Royalmail 48 vs signed for - cutting shipping costs .

shahpur

Can anyone give some advice , trying to cut down on the shipping costs on my small parcel items when selling on ebay.

I have been using

royalmail tracked 48 for items under £10 - £30  
Royalmail signed for for items for 30 - £50 
Royamail tracked 48 with a signature  anything £50 - 150 

If the standard 48 is tracked and insured to £150  is worth paying the extra £1.20 for a signature or even the extra 90p for a signed for service  ?

The royalmail website is a bit vague on the tracked services as not too sure if being photographed on a doorstep when no one is in  would be classed as delivered .

The price does not seem much but when sending 200 odd parcels it does add up . 

Thanks

martindow

I don't see any value in paying for a signature.  Second class with a signature covers up to £50 but Tracked 48 undercuts it by quite a margin.

The cheapest service is 2nd class but that is only covered up to £20.  For anything over £20 I would use Tracked 48 which includes insurance up to £150.  If the value is over this then you need Special Delivery to be fully covered but that's quite a jump in price.

KxMx

Small parcels 1st/2nd comes with free delivery confirmation and has compensation on values of under £20.

Photo on a doorstep does count as delivered if the item is scanned in as delivered, a delivered status will appear on the tracking. 

RM48 has superior tracking, I'd choose it over Signed For every time, and I don't think there is any benefit to paying £1.20 for a signature within RM48 either.

One thing you should be aware of (if you aren't already) is that RM48 doesn't allow compensation claims for late delivery.

So I personally did when selling small parcel items on eBay:
Standard 1st/2nd under £20
RM48 £20+

shahpur

KxMx said:

Small parcels 1st/2nd comes with free delivery confirmation and has compensation on values of under £20.

Photo on a doorstep does count as delivered if the item is scanned in as delivered, a delivered status will appear on the tracking. 

RM48 has superior tracking, I'd choose it over Signed For every time, and I don't think there is any benefit to paying £1.20 for a signature within RM48 either.

One thing you should be aware of (if you aren't already) is that RM48 doesn't allow compensation claims for late delivery.

So I personally did when selling small parcel items on eBay:
Standard 1st/2nd under £20
RM48 £20+

Thanks when you say " Small parcels 1st/2nd comes with free delivery confirmation and has compensation on values of under £20."   How do get the same confirmation of delivery ?

soolin

shahpur said:

KxMx said:

Small parcels 1st/2nd comes with free delivery confirmation and has compensation on values of under £20.

Photo on a doorstep does count as delivered if the item is scanned in as delivered, a delivered status will appear on the tracking. 

RM48 has superior tracking, I'd choose it over Signed For every time, and I don't think there is any benefit to paying £1.20 for a signature within RM48 either.

One thing you should be aware of (if you aren't already) is that RM48 doesn't allow compensation claims for late delivery.

So I personally did when selling small parcel items on eBay:
Standard 1st/2nd under £20
RM48 £20+

Thanks when you say " Small parcels 1st/2nd comes with free delivery confirmation and has compensation on values of under £20."   How do get the same confirmation of delivery ?

The parcels have a delivery number (we need a name to distinguish it from a tracking number), the tracking doesn't change on standard parcels until it is delivered. 

Like @KxMx says I use 
Standard 2nd under £20
RM48 £20+

Both cover me for a claim in case of loss and buying online the savings are excellent, £3.29 for a tracked insured small parcel up to 2KG is I think a real bargain.

shahpur

Thanks was unaware of the standard small parcels coming with a " delivery " number .. Will definetly use it  on my cheaper parcels .  I am just a bit a paranoid after having a spate of parcels go " missing " with either the courier leaving them unattended or the person receiving them saying that nothing has arrived . 

soolin

shahpur said:

Thanks was unaware of the standard small parcels coming with a " delivery " number .. Will definetly use it  on my cheaper parcels .  I am just a bit a paranoid after having a spate of parcels go " missing " with either the courier leaving them unattended or the person receiving them saying that nothing has arrived . 

If you print labels direct from eBay the ‘delivery’ confirmation number is added to the sale automatically. You would still need to drop parcels off at a PO or mail centre though to get Proof of  postage , only needed in case you ever have to make a claim for loss. 

lisyloo

I use evri which has free compensation up to £20.
They do lose things occassionally, for me that's tolerable if they compensate.

soolin

lisyloo said:

I use evri which has free compensation up to £20.
They do lose things occassionally, for me that's tolerable if they compensate.

How do they compare in price with the £2.99 RM small parcel up to 2kg?

I used to use couriers but many ordinary things I have sold were not insured , glass , resin, china even prints or photos aren’t covered. 

KxMx

shahpur said:

Thanks was unaware of the standard small parcels coming with a " delivery " number .. Will definetly use it  on my cheaper parcels .  I am just a bit a paranoid after having a spate of parcels go " missing " with either the courier leaving them unattended or the person receiving them saying that nothing has arrived . 

As long as you have delivery confirmation then you would win any claims the buyer makes. 
Of course offer to assist the buyer, but as far as eBay or PayPal are concerned, proof of delivery equals case closed. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

The old argument with Signed For (or Recorded Delivery as it was back then) was if you put those extra £1s spent in a jar and self insure any loss above the standard compensation levels odds are you'd have money left in the jar at the end of the year.

If you only post half a dozen items a year then perhaps it's worth it for the peace of mind.

With them now offering Tracked 48 for an extra 30p with £150 cover, Signed For on 1st/2nd class is pretty worthless as far as an eBay seller posting parcels is concerned. 

Adding a signature to Tracked isn't worth it IMHO especially as often the postie is just scribbling something in the box. Exception would be items over £450 where a signature is required for seller protection from INR (at that value you'd use SD any way).

So for most people sending parcels that now begs the question of whether you should put 30p in jar and use 2nd Class but Tacked is more reliable, offers the buyer more info about where their order is and is the default for me now. 

shahpur said:

Thanks was unaware of the standard small parcels coming with a " delivery " number .. Will definetly use it  on my cheaper parcels .  I am just a bit a paranoid after having a spate of parcels go " missing " with either the courier leaving them unattended or the person receiving them saying that nothing has arrived . 

Old story but used to get around 100 people a year claim INR, when Royal Mail introduced delivery confirmation on standard services for business customers that number dropped to 10 or so a year with most of those showing as delivered. 

Royal Mail do a pretty decent job in the main, I would suggest most INR claims are false, if selling something for under say £10-£15 the delivery confirmation on standard 1st/2nd will probably serve you well and you can claim if there's no delivery confirmation on the tracking, above that (or whatever figure you pick) and Tracked 48 is a great service.