Postage RANT

custardy

blueberrypie wrote: »

Many companies - large and small - don't charge extra for delivery to NI customers. Those who do can hardly be surprised if people in NI choose not to purchase from them.

no not companies,couriers
a company can choose to absorb the difference in cost or if they are large enough negotiate with their courier for rates but nearly all couriers charge extra for deliveries off mainland UK

blueberrypie

custardy wrote: »

no not companies,couriers
a company can choose to absorb the difference in cost or if they are large enough negotiate with their courier for rates but nearly all couriers charge extra for deliveries off mainland UK

In the end, I don't care.

As a customer, I choose to spend my money with companies who don't charge a fortune for shipping. If a company decides to charge NI customers high shipping rates - regardless of their reasons for doing so - they don't get my business. Their choice to charge extra, my choice to take my business elsewhere.

I did almost all my xmas shopping on-line this year, buying from a variety of sources, from Amazon through small specialty suppliers to ebay sellers, and buying a range of goods, from light items like socks to heavy things like stoneware table settings. None of those I purchased from charged extra for shipping to NI.

dmxdave

I was looking at mattresses on-line with a couple of suppliers and they do not charge extra for NI so totally agree avoid rip-off suppliers

custardy

blueberrypie wrote: »

In the end, I don't care.

As a customer, I choose to spend my money with companies who don't charge a fortune for shipping. If a company decides to charge NI customers high shipping rates - regardless of their reasons for doing so - they don't get my business. Their choice to charge extra, my choice to take my business elsewhere.

I did almost all my xmas shopping on-line this year, buying from a variety of sources, from Amazon through small specialty suppliers to ebay sellers, and buying a range of goods, from light items like socks to heavy things like stoneware table settings. None of those I purchased from charged extra for shipping to NI.

well thats the same choice we all make in buying,RM is artificially cheap in that case
however some sellers are mearly passing on the costs they incur
those that dont could even be passing on the costs to everyone

dmxdave wrote: »

I was looking at mattresses on-line with a couple of suppliers and they do not charge extra for NI so totally agree avoid rip-off suppliers

its not a rip off if it actually costs the supplier more to deliver
okay some probably add premiums but in the main it costs more

blueberrypie

custardy wrote: »

well thats the same choice we all make in buying,RM is artificially cheap in that case
however some sellers are mearly passing on the costs they incur
those that dont could even be passing on the costs to everyone

its not a rip off if it actually costs the supplier more to deliver
okay some probably add premiums but in the main it costs more

By that argument, prices for *all goods* should be higher if they're sold further away from where they're produced.

Most Coca-Cola sold in NI is produced near Lisburn. It costs more to ship it to stores further away. Therefore it should cost more to buy a bottle of Coke in Enniskillen or Coleraine than in Belfast. Tunnocks Teacakes are made in Glasgow, therefore they should cost more in Belfast, Devon or Edinburgh than they do in Paisley.

For some items, that's how it works, particularly for things like fresh veg. But for non-perishable goods, a company chooses to sell over a wider area in order to increase its customer base. The distribution costs involved in that are part of doing business - and that's true whether you have a shop on the high street or a website and a warehouse (the only difference is whether the distribution cost is mainly before the point of purchase). Imagine if you went into Comet to buy a washing-machine you'd seen advertised and they said "oh yes, the advertised price is £180, but it will cost an extra £40 from this shop because we're further from the factory", or if Tesco charged you more than its advertised price on lightbulbs/cat food/pasta/cheddar cheese because those things had travelled further to get there.

If you're in Edinburgh as your profile suggests, you probably aren't aware of many of the ways in which NI customers get shafted. Did you know, for example, that The Book People has a warehouse and a distribution network in NI? That there is already a fleet of TBP vans which deliver to NI schools etc? How then can it justify excluding NI from "free p&p" offers? Are you aware that Co-op Electrical simply won't deliver to NI customers *at all*? - despite actually selling electrical goods in its NI stores. In other words, it can get the goods to its shop down the street from me, but it won't send them out to customers - or even offer a collection-from-store service. B&Q is the same - if the oven or climbing frame you want is in your local store, you can get it there. If it isn't, they can order it in - unless you're in NI. Often the distribution system is already in place, but the company has decided not to bother making an effort for NI customers.

purt

I'm in Northern Ireland and only too aware of how we're hit with expensive postage costs. I've also a fair whack of experience of online retailing and the costs of posting stuff from here to mainland UK by courier, so it works both ways.

blueberrypie wrote: »

Many companies - large and small - don't charge extra for delivery to NI customers. Those who do can hardly be surprised if people in NI choose not to purchase from them.

Some companies are able to benefit from economies of scale. I'd say those that charge a fair whack for delivery here simply don't have the volume of sales to NI customers to allow them to negotiate a discounted rate to here with courier companies.

blueberrypie wrote: »

In the end, I don't care.

As a customer, I choose to spend my money with companies who don't charge a fortune for shipping. If a company decides to charge NI customers high shipping rates - regardless of their reasons for doing so - they don't get my business. Their choice to charge extra, my choice to take my business elsewhere.

I did almost all my xmas shopping on-line this year, buying from a variety of sources, from Amazon through small specialty suppliers to ebay sellers, and buying a range of goods, from light items like socks to heavy things like stoneware table settings. None of those I purchased from charged extra for shipping to NI.

Amazon is a vast online retailer and utilises a range of different delivery companies. They'll have huge contracts with these companies and can afford to send things to here cheaply. I expect they'll also have a vast customer base here.

custardy wrote: »

well thats the same choice we all make in buying,RM is artificially cheap in that case
however some sellers are mearly passing on the costs they incur
those that dont could even be passing on the costs to everyone

its not a rip off if it actually costs the supplier more to deliver
okay some probably add premiums but in the main it costs more

Correct. It does. As an online retailer, I had to use Royal Mail 99.9% of the time. I wasn't shipping enough volume to even contemplate negotiating a discount with a courier. Yet, where an order was particularly large, I had to use a courier as they were marginally cheaper and offered a more competitive compensation rate. The postage was still astronomical and I had to pass that on to my English/UK Mainland customers. It works both ways.

From experience, I've found that if you find postage to here to be high, contact the company and ask them to consider an alternative postage method. Some will be accommodating, others won't. Just consider that, where to you it may seem perfectly reasonable to send something by Royal Mail because it's cheaper, to a company that could mean sending someone out to the local Post Office because the company doesn't have a contract with Royal Mail. Yet, with the thousands of other orders, it's simply a matter of dropping an item into a bag/container for collection and onward transmission by a courier.

craftyfox

re harrods this year we placed our usual christmas order and the postage was £5.95 (cardboard box) 2 years ago the same order was £15.00 (in a plastic bag) and both used royal mail 48hr delivery. so have to say sometimes things do change for the better

custardy

blueberrypie wrote: »

By that argument, prices for *all goods* should be higher if they're sold further away from where they're produced.

Most Coca-Cola sold in NI is produced near Lisburn. It costs more to ship it to stores further away. Therefore it should cost more to buy a bottle of Coke in Enniskillen or Coleraine than in Belfast. Tunnocks Teacakes are made in Glasgow, therefore they should cost more in Belfast, Devon or Edinburgh than they do in Paisley.

For some items, that's how it works, particularly for things like fresh veg. But for non-perishable goods, a company chooses to sell over a wider area in order to increase its customer base. The distribution costs involved in that are part of doing business - and that's true whether you have a shop on the high street or a website and a warehouse (the only difference is whether the distribution cost is mainly before the point of purchase). Imagine if you went into Comet to buy a washing-machine you'd seen advertised and they said "oh yes, the advertised price is £180, but it will cost an extra £40 from this shop because we're further from the factory", or if Tesco charged you more than its advertised price on lightbulbs/cat food/pasta/cheddar cheese because those things had travelled further to get there.

If you're in Edinburgh as your profile suggests, you probably aren't aware of many of the ways in which NI customers get shafted. Did you know, for example, that The Book People has a warehouse and a distribution network in NI? That there is already a fleet of TBP vans which deliver to NI schools etc? How then can it justify excluding NI from "free p&p" offers? Are you aware that Co-op Electrical simply won't deliver to NI customers *at all*? - despite actually selling electrical goods in its NI stores. In other words, it can get the goods to its shop down the street from me, but it won't send them out to customers - or even offer a collection-from-store service. B&Q is the same - if the oven or climbing frame you want is in your local store, you can get it there. If it isn't, they can order it in - unless you're in NI. Often the distribution system is already in place, but the company has decided not to bother making an effort for NI customers.

i have worked all over the UK and many countries around the world so have seen a little life outside Edinburgh....
if you are not happy with a company then dont use them. if your customer base is big enough for a company to notice then they will look at their systems
if not then you can see why companies dont bother


your argument of pricing is already in place. eg if i buy from a city centre tesco express it costs more than if i go to the big Tesco up the road
i pay more for the convenience of a local store
the reverse scenario affects you

their is a petrol refinery just down the road but i dont get cheap petrol

were you aware RM have tried on a few occasions to set up zonal pricing? so if the torys come in and 'privatise' you will find another avenue closed off

thriftyminx13

Glad to see I'm not the only person who wants to rant over the postage. have sent a complaint in to John Lewis, not that it matters, but I thought giving off in here is good for letting off steam, but won't tell them much! maybe I should email them the link to this page!!

cherrub

blueberrypie wrote: »

Not a department store, but - The Book People offer free delivery to "UK" customers who spend over £25. If you live in the Highlands, Islands or NI, no matter how much you order, you pay £7 for standard delivery. Customers in the Republic of Ireland pay 8 euros - which meant that until recently, they were paying less for delivery than NI customers.

I did a Book People order for Christmas and the free delivery for 'UK' customers applied to Northern Ireland - although I had to get a far as checkout to be absolutely sure. They just use two different postage rates for the under £25 orders which makes it a bit confusing.

Also, it can be worth following them on Twitter has they seem to fairly regularly announce free next day delivery for orders placed that day.