Advice please - re using couriers

kmeast

I have just sold a pushchair & travel system on ebay, and need to send it. I have never sold an item this big before and am wondering if a courier is the best option? Also how well does it need to be packaged to use a courier? Can I just bubble wrap everything and then bin bag it with labels?

I should have thought of this earlier I know .....!!:rotfl:

scbk

Has the buyer paid postage?
You'll need to ask them what method they'd prefer, so long as it's under 20kg and 1.5m long then you can send it Royal Mail standard parcels, for no more than £13.33 to anywhere in the UK.

A courier could be up to half that price (depending on the address's) but they tend to be more bother as the seller has to wait in all day for them to pick it up, then the buyer has to do the same to receive it.


You pretty much wanna protect it as much as you can, use lots of bubble wrap/foam/polystrene/newspaper etc, all inside a strudy box. Put extra protection round any fragile edges and parts

steviebabes

I use MH couriers direct and just leave the parcel in a safe place and the driver posts the paperwork through the letterbox. They give you a choice of DHL or pacelforce and it is fully tracked and insured up to £100. They will attempt up to 3 deliveries at the other end but if the buyer has the tracking info they can usually tell when it will be delivered. Price is about £7 - £8 depending on the service. They have strict size limits but also offer a large parcel service but this is pretty pricey.
Forgot to mention they take paypal.

SPANIEL36

i'm a courier for DHL and have delivered a travel system to a customer. She said she paid 5.99 for the postage via a courier. I must admit the one she received was not packaged well at all, they'd but a broken down cardboard box around it all then shoved it in a bin bag.....my advice would be a large strong box if possible or failing that lost of bubble wrap, a bin bag and lots of gaffer tape to tape it up securly

kmeast

Thanks for your advice everyone. Next question - does anyone know where to buy large boxes cheaply, as I think this is safer than the bubble wrap, binbag option!!

scbk

Nevermind buying, each day thousands of boxes are thrown out. A quick stroll around an industrial estate at night will reveal an endless supply of free ebay packing material

Or if you're not up to that, ask in your local corner shop

steviebabes

TV boxes are strong, try Currys.