Paypound for Delivery

custardy

sorry but what did people expect?
what level of service did you really expect for a fledgling company on those prices?

volvodude

We all want to save a few bob, but sometimes it is better to pay a little extra and go with a tried and tested outfit. I have been burned a few times by cheap parcel websites that are great one minute then out of business the next leaving parcels in limbo all over the place.

Personally I just can't see how this business model can work, even with the £500 payment up front. I can only think that the business plan is based on a prediciton that a large percentage of people will pay the 500 then only send a few parcels. That is the only logical method they can make a profit. And if so, that is very risky!

lovinituk

2 concurrent threads about this. Can they be merged?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3722411

I have repeated this on the other thread.

Sledgehead

I note that paypound are running ads on th efront page of the Telegraph's Business section as of 16/01/2012.

If they were having trouble meeting customer needs b4 this, I shudder to think what might happen if those ads produce a wave of orders...

To wit, a quick question for our ex postie, CUSTARDY: do you see any technological efficiencies new entrants might deploy over and above operators like RM to cater for distributed pick-up points? I don't know what is currently used by parcel delivery firms so I'd be interested to learn.

Cheers

novelli

well they seem to be doing nothing at the moment.
Not accepting bookings until further notice.

paulob777

I signed up on the pay as you go before Christmas, I've only shipped a few large bulk consignments with no issues. I can confirm that the pay as you go rate is 1.00 ex vat per up to 7kg package, although there is a 50p transaction charge when you top up your account with a debit/credit card.

I'm using them to ship my bulk paper order from my supplier, which costs £17.41 instead of £98 for the same paper on a pallet. I'm not using them to ship to customers because my finished products go RM PPI large letter at 65p, so I've not had to face the grief paypound shippers are experiencing.

I really hope that they get their act together, as their service is giving me monthly double zero savings.

Maybe they've tried to shoot the moon too quickly. I worked for Target Express for 15 years, pretty much started with them when they were just starting out. They just ran a 2-3 day service for the first 3 years until they found their feet and built their network. New Technology was always rolled out region by region, and the company continued to use old fashioned consignment notes so they could still operate when the computer systems went down.

£1 per consignment is right on the margin knuckle. It can be done, but for it to work you'd need a very slick efficient network and avoid freight that requires any special attention, so I can see the idea behind the 7kg box.

The problem is that they are going to get bowled over by bulk, usually palletised consignments (when sent with another carrier) like me with my paper. You're going to get pallet shippers splitting down their consignments to 50 7kg boxes, overwhelming the paypound network. They should take note from UPS, who have a 20 box limit on their cheapest Standard service.

Sure, you can cut out a big chunk off costs by eliminating pallet handling from the operation, you're not going to need tail lift vehicles, or the extra 10ton+ bulk vehicle for each delivery area. But the problem is those pallet loads are now moving through your network in 50+ box consignments for a £1 a box, and take up half the load space in your standard delivery vehicle with no tail lift.

If they had a 20 box per consignment limit, and concentrated on the RM Large letter market, with a £1 2-3 day service, they'd get business.

Lets see how they handle this downtime, and if there are more around the corner.