To sell or not

soolin

Spoonie_Turtle said:

extrafisher said:

Flyonthewall said:

I ended most of my listings the other day and the last couple yesterday. They're not essential items and, if they do sell, it means going to a public place when I really don't have to. Even with no direct contact to drop something off there is still a risk.

It's not worth the risk just because I'd like the items to be sold!

Just because somewhere is open doesn't mean you should go there. Post Offices are open for those posting essential items.

More items in the postal system means more items being touched and more risk to postal workers and those receiving any mail.

Lockdown is happening across the world for a very good reason. Government advice needs to be followed and that includes not going out unless it's necessary and posting non-essential items is not necessary.

Sorry but you really shouldnt be making things up. "Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO arent just open for essential items, all retailers are still selling onine.
Its a personal decision whether you want to keep selling or not and depends on personal circumstances.  

This is true but they have business contracts and pick-up points that aren't public places. Online retailers are essentially a closed system, whereas Joe Public making special journeys to post stuff is different.

So do many smaller sellers. My mail centre has a drop off place, most days I don’t even see a human being to smile at. 

Archergirl

My post office is next to my food shop place, so I can combine a trip, but truth be told not many orders. I usually get a proof of posting but for the UK ones I will just put them in the post box and cross my fingers. For overseas ones I need to get stamps but will cross that bridge if I get to it.

mgdavid

Spoonie_Turtle said:

This is true but they have business contracts and pick-up points that aren't public places. Online retailers are essentially a closed system, whereas Joe Public making special journeys to post stuff is different.

you seem to have missed this bit:-

'postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO aren't just open for essential items'

It's not a special journey if it's combined with food shopping

Flyonthewall

extrafisher said:

Flyonthewall said:

I ended most of my listings the other day and the last couple yesterday. They're not essential items and, if they do sell, it means going to a public place when I really don't have to. Even with no direct contact to drop something off there is still a risk.

It's not worth the risk just because I'd like the items to be sold!

Just because somewhere is open doesn't mean you should go there. Post Offices are open for those posting essential items.

More items in the postal system means more items being touched and more risk to postal workers and those receiving any mail.

Lockdown is happening across the world for a very good reason. Government advice needs to be followed and that includes not going out unless it's necessary and posting non-essential items is not necessary.

Sorry but you really shouldnt be making things up. "Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO arent just open for essential items, all retailers are still selling onine.
Its a personal decision whether you want to keep selling or not and depends on personal circumstances.  

The official advice from the government is to stay home unless going out for something essential (i.e. for food or medication). Posting something non-essential is therefore not an essential reason to go out and overrides any thing the PO say about being open and running as normal.

Also, a lot of retailers aren't going to the PO. Even if they are, that doesn't mean they should be. It's encouraged because businesses don't want to lose money, not because it's the safe option!

Death rates are going up quickly because personal decisions are being made and far too many of them decisions are "well I'll be fine!", but even if they are the next person they meet or the next person to get their parcel may not be.

This is an online forum where thousands could possibly read this, wondering what they should do. If saying Post Offices are open for those posting essential items stops someone going out who shouldn't be going out then I don't care that it's not official advice. It's sensible advice and could save lives.

soolin

Flyonthewall said:

extrafisher said:

Flyonthewall said:

I ended most of my listings the other day and the last couple yesterday. They're not essential items and, if they do sell, it means going to a public place when I really don't have to. Even with no direct contact to drop something off there is still a risk.

It's not worth the risk just because I'd like the items to be sold!

Just because somewhere is open doesn't mean you should go there. Post Offices are open for those posting essential items.

More items in the postal system means more items being touched and more risk to postal workers and those receiving any mail.

Lockdown is happening across the world for a very good reason. Government advice needs to be followed and that includes not going out unless it's necessary and posting non-essential items is not necessary.

Sorry but you really shouldnt be making things up. "Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO arent just open for essential items, all retailers are still selling onine.
Its a personal decision whether you want to keep selling or not and depends on personal circumstances.  

The official advice from the government is to stay home unless going out for something essential (i.e. for food or medication). Posting something non-essential is therefore not an essential reason to go out and overrides any thing the PO say about being open and running as normal.

Also, a lot of retailers aren't going to the PO. Even if they are, that doesn't mean they should be. It's encouraged because businesses don't want to lose money, not because it's the safe option!

Death rates are going up quickly because personal decisions are being made and far too many of them decisions are "well I'll be fine!", but even if they are the next person they meet or the next person to get their parcel may not be.

This is an online forum where thousands could possibly read this, wondering what they should do. If saying Post Offices are open for those posting essential items stops someone going out who shouldn't be going out then I don't care that it's not official advice. It's sensible advice and could save lives.

You forgot the advice that it is perfectly permissable to go out for exercise, ie jogging, walking or cycling as long as it is only with members of your own household, and you stay 2 metres away from other people. Walking to a mail centre (or driving) getting out for the car going into an empty lobby and leaving bags without meeting anyway breaches none of those regulations. My husband walks for his health on medical advice, he tends to do around 5 miles a day, my mail centre falls easily within that 5 mile walk .

At the moment post offices remain open for post but again a 2 metre gap between you and a stranger is on the official advice.

These current rules may change , and I suspect they will, but at the moment no one is saying that online sales requiring postage is disallowed.

Spoonie_Turtle

mgdavid said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

This is true but they have business contracts and pick-up points that aren't public places. Online retailers are essentially a closed system, whereas Joe Public making special journeys to post stuff is different.

you seem to have missed this bit:-

'postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO aren't just open for essential items'

It's not a special journey if it's combined with food shopping

That's technically more of a grey area, but to be honest even if the PO *is* right next door to a food shop (and as one poster mentioned, that's not always the case) that's still extra time out in public and touching surfaces, extra potential transmission of the virus, and entirely possibly extra people infected - that's the whole point of the orders to stay at home.

soolin I did not know that but that's good. It's a different situation for small business sellers who have that kind of arrangement, and private sellers with less volume of sales who would have to make a detour to post sold items.

Flyonthewall I completely agree. People just aren't understanding the reality, sometimes it takes an individual account to bring it home. There's a good article here https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/opinion/coronavirus-hospital-visits.html It's behind a paywall but at the moment can be accessed with a free account. If not, screenshots here https://imgur.com/a/XJwrOzw
(Summary: quarantine means no visitors in hospital, so critically ill and dying patients have to go through it alone. The staff can't even spend time with them.)

Not that I want to hijack this thread, but the point of these restrictions is to stop this from happening to too many people.

Flyonthewall

soolin said:

Flyonthewall said:

extrafisher said:

Flyonthewall said:

I ended most of my listings the other day and the last couple yesterday. They're not essential items and, if they do sell, it means going to a public place when I really don't have to. Even with no direct contact to drop something off there is still a risk.

It's not worth the risk just because I'd like the items to be sold!

Just because somewhere is open doesn't mean you should go there. Post Offices are open for those posting essential items.

More items in the postal system means more items being touched and more risk to postal workers and those receiving any mail.

Lockdown is happening across the world for a very good reason. Government advice needs to be followed and that includes not going out unless it's necessary and posting non-essential items is not necessary.

Sorry but you really shouldnt be making things up. "Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal." PO arent just open for essential items, all retailers are still selling onine.
Its a personal decision whether you want to keep selling or not and depends on personal circumstances.  

The official advice from the government is to stay home unless going out for something essential (i.e. for food or medication). Posting something non-essential is therefore not an essential reason to go out and overrides any thing the PO say about being open and running as normal.

Also, a lot of retailers aren't going to the PO. Even if they are, that doesn't mean they should be. It's encouraged because businesses don't want to lose money, not because it's the safe option!

Death rates are going up quickly because personal decisions are being made and far too many of them decisions are "well I'll be fine!", but even if they are the next person they meet or the next person to get their parcel may not be.

This is an online forum where thousands could possibly read this, wondering what they should do. If saying Post Offices are open for those posting essential items stops someone going out who shouldn't be going out then I don't care that it's not official advice. It's sensible advice and could save lives.

You forgot the advice that it is perfectly permissable to go out for exercise, ie jogging, walking or cycling as long as it is only with members of your own household, and you stay 2 metres away from other people. Walking to a mail centre (or driving) getting out for the car going into an empty lobby and leaving bags without meeting anyway breaches none of those regulations. My husband walks for his health on medical advice, he tends to do around 5 miles a day, my mail centre falls easily within that 5 mile walk .

At the moment post offices remain open for post but again a 2 metre gap between you and a stranger is on the official advice.

These current rules may change , and I suspect they will, but at the moment no one is saying that online sales requiring postage is disallowed.

It is. But even if you do all that, the virus can be on the items, packaging and door handles. A lot also won't be just leaving a bag, many will be private sellers with just an item or two or who have to deal with staff and payment (and not everyone will use contactless or pay online). Plus you're relying on people not breaking the rules, which many still are sadly.

It's a far bigger risk for multiple people than it is to just staying at home, and all to post something non-essential (and for many, just because they'd prefer an item gone, not because they're running a business and their income depends on it).

Just posting an item doesn't sounds like a big deal, but it can have a massive rippling effect that somewhere along the way could kill someone. It's not about laws or rules, but common sense and thinking of others.

NBLondon

Just to stir a bit...    If eBay or selling online is someone's main or only source of income then keeping that business going is work and posting an item out is essential.

Flyonthewall

NBLondon said:

Just to stir a bit...    If eBay or selling online is someone's main or only source of income then keeping that business going is work and posting an item out is essential.

If that's their main/only source of income and they have to sell to survive then they are highly likely to be able to get benefits. The items and buyers will be there when they start selling again.

Shops selling non-essential items have been forced to shut. Selling the same items online is still a risk so why is that fine? Just because there is no rule yet to specify that you shouldn't keep doing things that are a risk to people's lives?

Royal Mail staff and couriers are working very hard trying to deal with everything and risking their health doing so. It only takes one infected person somewhere in the chain to infect potentially hundreds (or even thousands) of others and, worse still, possibly kill some of them. Is it worth selling that £10, £20 or even £50 non-essential item for that?

mgdavid

Yes it's 'common sense' - which seems very uncommon if you read facebook and forums these days. Too many people still just make things up to suit their particular soapbox.  Everyone's circumstances will be different. For myself, I take exercise by walking 300 metres. I am then outside a Co-op where I go in and buy some essential groceries. While I'm in there I go to the Post Office counter and hand over one or more parcels without touching anything or anybody, with a glass screen between me and the counter staff, pay with contactless card and then walk home.