Do you have a nice post office?

ladgecom

I think we are crying out for some local depots geared towards eBayers who sell regularly. Somewhere where people can simply pay for yesterdays and drop in today's items. Would have to utilise some existing framework such as supermarkets or the post offices but i think everybody would be a winner including the people queing up for their pensions behind all the eBayers.

Sweet_Pea_2

The chap in my local PO is a right miserable so and so. Having said that he is very quick, he zips through my ebay parcels in no time. I ignore his miserable manner and I refuse to go to another PO either. This is because I think the PO in general is fantastic, Ive recently changed banks and now I do all my banking online or at the PO, where I find the staff much more pleasant than the bank staff and the queues move faster too. In general they offer a brilliant service and I think its terrible so many of them are closing. I use my local one because its just at the bottom of the road and I want to keep it open, getting in the car to go to another one would not be furthering my cause.
With regards to the parcels, I think the PO should be pleased, all these ebayers must have boosted their profits surely?
I go to the PO just before I collect my daughters from school and I find there is usually noone in there then, so I dont feel guilty about all the little old ladies waiting behind me.

isayoldchap

windswept wrote:

my village p.o. was closed down a couple of years ago:mad:
the one in the next village is too far to walk, so I have to drive.
there is a royal mail depot virtually at the end of my road, I wish you could send parcels from there (you can pick them up , so why not?)
the main p.o. is in newcastle under lyme , a mile away from me but over the road from the council offices where I work (allegedly:rotfl: ), the staff there are slow and totally uninterested, considering that ebay is keeping them employed! I would rather chew off my arm than go there but if I have a purchaser late in the afternoon, I will grudgingly go so as to save myself a trip the next morning, as I work from 5-8pm.

Hi Windswept
I don't want to go to far away from the OP however I was surprised you say that you can't sent parcels from your depot.
I accept that by going there as you would a post office,they won't take them but if you order online with one of the Ebay couriers,(I use Selective),But there are others...
At the foot of the email confirmation it states

HOWEVER YOU ARE ABLE TO TAKE YOUR PARCEL(S) TO YOUR LOCAL DEPOT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR A COLLECTION OR DATE, JUST TAKE A COPY OF THIS CONFIRMATION WITH YOU TO THE DEPOT. REGARDS.
http://selectiveuk.tripod.com/
The consignment number is at the top of their emails.

I arrive when mine opens around 0800.Usually the driver may still be there so the collection paperwork(remember you would have ordered this maybe the day before)
will be with them.Nevertheless they can still take it even if he has gone and print off duplicates.All in all takes around 10-15 minutes at mine.

For around £5 per parcel(I usually buy on Ebay from them) and insured and tracked ,this is hugely cheaper than lugging your parcels to the post office.Expect a 2-3 day service.

They also use DHL which they arrange sometimes for next day delivery.

isayoldchap

Sweet_Pea wrote:

The chap in my local PO is a right miserable so and so. Having said that he is very quick, he zips through my ebay parcels in no time. I ignore his miserable manner and I refuse to go to another PO either. This is because I think the PO in general is fantastic, Ive recently changed banks and now I do all my banking online or at the PO, where I find the staff much more pleasant than the bank staff and the queues move faster too. In general they offer a brilliant service and I think its terrible so many of them are closing. I use my local one because its just at the bottom of the road and I want to keep it open, getting in the car to go to another one would not be furthering my cause.
With regards to the parcels, I think the PO should be pleased, all these ebayers must have boosted their profits surely?
I go to the PO just before I collect my daughters from school and I find there is usually noone in there then, so I dont feel guilty about all the little old ladies waiting behind me.

Hi Sweetpea
I think the staff at the PO are a little over worked now that the closures are starting to bit.

The letter and smaller packages I feel I haven't much of a choice, so I use the post office and do my bit if it boosts the local PO profit targets.I will always weigh all my items beforehand and trim packets to stay within weight charge limits.Most of my post will go recorded delivery.

Looking at the huge PO rates being charged(August 2006 current leaflet and via the royal mail website),I can't understand why some people are still using the PO for sending parcels over 1kg .Rates from £3.85 up to £12.46 for max 20kg plus that's unsecured ,unless you are happy paying from £1.00-£3.50 on top of their huge prices.
Unsecured and it gets lost, you will have no compensation.

As a moneysaver I have a problem giving the PO double to send my items when there are alternatives and it MAY be much quicker to use the local depot sometimes.I hope you may try ,if you don't already,the cheaper route.
Collections points can be arranged at your discretion,even from a work place.

Check you are happy with the compensation levels given by the couriers as this also canbe increased for a small fee.You can also send up to 30kg with some couriers even at the £5+ price.

Remember they use Parcelforce and DHL but it's so much cheaper.:money:

bella4uk

isayoldchap wrote:

Hi Windswept
I don't want to go to far away from the OP however I was surprised you say that you can't sent parcels from your depot.
I accept that by going there as you would a post office,they won't take them but if you order online with one of the Ebay couriers,(I use Selective),But there are others...
At the foot of the email confirmation it states

HOWEVER YOU ARE ABLE TO TAKE YOUR PARCEL(S) TO YOUR LOCAL DEPOT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR A COLLECTION OR DATE, JUST TAKE A COPY OF THIS CONFIRMATION WITH YOU TO THE DEPOT. REGARDS.
http://selectiveuk.tripod.com/
The consignment number is at the top of their emails.

I arrive when mine opens around 0800.Usually the driver may still be there so the collection paperwork(remember you would have ordered this maybe the day before)
will be with them.Nevertheless they can still take it even if he has gone and print off duplicates.All in all takes around 10-15 minutes at mine.

For around £5 per parcel(I usually buy on Ebay from them) and insured and tracked ,this is hugely cheaper than lugging your parcels to the post office.Expect a 2-3 day service.

They also use DHL which they arrange sometimes for next day delivery.

Please could you post me a link so i can read about ebay couriers....I'm totally unaware of them and I've been selling for 3 years....

fairygirl06

In canterbury there is a fab po im a student and I often have ebay parcels to send, every time the guy goes through how much the parcel is worth and the best way to send it for us. He is really helpful occasionally there are queues but im prepared to wait as I know that my money is helping to keep the local po open.

Kaminari_2

Ahhh....selective. I'm still waiting for them to pick up two international packages the were confirmed for pickup on Monday and yesterday. I know Kevin is awfully busy but i think i might have to pay the extra next time just to get a reliable service. Picking up on the confirmed date is more miss than hit for me at the moment with selective.

isayoldchap

bella4uk wrote:

Please could you post me a link so i can read about ebay couriers....I'm totally unaware of them and I've been selling for 3 years....

Hi I will post this information in the EBAY section for you.Please don't use Selective if you are not happy with a 97.3% feedback on over 2000 sales.There will be setbacks sometimes.

smashed

I have a great / terrible PO.

2 ladies are great, really friendly, and efficient too.
The 3rd lady, is now too old for it bless her. She used to be the manager apparently, but now she gets everything wrong (I think the new electronic system is not to her liking). She frequently overcharges myself or my dad, and we have to get it reversed. I turn up with stamps on it, and she puts it thru as a charge, then ALWAYS has to ask how to get out of it.

The other 2 ladies look just as frustrated as me haha. That said, she is friendly, and always thanks me for being so patient when she cocks up (9 times out of 10 with my parcels is no exaggeration). I always know when she is working because the queue is triple the normal size

Bless her

isayoldchap

fairygirl06 wrote:

In canterbury there is a fab po im a student and I often have ebay parcels to send, every time the guy goes through how much the parcel is worth and the best way to send it for us. He is really helpful occasionally there are queues but im prepared to wait as I know that my money is helping to keep the local po open.

I doubt whether your Ebay sales will generate enough profit for the local post office you use,but wouldn't an £8 or £10 per parcel be better to you than
the post office?I guess the best way the guy would be advising would be with insurance.It must be costing you a fortune?

Providing your package is under 30kg (some take 25kg),wouldn't you prefer to have it collected or maybe take it to your local parcel depot instead?
In some cases all for £3.99 secure and trackable.
Other options are also available with different couriers.I do hope you consider
a change in your courier especially as you say you often send parcels.