Does PayPal postage threaten Post Offices?

finallycruising

I've been using PayPal postage for quite a few items recently - not the second class ones, though, as they've the cheek not to offer it! However, I digress. The chap behind the counter commented to the effect that the existance of the Post Office could be threatened if I and others keep using it.

It's a sub-Post Office. I wondered if he had a point?

P

macfly

He has. Online postage of any flavour takes revenue away from a sub post office. He gets 7% of postage sales. Pre stamped knocks most of that out.
The only time I do it is if I get a lot of smaller items sold on a weekend. No way am I taking a load to a PO on a Monday, so I drop them at a Royal Mail depot.

cyberbob

macfly wrote: »

He has. Online postage of any flavour takes revenue away from a sub post office. He gets 7% of postage sales. Pre stamped knocks most of that out.
The only time I do it is if I get a lot of smaller items sold on a weekend. No way am I taking a load to a PO on a Monday, so I drop them at a Royal Mail depot.

That goes against what I was told. Our PO told us that they still get revenue for Paypal parcels that go through them. I must admit I only use it for any Parcelforce items (to get the discount) as everything else goes 2nd class and Paypal don't do that.

macfly

They do, but nowhere near the 7% for a straight sale. Paypal have to have a cut of course. I can't remember the amount, but it is less and takes the same length of time to process, if not longer. I persuaded most of my customers to let me do the postage and pay later.
I don't use paypal because I have A5 labels, thousands of them, and you can't "fit to page" with their postage.

martindow

If you need certificates of posting (which most of us do) we have to go to the PO so might as well support it by buying the postage there.

macfly

That was one of the persuaders for me. Trouble is many on here have the tutting brigade to cope with, from the staff usually.
I have emailed Royal Mail frequently to ask why an online receipt is not taken as proof. You must use the postage within a day, so why not?
Their answer is "to prevent fraud", which is nonsense. Anyone buying large amounts of postage and claiming would be spotted quickly.

cyberbob

macfly wrote: »

I have emailed Royal Mail frequently to ask why an online receipt is not taken as proof.

Because all it does is prove you can print postage out not that its in the mail system. If they did that the amount of claims would increase I bet

Thanks for the clarification on costs

macfly

It just makes fraud slightly easier, but it is simple to spot. A great customer of mine, sending hundreds of DVD's out, was investigated by Royal Mail for his claims. He had no problem showing them his volume of postage, upon which they offered him a contract. Cheeky beggars. Fraud aside, they are not making it customer friendly.

hermum

I asked at one of the post offices I use & they said they don't get paid anything for the pre-paid parcels.

cyberbob

hermum wrote: »

I asked at one of the post offices I use & they said they don't get paid anything for the pre-paid parcels.

Sounds like the post offices don't know whats going on. I was told when they are paid on volume. No matter what part of the contract will include a fee for taking pre paid parcels as its part of the service they provide. So even if they don't get a fee for each individual parcel they are still technically getting paid for them

macfly

It is hugely complicated. Post Offices were split in to two, or was it three, categories about five years ago. Business and Community I think. At above a certain income level, your bulk payments for unpaid services were removed, but you got a higher cut of sales. Low income got a boost in "wage" but less percentage. Madness. As a one man band, I was expected to be in the Community bracket, but confounded them by having a business level too high for that. Year one, my income shot up by 25%. These percentages were then "adjusted". However, when the closures came they had to offer 28 twelfths times your best salary over the previous five years, an extra 13k for me.
I was both delighted and sad to close. I enjoyed skating around the rules and gave a better service. The downside for my punters was I ran it like Basil Fawlty.
So get your head round that one - I never really did.