details and telephone numbers on the label 1st time and adding the consignment number directly on to the packaging in case of label loss.

Your dimensions would be likely to result in being regarded as a manually handled item and may attract the odd extra 24 hr delay.

If your budget allows it is may be a good idea to specify AM delivery, that means that deliveries can be progress chased on the delivery day and a missed friday delivery would be re attempted on a Saturday if requested with no further charges.

 

[sitefive]

Would like to know this as well if anyone have suggestions for a courier which takes packages with size of 55x50cm and between 1.3-1.5m long with 20-25kg weight.
using parcelforce now for these but it's reallllly expensive at £35 per package and really cuts in to my profits.

 

[mrjonathanbrown]

Interlink express? seem to have reasonable prices. I have recently just been in touch with a similar situation.

 

[sitefive]

what kind of prices did the interlink quoted you for around that size?

 

[sitefive]

Local APC got back to me, 1.6m x 0.6 x 0.6m and 25kg heavy package would cost just £9.45+Vat through them, Can't really beat that, thanks to whoever suggested to contact them.
Much better than the £35 I'm paying to parcelforce now.