Courier/postal for eBay and ecommerce items!

[Aussie Dean]

Hi all

I am just after some advice regarding sending items to customers.

As most of my customers will be private buyers that I sell to via eBay and will possibly be at work (no-one home to accept delivery) I am just wondering how others on UKBF send items....whether it be via Royal Mail, courier etc.

1. Do you send via courier and if so what happens when the customer is not at home?

• Do they generally leave a calling card so another delivery time can be organised?
• Does the courier simply come back later in the day?
• Do they charge for re-delivery?
• Do they just leave it in the letter box...what happens if item is too big?

2. What does the average customer expect in regards to purchasing via eBay and online stores? Do they expect to know a delivery day so they can be home or do you just send a whole batch of items and hope that they get to the customer?

I spoke to a company regarding some courier prices but they were implying that they would prefer that the customer be there to sign for item. This would be quite hard to co-ordinate.

What do you bulk-eBay sellers and online store owners do as the last thing I want to do is stuff the customer around.

Cheers!

 

[Birdinparadise]

Hi cant answer all your questions but will tell you who I use.
If its small and irregular I have used royal mail as they are cheap and ok most of the time.
On a regular basis I use UPS and have found their rates very good . flat fee for larger items and good ammount of weight allowance. Had no probs with delivery they usually leave with a neighbour and card, plus if you have any breakable items they have a special cage. They are also one of the only couriers that have shelved vans so parcels are not piled on top of each other and risk damage. I also have an account manager so always get a swift responce to any queries.

 

[Aussie Dean]

Thanks for response Birdy!

Out of curiosity how does Royal Mail delivery packages? Do they leave cards and drop off at the nearest PO or do they leave-card and redeliver?

 

[Mpg]

They leave a card and take to the distribution center but that could be 30 miles away.

Most parcel couriers will attempt to redeliver some only after the cust has been in contact

 

[MH1]

Just remember without a proof of delivery your clients can simply get a full refund through paypal.

Personally I use royal mail recorded delivery and dhl couriers.

 

[Aussie Dean]

ok thanks all for your feedback.

I know there are some other threads on good couriers but what are some of the recomendations on here?

Is Royal Mail recorded decent enough or is it better to go with a proper courier if you are doing decent parcel numbers?

 

[Mpg]

I own a courier company but we are NOT what you need at the moment.

It depends on what your selling. High priced Items with timed delivery then maybe we are what you need.

If not then APC are good their bournmouth depot man is on here and very competative. If they are very low priced then 1st class RM may do.

 

[chris.quinn89]

Have to agree with MPG....

It all depends on what you are sending, if they are high value then go with a courier. Most sellers on ebay use Royal Mail & if you spend more than £100 a week you can register for a PPI account which reduces your postage costs.

What is it your selling?

Regards Chris

 

[Aussie Dean]

Hey Chris

I will generally be selling items under £150 so I think I will probably kick off with royal mail as I will be spending over £100 per week with them.

 

[chris.quinn89]

Hi Dean - phone RM tomorrow and tell them your local post office suggested you register a business account with them - you want a PPI account NOT the franking service. They will take a few details & get everything sent out to you. You will need to buy a stamp from them. GET A SELF INKING STAMP - biggest mistake of my life :-( You need to be spending £100 a week but I really can't see them stopping anyone once they start using the service.

RM standard post covers you for lost & damaged products upto £41. They have not lost anything on me yet but make sure you get proof of postage - you can't claim without it.

Here is RM business number, it's option 1 then option 2. 08457 950 950

Here is the cost of postage for UK packages using a business account:

0-100g £1.20
101-250g £1.49
251-500g £1.80
501-750g £2.23

It's not a huge saving but all adds up. If you send out packages of different weight you will want to aim for packetsort you then pay the average weight rather than the actual weight, worth selling something light at cost to reduce overall postage costs.

Hope this helps

Out of interest what is it your selling?

 

[MH1]

RM can be awkward with ebay claims, without a signature on delivery the cost of sorting out refunds, negatives received and constant arguing with RM has to be taken into account since paypal will award all claims without proof of signature.

 

[Jeff FV]

Our business is growing and the number of parcels we send out is growing (=good!) so the amount we're spending on delivery is also increasing (=bad!)

I have found that for parcels under 4kg the post office is cheapest, for packages from 4 - 20 kg I have recently started using Parcel 2 Go and selecting their 2 day DHL economy service. This works out at £8.21 inclusive of VAT (£6.99 ex Vat, but I doubt your Vat registered?).

You book your parcel(s) in online, pick your day for collection (from tomorrow onwards) and a DHL driver turns up & collects your parcel(s) - does, however, mean you have to be in until collection, but the parcel is then trackable and is signed for on collection.

So if your parcels are over 4Kg this might save you a few quid.

I'm hoping to somehow get this cost down further, but so far this is about the best deal I've found - would love to hear if it can be bettered!

Jeff

 

[Aussie Dean]

Thanks for that Jeff

I have used P2G a few times which has been great.

I have been thinking of doing something along the lines of what you said. RM for lighter parcels and courier for heavier items.

Cheers

 

[Adam_Watson]

actually i have my own office supplies firm probably I am using royal mail

 

[puffin]

I consistently use myhermes
A good alternative.
Takes slightly longer 3-5 working days, but that doesn't matter to me.
They always arrive at the same time every day I have a courier booked to pick an item up.

Hope this helps

 

[Jeff FV]

I consistently use myhermes
A good alternative.
Takes slightly longer 3-5 working days, but that doesn't matter to me.
They always arrive at the same time every day I have a courier booked to pick an item up.

Hope this helps

Interested to hear this - have considered using MyHermes before (competitive on price) but have had bad reports from one or two people I know that have used them, which makes me a little wary. Perhaps I ought to give them a go.

Jeff

 

[puffin]

Interested to hear this - have considered using MyHermes before (competitive on price) but have had bad reports from one or two people I know that have used them, which makes me a little wary. Perhaps I ought to give them a go.

Jeff

I post a fair few parcels a week.
I have had 2 items that have been damaged in all my time.
1 actually being today, but the first one I had I put in a claim and got my money for the item.

 

[Mpg]

Interested to hear this - have considered using MyHermes before (competitive on price) but have had bad reports from one or two people I know that have used them, which makes me a little wary. Perhaps I ought to give them a go.

Jeff

Ask these guys about myhermes

http://www.parcelforum.co.uk/phpBB3/index.php

Some unhappy couriers on there.

Not saying dont use them but they dont seem to treat their staff very well

 

[Jeff FV]

Ask these guys about myhermes

http://www.parcelforum.co.uk/phpBB3/index.php

Some unhappy couriers on there.

Not saying dont use them but they dont seem to treat their staff very well

This is why I have a nagging doubt.

Of course, people only really bother to write negative things on the internet, but MyHermes does seem to have more negativity written about them than most!

But it was good to read a positive review from Puffin.

Thanks guys

Jeff

 

[Mpg]

This is why I have a nagging doubt.

Of course, people only really bother to write negative things on the internet, but MyHermes does seem to have more negativity written about them than most!

But it was good to read a positive review from Puffin.

Thanks guys

Jeff

yep a whole forum dedicated to them by their staff

 

[Digger]

Can recommend APC ( after trying most of the "big boys" ) very competitive prices

 

[Jeff FV]

Can recommend APC ( after trying most of the "big boys" ) very competitive prices

Have just visited their website - annoyingly, I can't find any prices:|

 

[WhichLance]

Hi,
I'm not a big ebayer. But I cam across these guys a few weeks back while doing some research for a client. The rates are really good, nationwide coverage and my client will save thousands by switching all their courier requirements to them.

http://www.streetwisedeliver.com/reviews.html

Hope it helps.

 

[Digger]

Have just visited their website - annoyingly, I can't find any prices:|

I don't have mine to hand at the mo - will post tomorrow when I get in.
will be a PM to you - if that's OK.

 

[Christiane]

I no longer trade on ebay, but I had a lot more customers claiming they hadn't received their order compared to my website... I even sometimes sent the items 3 times! The negative feedback is a big issue when you're on ebay.
It might be worth paying for the recorded sign for, although it can be a waste of time. When I stopped recorded signed for, I never saw an increase in claims for lost parcels.

As mentioned, claiming for lost parcels with royal mail is a nightmare and, for me, not worth it. They want copies of your suppliers invoices and will only refund at cost. I get a few lost parcels and it's only a tiny percentage in my case. By the time I get all the paperwork filled in and copied, it probably cost me as much in time and effort as the refund. However, I do complain to the depot if there is a pattern. Two years ago I had about 2 or 3 parcels going missing a week in the run up to Christmas. It all stopped in the new year... I also had a bad 3 or 4 weeks around April/May this year, about 1 or 2 a week going missing and then it stops. Still, I have less than 1% loss over the year.

I'm on PPI -fantastic- for standard parcels, and use UK Mail (=Business Post) for orders over £50. I negotiated a rate of £4+VAT a parcel with them during the last Royal Mail strikes. I found Business Post rather good. Problems usually occur around Christmas when it's extra busy and next day often means 48hrs.

 

[BarryAllaway]

Agree with all of the above, in our logistics business we are mostly B2B, so rates for B2C are usually higher as you have the 'pain' of more regular 'not at home' situations. Most main courier providers have a good service - its usually about price. We use a number of suppliers as our volumes are over 500k parcels a year, we also offer third party courier services using our buying power for anyone doing over 100 parcels a week - happy to quote as I am sure others on the site are too.

We also offer an introducers service, paying introducers who put busienss our way on an ongoing risidual basis, for example anyone puitting us in contact with someone who then becomes a customer can earn £780 a year for each customer that is introduced who sends an average of 100 parcels a week. Website coming soon for this along with supporting marketing materials. Happy to speak to anyone wishing to get in early before the offical launch though.

B

 

[Aussie Dean]

Thanks for all your feedback.

The gist of the original post was to see what couriers included a re-delivery in their service as I will be B2C selling and there might be a high percentage of no-one home to sign.

Not so interested in which courier has the best price....

 

[roydmoorian]

Thanks for all your feedback.

The gist of the original post was to see what couriers included a re-delivery in their service as I will be B2C selling and there might be a high percentage of no-one home to sign.

Not so interested in which courier has the best price....

Hi Aussie,

Have you seen my PM ?

Give me a ring - Anytime at all

Regards Ian

 

[zebraremovals]

Hi Aussie

You can send parcel up to 30kg for about £7 with DHL or Home Delivery Network but insurance is only £50 although you can increase the amount. Both these sevices pick up from your property and provide on-line tracking. Neither cover Highlands, Islands or NI, they do but there's a surcharge.

Parcel Force if booked through paypal is flat fee of about £12 but they provide more insurance (£150 I think ) and they do cover Highlands, Islands and NI. They also collect from property and provide on-line tracking.

I use Home Delivery for my stuff (it's all under £50) but switch to RM for Highlands and NI.

If the customer isn't in the package is returned to sorting office and they usually attempt delivery again a couple of times. It is also shown on the tracking status. They leave a card, although your customer will always say they haven't.

One easy thing to do with ebay customers is to send them a dispatch email, telling them who the carrier is and giving them the tracking number. I have a standard email that I CP into an email telling them where the site is, what to click on and where to enter the tracking number. That way they can see wqhen the package is going to arrive.

As has been mentioned earlier with no proof of delivery your customer will get a refund through paypal.

 

[zebraremovals]

Sorry forgot to mention I book parcel couriers through parcel2go.com

 

[Aussie Dean]

Hi Aussie

You can send parcel up to 30kg for about £7 with DHL or Home Delivery Network but insurance is only £50 although you can increase the amount. Both these sevices pick up from your property and provide on-line tracking. Neither cover Highlands, Islands or NI, they do but there's a surcharge.

Parcel Force if booked through paypal is flat fee of about £12 but they provide more insurance (£150 I think ) and they do cover Highlands, Islands and NI. They also collect from property and provide on-line tracking.

I use Home Delivery for my stuff (it's all under £50) but switch to RM for Highlands and NI.

If the customer isn't in the package is returned to sorting office and they usually attempt delivery again a couple of times. It is also shown on the tracking status. They leave a card, although your customer will always say they haven't.

One easy thing to do with ebay customers is to send them a dispatch email, telling them who the carrier is and giving them the tracking number. I have a standard email that I CP into an email telling them where the site is, what to click on and where to enter the tracking number. That way they can see wqhen the package is going to arrive.

As has been mentioned earlier with no proof of delivery your customer will get a refund through paypal.

Hey Zebra: Thanks for the info especially regarding dispatch email!!

 

[goodsexguide]

Recently the RM are losing 10% of parcels resulting in lost postage charges and profit as i sell on ebay. We are getting bad feedback which is reducing our creditability etc. RM customer services are less than helpful and I wonder if anyone else is suffering the same ?

 

[beadell]

We use Dispatch Bay (DHL Reseller I believe.) £5.78 for 29kg...Their website is really easy to use, can be integrated with Ebay and similar

Havent had a problem yet !

 

[Aussie Dean]

Cheers Beadell

This is an old thread but that company look interesting. Checking 'em out now.

Thanks son!

 

[Aussie Dean]

p.s.
give me your your reward code so you get credits for every parcel i send via them.

Cheers

 

[beadell]

No probs.....Reward code....Didnt know they had one !