Postage to Highlands & Islands....remote areas

ANNA

I've sold a heavy item, having quoted a price for P+P.

The postcode is coming up with a £2 surcharge with Hermes and RM is even more expensive.

Does anyone know of a carrier that won't surcharge?

If I can't find one, would it be fair to contact my buyer to ask for the extra payment I will incur?

campdave

ANNA wrote: »

Does anyone know of a carrier that won't surcharge?

If I can't find one, would it be fair to contact my buyer to ask for the extra payment I will incur?

I think Royal Mail are the only ones that don't surcharge.

And no, it isn't fair to ask your buyer for extra money if you haven't said there will be surcharge,it's up to you to price the postage correctly.

molerat

Are you using e-bay postage for the RM/Parcelforce pricing quotes as they can be considerably cheaper than "post office" prices and for very heavy items cheaper than MyHermes. Plus I do hope you were not very specific about the method of delivery you would be using.

anibell

I think Royal Mail may be your best bet here...how heavy are we talking?
I send items to a family member in Orkney and it costs the same as it would anywhere else in the UK.

I take it you didn't check the RM website for prices and dimensions before quoting p&p??
As someone else has mentioned ebay's prices are just a guide..e.g small parcel - ebay £2.80, actual cost at post office £2.85.

By all means use a courier or other cheaper alternative. But what have you put in your postage description? I don't think it's right to charge a buyer extra for p&p especially after you've already quoted a price and they have paid. If you do this expect a cancelled sale/big fat neg.

soolin

anibell wrote: »

I think Royal Mail may be your best bet here...how heavy are we talking?
I send items to a family member in Orkney and it costs the same as it would anywhere else in the UK.

I take it you didn't check the RM website for prices and dimensions before quoting p&p??
As someone else has mentioned ebay's prices are just a guide..e.g small parcel - ebay £2.80, actual cost at post office £2.85.

By all means use a courier or other cheaper alternative. But what have you put in your postage description? I don't think it's right to charge a buyer extra for p&p especially after you've already quoted a price and they have paid. If you do this expect a cancelled sale/big fat neg.

OP hasn't used ebay prices they just haven't allowed for a surcharge on certain addresses which of course you don't know about until buyer pays. None of my items carry a surcharge for Highlands and Islands, but I tend to just send anyway and pay the extra myself rather than have all sorts of terms and conditions clogging up my descriptions.

Strangely enough I've never had a surcharge from MyHermes and today one one mine is going to Thurso which shows as The Highlands. For some odd reason I sell a great deal of stuff to Scotland - one of those strange patterns that I often find on ebay.

molerat

anibell wrote: »

.........................

I take it you didn't check the RM website for prices and dimensions before quoting p&p??
As someone else has mentioned ebay's prices are just a guide..e.g small parcel - ebay £2.80, actual cost at post office £2.85.
................

That is not what I meant, buying Parcelforce through ebay is at a considerable discount for instance 10- 20kg PF48 post office price £16.40-£28.51 ebay discounted price £9.12.

I have just done a MyHermes quote for a parcel using ME to IV, IV to ME and ME to NR post codes and the price was the same. EDIT: Just checked an HS (offshore islands) postcode and there was a £2 increase so MyHermes surcharge for Islands but not highlands.

ANNA

Yes, it is 5kg medium parcel for RM.
The postcode is HS2 and Hermes shows:

Additional charges (for weekend collection or remote postcodes)
+£2.00

I have tried parcel2go comparision website and Hermes is still cheaper.

Gers

We live 90 miles north of Glasgow with a Paisley postcode (who knows why??) and sometimes get charged extra for H&I - we are neither in the Highlands or on an Island.

Biggest culprit was a store in London wanted to charge me £6.00 postage on a £4.00 item as 'that's what the courier will charge' - my suggestion of a padded envelope and RM didn't go down well.

RM have a universal charge for the UK. They have many problems but sending / delivering isn't usually one of them. I love my postie, he knows everyone by name (no street names or numbers usually) and will even take post away for sending.

RFW

As mentioned above Parcelforce via Ebay/Paypal offers a flat UK rate, so Highlands, Islands and N. Ireland work out quite competitive. £12-£13 when last I used it, for up to 30kg.