Cheap Parcel Delivery - official discussion

[Deleted User]

custardy wrote: »

So as I said,you are reliant on the senders packaging.
We have seen many many cases where the recipient organises a courier and it gets damaged in transit.
Then theres no claim as the packaging is insufficient (often the reason the item is collect only originally)
something to be aware of in future.

Duly noted, think I should be okay. The sender seemed really sure about packing it up, it's actually being sent in its original box iirc.

Thanks.

soolin

slipd wrote: »

Duly noted, think I should be okay. The sender seemed really sure about packing it up, it's actually being sent in its original box iirc.

Thanks.

Glad you got it sorted. For future reference though be aware that if you organise your own courier and there is an issue then you may struggle with a claim to recover the item cost- you obviously lose the courier cost regardless.

Also, hopefully this PC was double boxed and not just sent in the original box. Quite often electricals are boxed for pallet delivery so whilst they are secure and safe within the packaging they are designed to only withstand one way up pallet delivery. Once you send something as a standalone box it needs to be packed to withstand dropping from a great height or having heavier items thrown on top of it at an angle.

gjs1701

I have been having a clear out and selling quite a bit of stuff on ebay. I've been using Parcel Hero for the heavier packages and sending by UPS.

The first time Parcel Hero was great. Every time after that, they've always upped the price from their initial estimate. I put in the buyers postcode, with the parcel details and the PH gives me a price. I pass that price on to my buyer who pays. Then I fill in all the details including the buyers full address and PH says, because of that exact address you price has changed to ... and adds 3 or 4 quid to the price.

Quite frankly, that sucks and I will not be using them again.

UPS however are faultless, I drop of at my local convenience store and they deliver next day without fail.

custardy

gjs1701 wrote: »

I have been having a clear out and selling quite a bit of stuff on ebay. I've been using Parcel Hero for the heavier packages and sending by UPS.

The first time Parcel Hero was great. Every time after that, they've always upped the price from their initial estimate. I put in the buyers postcode, with the parcel details and the PH gives me a price. I pass that price on to my buyer who pays. Then I fill in all the details including the buyers full address and PH says, because of that exact address you price has changed to ... and adds 3 or 4 quid to the price.

Quite frankly, that sucks and I will not be using them again.

UPS however are faultless, I drop of at my local convenience store and they deliver next day without fail.

When you say buyers postcode. Are you putting in the full postcode on the quote?

soolin

gjs1701 wrote: »

I have been having a clear out and selling quite a bit of stuff on ebay. I've been using Parcel Hero for the heavier packages and sending by UPS.

The first time Parcel Hero was great. Every time after that, they've always upped the price from their initial estimate. I put in the buyers postcode, with the parcel details and the PH gives me a price. I pass that price on to my buyer who pays. Then I fill in all the details including the buyers full address and PH says, because of that exact address you price has changed to ... and adds 3 or 4 quid to the price.

Quite frankly, that sucks and I will not be using them again.

UPS however are faultless, I drop of at my local convenience store and they deliver next day without fail.

This is weird as in the UK we don't tend to have changes to postal quotes for regions- usually only off shore(including Isle of Wight etc) and the Highlands are different. If you are giving mainland postcodes which then change your quote then something is wrong.

I for instance put all my postage in the listing, I get my weight and size and can guarantee how much that is going to cost, there is never any surprise. Are you sure you are not seeing the difference say between the quote with or without VAT?

mrcol1000

With Parcel Hero the prices do seem to change between the initial quote and actually buying. Even if you go straight from quote to buying. It is why they appear cheaper than everyone else.

It is one of the many many reasons I stopped using them. Try Parcel2go as they seem to offer cheap prices without all the games.

dj1471

gjs1701 wrote: »

Then I fill in all the details including the buyers full address and PH says, because of that exact address you price has changed to ... and adds 3 or 4 quid to the price.

My suspicion is that this is a 'residential address' surcharge, these are commonly charged by the likes of UPS and FedEx and the amount is about right. That doesn't excuse Parcel Hero not including it in the original quote of course.

bluehydrangeas

I've got an item listed on ebay that is scheduled to end next week. I am planning on using DPD Dropoff via Interparcel to post it. I normally use Royal Mail for items under 1kg, but the item in question is much heavier. Anyone have any experiences with Interparcel? I checked Parcel2go but they were quoting around £2 more than Interparcel for the exact same service. Also wanted to enquire, when you are buying insurance for a parcel, are you supposed to use the value you paid for it originally or the price you sold it at?

[Deleted User]

bluehydrangeas wrote: »

I've got an item listed on ebay that is scheduled to end next week. I am planning on using DPD Dropoff via Interparcel to post it. I normally use Royal Mail for items under 1kg, but the item in question is much heavier. Anyone have any experiences with Interparcel? I checked Parcel2go but they were quoting around £2 more than Interparcel for the exact same service. Also wanted to enquire, when you are buying insurance for a parcel, are you supposed to use the value you paid for it originally or the price you sold it at?

I used Interparcel/DPD Drop-off last week, at my local Curry's actually. Excellent service! 8kg computer, insured to £150 (my valuation) and delivered in 4 days, including the weekend. Tracking was good although it was delivered a day earlier than the recipient was told. Would definitely use again.

Insurance is a tricky one... Covering against loss or damage, neither you or the buyer want to be out of pocket if things go south do you? I insured to what I estimated the item to be worth.

Hope this helps.

trfh

Parcel2Go are now offering some very low prices from new (well new to me) couriers. Trouble is that they cannot be relied on to fulfill the service they are offering.

I have just booked two parcels to Canada, combined weight 22.7kg, and the cost was considerable at around £65 using OCS via Parcel2Go. Other comparable offerings are over £100 however, so I probably should have smelt a rat from the start. The items were part of a private ebay sale, so now I have to go back to my customer and tell him that he has to pay considerably more to get the items shipped.

When things go wrong with Parcel2Go, you are immediately in trouble. First there is no customer services phone number - you cannot speak to anyone. In fact there is no way of contacting them at all evident on their website - however a great deal of digging into the FAQ on the help pages does provide a link to a "Chat" facility.

I spent 82 minutes on that chat line. At no point did they offer any explanation why they could not produce labels for the service I had paid for. The two parcels were within size and weight limits for the OCS service booked - and they confirmed that. Two options I offered them were

1. To put the order on hold while any IT problem (if that was what it was) was sorted out.
2. To use some other courier they already had on their books.

They refused both options - and insisted that they could only cancel and refund my payment. I think that is reneging on a contract which both parties freely entered into. No doubt I could seek redress, but life is too short for that. I will just walk away - and avoid their services in future.