Postage: First vs second class

[OptiRick]

What are people's experience with second class post, recorded if that makes a difference?

The price of posting a small packet is getting such that it is almost worth dealing with a courier, I'm sure the PO are trying to slowly price themselves out of the market.

But for the time being, wanting to save a few pennies, I wondered whether 2nd class recorded post was worth a punt, is it much slower than 1st?

Ta for any input.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

2nd class post to me says that you're not really that bothered with my business. I wouldn't buy anything from a website that stated 2nd class or made me pay extra for first.

 

[OptiRick]

I hear you but...

If I send your goods 1st class, then I have made you pay extra for 1st class.

 

[Rhyl Lightworks]

Whenever I've compared the price of RM 1st class and courier, for the type of parcels we send, RM is always far cheaper. The price difference between 1st and 2nd class makes 2nd class not worth bothering with, and many customers really appreciate next day delivery. From a sender's point of view recorded delivery is not worth anything, but psychologically some recipients feel if they have to sign for something, the delivery is more secure (although it isn't). Personally I feel RM 1st class is best for most deliveries, recorded delivery for a few where you have suspicions and RM special delivery for more expensive parcels.

Barrie

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

I hear you but...

If I send your goods 1st class, then I have made you pay extra for 1st class.

Quite correct, the most extreme example is free postage, clearly no such thing exists so it has to be added to the product cost. Consumers seem to love it even though if they order 2 or more items they pay over the odds in hidden delivery charges, really that's a win-win.

I agree with not liking paying a fixed amount 'extra' for 1st class delivery and always do look for 1st class. If I was on eBay and one seller was £5 inc 2nd class post +50p for 1st class and another seller was £5.50 inc 1st class post I would buy from them rather than the first.

I always send 1st class post myself.

I guess 2nd class just seems like cutting corners, I suppose it's in the name!

Just imagine the sales copy: We offer first class quality products, first class customer service, first class aftersales support and second class delivery to your door

 

[kulture]

I have found that 2nd class takes as long as 1st class in most cases. You should ensure that there are no additional delays though. Post orders on the day they come in etc.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I hear you but...

If I send your goods 1st class, then I have made you pay extra for 1st class.

doesn't matter, if I see that your normal service is second class post, makes me think that all your service is second class.

I would be off elsewhere. unless of course you sell something totally unique and yours is the only website in the whole world I can buy it.

Thing is, consumers have a choice, and they will exercise it. 2nd class post is a real turn off.

 

[OptiRick]

Some fair points on the marketing merits of second class postage.

But what I really wanted to know is whether it actually takes any longer? One post above seems to suggest not.

If for example you ordered something for £20 delivered, then it arrived 2 days later, would you notice from the label that it was sent 2nd class? And given that it arrived so quickly would you be affronted that it wasn't sent 1st?

If you ordered from a site that stated 'we use 2nd class post, in our experience it takes no longer than 1st class but it enables us to save you money...' would you still be put off or glad that they were trying to be as efficient as possible in your best interests.

 

[kulture]

Major web sites like AMAZON use 2nd class post.

Most merchants on Amazon use 2nd class post. We use 2nd class post. All our feedback says thinks like "express delivery" "Fast" etc.

No-one has ever said "only used 2nd class" or anything like that.

To our customers it you deliver reasonably fast and its well packed, then the 1st/2nd is not the issue.

What I would say however is that we do NOT charge a fortune for post. I would expect a customer to be rightly annoyed if charged over the odds and just get 2nd class.

 

[OptiRick]

What I would say however is that we do NOT charge a fortune for post. I would expect a customer to be rightly annoyed if charged over the odds and just get 2nd class.

What do you charge? We are currently £2.50 but I am thinking of making postage 'included'. (Not 'free'!)

 

[BrightIdeas]

Interesting discussion about the perception of 2nd class being 2nd rate. I've never thought about this before TBH.

We use Special Delivery and RM 2nd Class Recorded. Not had any comments yet about the latter.

Oh, we don't tend to profit from postage costs BTW as in most instances, the delivery is 'free'.

 

[AndyP]

......the most extreme example is free postage, clearly no such thing exists so it has to be added to the product cost......

Sorry, have to disagree on this point. Free postage or shipping can indeed be exactly that if the cost of that service is taken out of the margin, assuming its available of course. As examples we have one business where we offer free postage as our margin allows us to do this whereas we have another business operating in a different sector where margins are significantly less and because of this we are unable to offer free postage.

Free shipping does not mean that companies simply add postage costs to the item price.

 

[Chris34]

Andy P - Sorry you have got that wrong. When you sell a product with free shipping then the shipping cost is always built into the price of the product. Whether you are making a 10% GP or 100% GP it makes no difference because if you offer free shipping then the shipping cost has to come out of the price the customer pays unless of course the courier/Royal Mail delivers everything for free for you which would be a first I've heard of .




Chris.

 

[Piqueperfumes]

We use second class and have no adverse comments. We have found that in nearly all cases it takes one day longer than first.
Cheers, Phil

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

Sorry, have to disagree on this point. Free postage or shipping can indeed be exactly that if the cost of that service is taken out of the margin, assuming its available of course. As examples we have one business where we offer free postage as our margin allows us to do this whereas we have another business operating in a different sector where margins are significantly less and because of this we are unable to offer free postage.

Free shipping does not mean that companies simply add postage costs to the item price.

I would agree with Chris above, unless your products have fixed retail prices or you always sell at RRP then really you aren't absorbing the cost it's just the margin you are happy to trade at.

I think if there was an actual free delivery service then prices on the big retailers sites like Amazon, Play etc would all come down a little bit more, because they are working on a fine margin in a price competitive market which has to include the actual cost of delivery.

 

[AndyP]

OK...differing opinions. In the example where I said that we offer free shipping we do indeed sell at rrp so if we charged for shipping then that charge would be in addition to what the customer pays for the product. As we offer free shipping the rrp remains the same, we do not adjust the selling price to cover the shipping cost. If we did charge for shipping then our profit would increase as we wouldn't be subsidising the shipping cost to the tune of 100%, so sorry, whilst my opinion differs, I still believe that this is true free shipping and not a mask pretending to be.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

But you should notice that the people who talk about second class postage being fine are merchants using it, and those that talk about 2nd class post being disappointing speak as consumers.

How many of you merchants know what percentage of people that ordered from you then ordered from your customers for future purposes, or were disappointed by second class post?

Problem is that merchants look at things from merchants perspectives.

Do a survey monkey questionaire and put it up on MSE. Then you will actually get the right opinion from consumers that actually do make the decisions of who to buy from based on a few extra pennies on a postage service. You should also state in this what it is that you sell, because if the thing you are selling is something that people order because they "need" it, then thats a very important consideration.

We live in the world of the web. There is no need for anyone to second guess what the customers want - just go and ask them.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Re free delivery - the logic is that if you offer free delivery then your sales volumes increase, which lets you reduce costs through economies of scale, so the postage costs then represent no additional costs to the business.

 

[nickjonesuk]

I agree 1st class is a must for a professional cart & service.

If your checkout allows it, you could always give you customers a DISCOUNT for 2nd class

 

[Jeff FV]

The price of posting a small packet is getting such that it is almost worth dealing with a courier, I'm sure the PO are trying to slowly price themselves out of the market.

I've found that the PO remains cheapest for parcels under 4kg. For those over 4kg I use Parcel2Go (but would be delighted to hear from anyone who can suggest a cheaper service!)

MyHermes are competitively priced, but I've never used them as I keep hearing worrying reports about them.

HTH

Jeff

 

[Deleted member 61074]

You all seem to be talking as if you can only offer one type of postage cost. Wouldn't itbe beget to offer "Express" and "Super Saver" and let the customer decide.

 

[Vacman2000]

I always tell my wife to use second class, but post it a day earlier

 

[Blagger]

We have a "standard delivery" service and a "next day delivery" service. We mention standard delivery takes 3-5 working days so use 2nd class post or Royal Mail Tracked, in most cases the item is usually with the customer within 2 days. No complaints as the customer has a choice of what to use.

If you haven't looked into it Royal Mail Tracked is something you can use for heavier items (up to 5kg) and is half the price of using a courier. The service is currently the same speed as 2nd class but I have been told a 1st class service maybe coming out soon.

 

[Deleted member 74679]

I always tell my wife to use second class, but post it a day earlier

love it!

 

[Eagle]

I've always found that sending something recorded actually slows the delivery down...

 

[paretowasright]

I've always found that sending something recorded actually slows the delivery down...

Totally agree with you on that.
I think the Postman put recorded off if the bag is heavy or retry if no one is there the first time before leaving a card (when they remember which is another problem)

 

[OptiRick]

You all seem to be talking as if you can only offer one type of postage cost. Wouldn't itbe beget to offer "Express" and "Super Saver" and let the customer decide.

Problem with our goods is that they need 'making' and take anything from 10 mins to 2 weeks.

Offering an 'express' service might provoke complaints with the products that naturally take longer.

 

[Deleted member 74679]

I send second class (packet) and have frequently received feedback (ebay) the day following posting, so happy enough with that.

 

[Bri]

Invoices go 1st class and quotes go 2nd class

 

[deniser]

Don't forget though that there is a weight limit on 2nd class post. I'm not sure what it is but it's not very high, somewhere just over 1 kilo I believe.

So if you were going to offer this as an option, you would have to be able to be able to calculate the parcel weight before checkout.

 

[Blagger]

Don't forget though that there is a weight limit on 2nd class post. I'm not sure what it is but it's not very high, somewhere just over 1 kilo I believe.

So if you were going to offer this as an option, you would have to be able to be able to calculate the parcel weight before checkout.

Limit for 2nd class is 2KG

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

Limit for 2nd class is 2KG

In my Royal Mail leaflet it says 1Kg

 

[Blagger]

In my Royal Mail leaflet it says 1Kg

We use a service called PacketPost and it allows 2nd Class to be up to 2KG.

However you are also right, it is 1KG for sending 2nd class from the post office or not using the PacketPost service.

 

[Deleted member 80650]

Whenever I've compared the price of RM 1st class and courier, for the type of parcels we send, RM is always far cheaper. The price difference between 1st and 2nd class makes 2nd class not worth bothering with, and many customers really appreciate next day delivery. From a sender's point of view recorded delivery is not worth anything, but psychologically some recipients feel if they have to sign for something, the delivery is more secure (although it isn't). Personally I feel RM 1st class is best for most deliveries, recorded delivery for a few where you have suspicions and RM special delivery for more expensive parcels.

Barrie

Completely agree with the above. RM 1st seems to be the best and safest option.