Does anyone know what's going on with Despatch Bay?

[Melanie.]

I've had a few people reach out to me today because their collections have been cancelled/they can't log in.

Thought someone here might be able to shed some light on it...

Thanks in advance

 

[Martin Patfield]

Ceased trading by the looks of things.

Take a look at "despatch bay" on Twitter search.

 

[Melanie.]

Ceased trading by the looks of things.

Take a look at "despatch bay" on Twitter search.

I had suspected as much but couldn't find much information online...I will check Twitter...thanks for replying

 

[Ozzy]

I cannot find any trusted source information on whether they are still in business, but when Tuffnels vanished we put together a summary of member feedback and suggestions for businesses needing delivery services here based off a thread at the time.

As @JEREMY HAWKE said at the time, there just isn't the margin in the industry for some to be sustainable.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Using these reseller goes against my advice

You have little protection and it can be difficult to recover your freight in these situations
When City link and Tuffnells went to the wall it was reasonably easy to recover your freight as it was in their system and not somebody else's that cannot be contacted

 

[SportsTrophyUK]

Those that have accounts will see a message on the dashboard from yesterday at10am,

Unfortunately the company has ceased trading as of this morning and will therefore be unable to facilitate any future orders. All parcels processed last week are with the couriers and to be delivered. You will be contacted shortly by our appointed advisors. We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience this may cause

 

[sab]

Same here, all of sudden they cease the operation and made a mess. We still have unused credits and they haven't refunded it yet.All there phone lines unanswered .Google shows permanently closed.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

@SportsTrophyUK
Are your tracking numbers showing that your freight on the move?

 

[sab]

Parcels picked up on Friday are mostly delivered now but 50 labels printed on Monday morning were never collected. So we had to sent them by alternate means.

 

[DontAsk]

When City link and Tuffnells went to the wall it was reasonably easy to recover your freight

Not according to the carpet supplier I was dealing with, who were reliant on Tuffnells. I had to cancel the order and buy elsewhere.

 

[Nobody]

What a nightmare this has turned out to be, we had been using despatch bay for over 10 years, our address book has 100s of clients added already and it was straight forward to print labels.

For parcel force deliveries we didn’t even had to add dimensions of packages and it went through fine as long as the package was no more then 30KG.

Today had to arrange deliveries via another sender and the system is complex and more expensive.

If anyone has found any similar alternatives please do let us know, it will be a great help.

Kind regards

 

[Sendcloud]

What a nightmare this has turned out to be, we had been using despatch bay for over 10 years, our address book has 100s of clients added already and it was straight forward to print labels.

For parcel force deliveries we didn’t even had to add dimensions of packages and it went through fine as long as the package was no more then 30KG.

Today had to arrange deliveries via another sender and the system is complex and more expensive.

If anyone has found any similar alternatives please do let us know, it will be a great help.

Kind regards

Hi there,

We just heard the news over here at Sendcloud, and I think we might be able to help.

We have a pretty substantial offering from a functionality and rates perspective in the UK, so please reach out if you'd like to evaluate a solid replacement solution ASAP.

Thanks,
Ben

[email protected]

 

[Nobody]

Hi there,

We just heard the news over here at Sendcloud, and I think we might be able to help.

We have a pretty substantial offering from a functionality and rates perspective in the UK, so please reach out if you'd like to evaluate a solid replacement solution ASAP.

Thanks,
Ben

[email protected]

Hi Ben

Do you have Parcel Force?

 

[Sendcloud]

Hi Ben

Do you have Parcel Force?

Hi there,

We do indeed work with Parcelforce.

If you could send me an email then I'd be happy to discuss this further - these things require a fair amount of context before I can give definitive answers.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[fisicx]

Today had to arrange deliveries via another sender and the system is complex and more expensive.

Maybe that was part of the problem. Despatch Bay wasn’t charging enough for the business to remain viable.

It also highlights the danger of using a single point of failure. Your business plan should always have back up plan.

 

[TrackdaysDan]

We switched to Parcelbroker.co.uk to send our parcels and gift boxes now - they basically offer the same service where it compared and gives you the best prices for various couriers. They always pick up the phone anytime there is a problem - so much less hassle and they deal directly with your customer in most cases which saves admin time.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Once again I have been saying this for years!

Don't use the resellers if you are an online seller!
Get an account with one of the big companies
Recent feedback from the retailers of the this forum have indicated that while not perfect Royal Mail are fit for purpose and reduces the risk.

Even when a parcel reseller is solvent they have no control over the freight as it is in somebody else's system.
You might as well deal direct with that company

 

[Melanie.]

I think using a reseller can be an advantage in many respects to be honest because you have one account syncing all your orders from whichever selling platforms you use and you can print labels for multiple carriers depending on your needs.

Perhaps more importantly though, the parcel rates for an account with one specific carrier are based on the volume that your one single business sends, whereas the resellers combine their total parcel volume which means their clients are able to tap into much lower rates.

This is what my company does too but as far as I was aware I wasn't allowed to advertise this here?

We've had some organic sales leads since the news hit yesterday but I only found out by asking here after a few people approached us independently....

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I think using a reseller can be an advantage in many respects to be honest because you have one account syncing all your orders from whichever selling platforms you use and you can print labels for multiple carriers depending on your needs.

Perhaps more importantly though, the parcel rates for an account with one specific carrier are based on the volume that your one single business sends, whereas the resellers combine their total parcel volume which means their clients are able to tap into much lower rates.

This is what my company does too but as far as I was aware I wasn't allowed to advertise this here?

We've had some organic sales leads since the news hit yesterday but I only found out by asking here after a few people approached us independently....

Yes it may not be the place to promote a business on a thread explaining how your sector of the industry has caused mayhem this week by not have enough money in the job

 

[Nobody]

Maybe that was part of the problem. Despatch Bay wasn’t charging enough for the business to remain viable.

Well they couldn’t charge more because you can then just go directly to most couriers and

It also highlights the danger of using a single point of failure. Your business plan should always have back up plan.

Well looks like it that way they couldn’t get any profitability out of this business.

As for back up

 

[Nobody]

Just signed up with Parcel Force, they seem to be offering a decent rate.

 

[Sendcloud]

I'm sorry for the post in that case - I wasn't aware of the guidelines.

I think it's also a case of working with an organisation with solid foundations (both technically and financially) - this can lend itself to stability instead of mayhem as you mentioned. I guess Despatch Bay spread itself thin and as a result, we find ourselves in this situation.

I do second Melanie's point on the benefit of carrier aggregation where you can utilise all of your carriers from one centralised point. I also understand Jeremy's point of view on utilising your own direct contracts as this allows you a better direct point of contact to the carrier when issues arise.

It comes down to what you value and prioritise as a business at the end of the day.

 

[AlanJ1]

I think using a reseller can be an advantage in many respects to be honest because you have one account syncing all your orders from whichever selling platforms you use and you can print labels for multiple carriers depending on your needs.

My order platform can do this? Can add as many carriers as I want.

Perhaps more importantly though, the parcel rates for an account with one specific carrier are based on the volume that your one single business sends, whereas the resellers combine their total parcel volume which means their clients are able to tap into much lower rates.

Yeah no. The re-seller is charging a % on top to try make a profit and stay in business. I can go to the courier themselves, open an account and get a better rate with my volume. Obviously for smaller sellers this isn't the case, but for bigger sellers the couriers want us direct.

 

[Melanie.]

Yes it may not be the place to promote a business on a thread explaining how your sector of the industry has caused mayhem this week by not have enough money in the job

My order platform can do this? Can add as many carriers as I want.


Yeah no. The re-seller is charging a % on top to try make a profit and stay in business. I can go to the courier themselves, open an account and get a better rate with my volume. Obviously for smaller sellers this isn't the case, but for bigger sellers the couriers want us direct.

Yes it may not be the place to promote a business on a thread explaining how your sector of the industry has caused mayhem this week by not have enough money in the job

That's true and actually the timing of my post about the potential benefits might have been insensitive given the circumstances - I honestly believe though that although someone in our sector has caused a massive problem for many small businesses this week I fully believe that for some people (particularly for low volume senders on tight margins where every penny counts) using a collected or drop off service with comparable rates to P2G is an excellent solution. I am just trying to give a balanced perspective. Had I known that such a service existed when I was running my little Etsy business many moons ago then it might still be running now. Sometimes my passion gets the better of me and I do hope that everyone affected is able to find a timely and affordable solution. If your volume is big enough then of course go direct - it's a no brainer!

 

[fisicx]

I honestly believe though that although someone in our sector has caused a massive problem for many small businesses this week I fully believe that for some people (particularly for low volume senders on tight margins where every penny counts) using a collected or drop off service with comparable rates to P2G is an excellent solution.

That's not a business, it's a hobby. You will make more pulling pints in the local pub.

Making a few pounds on tiny volumes means you were really running at a loss.

 

[DontAsk]

I fully believe that for some people (particularly for low volume senders on tight margins where every penny counts) using a collected or drop off service with comparable rates to P2G is an excellent solution.

I use Royal Mail free collection.

I just looked at Parcel2Go. Their prices for RM are no better than I can get direct. I would not touch Evri or Yodel and every other offering is more expensive than RM for no better service.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

(particularly for low volume senders on tight margins where every penny counts)

Your in trouble already if your dealing with people trying to save penny's

Like I always say This is a business not a soup kitchen
Hope this helps

 

[Nobody]

Maybe that was part of the problem. Despatch Bay wasn’t charging enough for the business to remain viable.

It also highlights the danger of using a single point of failure. Your business plan should always have back up plan.

This is unfortunately a reality of businesses these days, customers don’t want to pay the right price so you can get decent profit to survive.

We have tried to up our prices when all the costs during inflation went up and nobody ordered anything from us. So we had to take a hit on our profits to keep afloat, funny thing was that our suppliers kept increasing their prices though. We was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. (Can’t remember how the saying goes)!!

As for having a backup for delivery companies, I don’t think it’s that necessary, even with despatch bay gone we still managed to get our orders out, yes a bit of a nuisance and more expensive but we got it done!!

 

[Annoying Donkey]

This is unfortunately a reality of businesses these days, customers don’t want to pay the right price so you can get decent profit to survive.

Rubbish! Plenty of profitable businesses out there... You just need to give the customer a reason to buy from you other than low price...

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Rubbish! Plenty of profitable businesses out there... You just need to give the customer a reason to buy from you other than low price...

I'm with the Donkey on this one We are in the the sixth richest nation in the world there are billions and trillions of Dollars ,pounds and Euro floating around out there . You need to create value to bring to the market .

Too many (mostly online sellers) have talked themselves into a race to the bottom

 

[pmacgillivray]

What a nightmare this has turned out to be, we had been using despatch bay for over 10 years, our address book has 100s of clients added already and it was straight forward to print labels.

For parcel force deliveries we didn’t even had to add dimensions of packages and it went through fine as long as the package was no more then 30KG.

Today had to arrange deliveries via another sender and the system is complex and more expensive.

If anyone has found any similar alternatives please do let us know, it will be a great help.

Kind regards

Sendcloud is a nice alternative - shipping rates, labels, insurance, tracking, returns etc. Highly recommend

 

[Ozzy]

Sendcloud is a nice alternative - shipping rates, labels, insurance, tracking, returns etc. Highly recommend

Or instead Sendcloud could register an account on a site like this and make a post promoting themselves which I let slide, and then you create another account (this one) and post self-promotion again pretending to be a happy customer.

What a shame , you were doing so well.

 

[Sendcloud]

Hi Ozzy,

I'm sorry for the original post on my end - I wasn't aware of the guidelines, and originally I thought it might be beneficial in case anyone was struggling with finding a dependable supplier.

We'll make sure to take note of this moving forward - promise

 

[Ozzy]

Hi Ozzy,

I'm sorry for the original post on my end - I wasn't aware of the guidelines, and originally I thought it might be beneficial in case anyone was struggling with finding a dependable supplier.

We'll make sure to take note of this moving forward - promise

Your original post was fine and in appropriate context for the thread, I'm happy for people looking for alternatives to see options and for a healthy debate on the options; but when you or your colleague created the @pmacgillivray account to pretend to be a happy customer.. that was misleading and wrong and I'll call stuff like that out.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Well people only in my industry
Only in my industry will you see a disaster then a couple of hours later someone will come along and try and perused you to do the same thing again
Only in my industry do the companies have to invent a fake bloke to pretend that he had stuck some labels on or something
Only in my industry!

People I hope this is the evidence that you needed that the parcel and courier game is the drunken man of the transport industry

 

[Newchodge]

This is unfortunately a reality of businesses these days, customers don’t want to pay the right price so you can get decent profit to survive.

We have tried to up our prices when all the costs during inflation went up and nobody ordered anything from us. So we had to take a hit on our profits to keep afloat, funny thing was that our suppliers kept increasing their prices though. We was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. (Can’t remember how the saying goes)!!

As for having a backup for delivery companies, I don’t think it’s that necessary, even with despatch bay gone we still managed to get our orders out, yes a bit of a nuisance and more expensive but we got it done!!

Perhaps that means that your business is not viable?

 

[Nobody]

Perhaps that means that your business is not viable?

Its definitely looking that way

 

[JCooper]

Hi I'm Jamie from Despatch Cloud,

I came across this thread searching for Google about the unfortunate news of Despatch Bay and how many have been effected by this, both customers and employees.

If you're a customer and looking for a solution I've joined here and am looking forward to sticking around and helping where I can, I've update my profile details and added them to the Logistics Directory.

I'd also like to help any ex-employees of Despatch Bay affected by their closure as we are recruiting; if this effects you then you can contact us on 01377455180.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

[Nobody]

Does anyone know how to export the address book from Despatch Bay? We got close to 1000 addresses saved and need to move them to another shipper. Any help will be greatly appreciated. (Cant seem to find any guide on Desptach Bay website)!!

 

[fisicx]

Does anyone know how to export the address book from Despatch Bay? We got close to 1000 addresses saved and need to move them to another shipper. Any help will be greatly appreciated. (Cant seem to find any guide on Desptach Bay website)!!

Very unlikely you will be able to do this. If you could it would be detailed in the guide.