Postal Strike?

Hammer_Slammer

South london is a no go area for posting or receiving.Wildcats have been going on for the last 10 weeks with huge backlogs.So be warned buyers and sellers.

StaffsSW

Keep an eye on this site - http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/community/index.php ;-)

TurkishDelight

cyberbob wrote: »

Ive (touch wood) had no delays either buying or selling since the strikes. Not understanding your logic of not buying things

No, we haven't either, post everyday and no complaints from buyers about late delivery- it is, as usual, overhyped by the media.

spidystrider

I believe there will be more strikes which is a worry with xmas coming up. I do most of my shopping online.

amcluesent

>I believe there will be more strikes which is a worry with xmas coming up. I do most of my shopping online.<

Sign-up for the free trial of Amazon Prime, buy loads and loads and get delivered free next day by CityLink. Cancel trial before 1st annual subscription.

seashore321

didn't ebay send out a message saying that the DSRs would be changed due to any strikes?

morg_monster

Hammer_Slammer wrote: »

South london is a no go area for posting or receiving.Wildcats have been going on for the last 10 weeks with huge backlogs.So be warned buyers and sellers.

hey just wanted to add our experience, we live in Balham. We've sent out about 110 wedding thankyou cards over about 3 weeks since early september, from local postboxes. As many people have mentioned to my parents when they've received them, we know almost all of the ones posted to out of London arrived as expected. Some to London have taken a while or not arrived at all (yet).
We have post on the doormat probably every other day - but that's not a very good indicator of delivery as there's only 2 of us and we don't get much post!! But our RM postman does seem to be delivering as normal. The local sorting office round the corner from us also seems to be operating as normal (have picked up a few parcels from there over the last couple of weeks) and I've seen many posties emptying postboxes as normal.

In central London, it seems to be another matter, with commercial deliveries at least, at work we seem to be getting post about once a week. The receptionist is loving it! I usually get internet purchases delivered to work for convenience, but now I'm getting them sent to home even though I know it'll mean a trip to the sorting office to pick them up.

Anyway just wanted to add our anecdotal experience. Obviously deliveries are potentially disrupted and you need to bear it in mind when buying/selling on ebay but I wouldn't necessarily describe S London as a "no go area".

DaveAshton

seashore321 wrote: »

didn't ebay send out a message saying that the DSRs would be changed due to any strikes?

Yep, and they've sent a letter to Mandelson. Announcement quoted below

Today the Commercial Worker’s Union has issued strike notice to Royal Mail this means a national strike is possible from the 18th October.
We take this notice very seriously and recognise the negative impact that such action will have for sellers on eBay.co.uk and I want to let you know what we are doing to mitigate the impact:

• We’re temporarily removing the option for buyers to rate sellers on the Dispatch Time Detailed Seller Rating from the start date of any national strike action.

• We’ve expressed our concerns directly to the business secretary Rt. Hon Lord Mandelson that it is unacceptable many hard-working small businesses selling on eBay are victims of a dispute that is beyond their control (See letter below)

• We’re working with a number of alternative postal carriers to ensure sellers can provide the levels of service that are critical in the run up to Christmas.

My team will be providing you with updates on advice to both buyers and sellers during this period, please be assured that we are doing our best to help you through this industrial action.
Regards
Mark Lewis

7 October 2009

Dear Secretary of State,
I am writing on behalf of thousands of eBay sellers to express grave concern about the impact of the proposed national strike at Royal Mail.
Some 120,000 businesses are currently registered and making a living on eBay.co.uk. While they work with a variety of postal suppliers, many rely heavily on Royal Mail for their deliveries and are understandably concerned that any postal strike will cause huge disruption at a time when they can least afford it.
These sellers tell us that Christmas typically accounts for a fifth of their annual sales and despite the tough economic conditions, they’re successfully growing their businesses and investing for future growth. Any barrier to them delivering their goods could dent public confidence in a growing and increasingly important part of the economy.
While we have no wish to minimise the intractability of the issues at stake, it is not acceptable that many hard-working small businesses, are innocent victims of a dispute that is beyond their control.
I therefore urge you to consider these sellers as you encourage both the Royal Mail and the CWU to reach a negotiated settlement and to bring this dispute to a swift end.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Lewis
Managing Director for eBay in the UK
Regards,
The eBay Team

No idea how they'll do this, sellers post their own stuff

custardy

i can only assume ebay are trying to broker a deal with a courier??
as for writing to Mandelson,seriously this is the guy desperate to sell of RM at any cost (well profit with mandy at the helm)
a cynic would perhaps think its better RM struggles and has problems so a private company can 'save' it

DaveAshton

custardy wrote: »

i can only assume ebay are trying to broker a deal with a courier??

That's possible, they've already got ties and referral schemes with a couple of couriers (I think Parcel2Go is one...). Anyway, some courier or other gives you a discount if you put an advert in your listings.

Whether ebay can get them to price theirselves competitively with Royal Mail remains to be seen, but I doubt it (I can't see a courier travelling all the way out here to pick up a DVD for example, and only take about £1 in return).