Delivering yellow pages, any pitfalls?

paigesaunt

I have just agreed to deliver 3 separate rounds, not massively well paid, but I have the time and could do with loosing a bit of weight!

Anyone else done it?

lazer

Depends on the area. I know someone that did it, they drove a Clio and the weight of the yellow pages together with the rural roads and potholes didn't help the car suspension

PasturesNew

They weigh a ton, they take longer than you think. Many vehicles can't cope with the weight. You'll (probably) need business insurance too as you're working and using your vehicle as a business vehicle. Check with your insurance company.

skivenov

I've done them now and then. They're heavy, so if you don't use your brain, you will mess up your car's suspension. You have to move fast and work smart to get a decent hourly rate.

Remember, you're paid to deliver them, not move them about, so keep that in mind while you're planning your movements.

goodfelladave

I've been looking at a firm called Deya, they pay you to do yellow pages deliveries. Not had any work off them yet, but the website says they pay £50 to £120 for 1,000 deliveries, depending on whether it is a rural or urban location. Not sure what that will translate into in terms of time/petrol consumption (drive a 1.8 litre, so not the smallest, most efficient car, but then far from a gass guzzler).

PlutoinCapricorn

Not encouraging:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5104753

goodfelladave

Annoying, that said, if you do anything by volume it's ok. It would only be for a bit of extra money around Christmas. :beer:

skivenov

A suburban round and two of you working out of a transit van is a completely different story though. Particularly when you start of by making a few extra quid dropping people's books of for them when they take what 300 books will do to their fiesta.

goodfelladave

skivenov wrote: »

A suburban round and two of you working out of a transit van is a completely different story though. Particularly when you start of by making a few extra quid dropping people's books of for them when they take what 300 books will do to their fiesta.

How much could one expect to pocket from such a route? Deya are quoting £50 to £120 for 1,000 YPs. I may be underestimating, but I presume that equates to about 4-5 hours work in an urban area for 2 people? Assuming you can fit everything into the vehicle and don't need to make a trip back to your home.

newsseller12

I have done these now for over 15 yrs, They won't make you a fortune but it keeps you fit, gets you out and about in local areas you have not seen before and gives you a bit of money on top. I work alone with an estate car and can average about 120 books per hour. They are not as heavy as they used to be as Deya are now printing the compact version. I use a small trolley to carry around 50 books at a time.

[Deleted User]

I've been doing it for about 12 years now (must be a glutton for punishment:o) and I urge you to read the link posted by PlutoinCapricorn earlier in the thread. For some reason I can't get the link to insert properly in my post:o

I do 3 very rural routes (the same ones every year) and the first few times it was a nightmare. Now I know where everywhere is it has made things a bit easier but I still fear for my car down some of the atrocious potholed tracks. I sometimes find it easier and safer to park up and walk fast down the track but when some of them are up to half a mile long it adds considerably to the time taken especially when there is only one book to drop off down there. Why,oh why, don't these people have a mailbox of some sort at the entrance to the lane, and even a sign/name post? Often, because of trees and distance it is impossible to know if there even is a dwelling down some of these tracks, hence much driving about. And SatNav doesn't help either:mad:

My car is pretty ancient now and I am hoping to upgrade shortly but there's no way I would risk a car that's worth anything by doing this. Every year I vow not to do it anymore and every year the area supervisor phones me begging me to do my usual 3 (plus others) because they just can't get anyone to do them. They are usually pretty desperate to man the more rural routes. Last year I foolishly took on a new route that they were desperate to fill and 2 people I delivered to (after mile upon mile of frustrated searching etc) told me they hadn't received a Yellow Pages for 6 years!!! They won't be getting one in the near future because that route was a nightmare and there's no way I'm doing that one again.

On the other hand, town routes must be a doddle. I spoke to a man who has the same 3 town routes every year, all bordering on his home, and he said he'd finished all 3 of his routes by the end of the 2nd day:eek:. I took 8 days to finish mine and I really crack on and walk very fast and have worked out the shortcuts etc. The supervisor always gives me an extra day because she doesn't want to lose me from the team:p:rotfl: (as she knows they won't be able to find anyone else mad enough to do it) and even then she's amazed I've got them all done in the time given the mileage and type of terrain etc. They have a fair proportion of deliverers who give up part way through when they realise a rural delivery isn't a piece of cake and someone else has to take over.

Collecting the books from the distribution point can be awkward with 3 routes and a car rather than a van. I think I had 1500 books last time and with a medium-size hatchback even with all the seats down and the footwell etc fully stacked I needed 2 trips to pick them all up. That's money you don't get reimbursed for, in my case a total of 30 miles plus a lot of time and lifting.

It makes life easier if you have someone to help with the delivery, sadly I have to do all mine myself. I do get paid an allowance for extra mileage etc being in such a rural area but it is a derisory amount and goes no way near covering costs.

There's a limit to how many books you can carry in your car each day as the weight and the potholed tracks etc can damage your suspension so it will involve mileage back and forth to your home. I take the maximum I know I can deliver that day when I leave the house each morning, I don't intend to return home part way through the day to reload as you are not paid for mileage to and from the delivery area. They ask for a breakdown of time taken and mileage distances on your final completion sheet. They don't take any notice of it though, I write suitable comments on mine each year but the allowances and their calculations of the hours it should take never change. I reckon by now I've got my routes organised and completed in the most cost/time efficient way humanly possible and all I can say is Deya must just work it all out 'as the crow flies' and just don't live in the real world!

Also, they back-check the standard of delivery, phoning random recipients to see if the book was delivered and if it was delivered correctly (not left exposed etc). If you fail a proportion of the checks(or if you return a lot of books at the end as 'undelivered') you may be asked to go back and try again. Or they may refuse to pay you in full. Not too sure, it hasn't happened to me (yet!). On my rounds I often deliver to people who have done the job before. Without fail they say they would never do it more than the once,some of them seem to think I'm an idiot for turning up year after year.

Sorry about the long post:o. I could write a book on the subject:rotfl:

Good Luck!

P.S. Something I forgot. They allow 7 days delivery time (its the same whether you take on 1 route or several) as they arrange a specific date when you have to return your paperwork and undelivered books to the supervisor. At least, that's what they do in my area. We keep in contact with her by phone but because it is very rural we meet up with her to sign-off the job at the place where the books were distributed from in the first place (in my case a large Leisure Centre).