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Post office parcel rip off
Not Anumber - 9/12/13 at 12:45 PM

Whats the most affordable way to send parcels of about 3kg.

Ive just sold a bunch of old laptop computers for spares that I had always meant to fix but never got round to.

Other laptops on Ebay had postage charges of £ 6 to £ 7 so i did mine the same then had a nasty surprise in the Post Office this morning when they charged a whacking £ 12.92 per laptop. I couldnt be arsed to drag them all back home and start ringing round cariers so bit the bullet but I hae another couple to send off. Are Parcel2Go any use for this sort of weight ? Ive only ever used them for large bits such as gearboxes and diffs before and kept to the Post Office for most small stuff, might be time to change

scootz - 9/12/13 at 12:51 PM

Interparcel... most of their options carry £50 of standard insurance and I wouldn't imagine you would pay more than £7-ish for a basic service.

Also worth noting their carriers will collect from you!

Barkalarr - 9/12/13 at 01:00 PM

MyHermes.co.uk - £5.40

twybrow - 9/12/13 at 01:18 PM

myhermes and parcel2go have been very cheap for me in recent months. But you get what you pay for. With the Post Office, you walk in, they do the paperwork, and away it goes. With the low cost couriers, typically you ave to take it somewhere to drop it off, having downloaded all of the paperwork and stuck it on etc... It is just a different service.

zetec - 9/12/13 at 01:31 PM

Never use PO now as they charge too much. MyHermes is all way, once you've set up an account printing off and paying could not be easier, and I can drop the parcel off at the local shop between 7am-12pm, no queue. Never had any lost or late arrivals yet.

FASTdan - 9/12/13 at 01:37 PM

I cant seem to beat the post office for under 1kg. Over this some of the budget carriers start to become competitive but its not worth the hastle of mixing between the two. Between the post office and parcelforce services all my UK shipments can be dealt with in the same place.

The only time I use couriers at the moment is overseas above 2kg.

rf900rush - 9/12/13 at 03:01 PM

I have used interparcel as well

Some of these offer drop off points locally

save waiting in for collections

r1_pete - 9/12/13 at 04:52 PM

Royal Mail have revised some of their prices but still very expensive.

I use MyHermes more and more, print a page, stick it on the box, drop it off, quicker than waiting in the PO queue.

I have had problems with their delivery drivers trying to deliver to businesses outside business hours, but always got there.

Oddified - 9/12/13 at 04:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by FASTdan
The only time I use couriers at the moment is overseas above 2kg.


Agreed, but even for the uk 2kg seems to be the line where below that the post office is ok, and over it's normally cheaper to use a courier/parcel2go etc.

Ian

bi22le - 9/12/13 at 07:12 PM

Supprised to hear any positive stuff about royal mail.

I am an outspoken RM hater, Ill argue my case with anyone.

I use parcelmonkey.

Their basic charge is 7.99 IIRC which covers quite a large object and heavy weight. They will collect from you for no additional charge. I just take the item to work and leave it with my workshop so they deal with it.

I understand RM will be best for smaller or lighter objects, they have their uses. I work and have no time for queuing.

Proby - 9/12/13 at 07:39 PM

MyHermes is great as long as its nothing breakable. The wife sends 12-20 parcels a day through MyHermes for her business, but after a couple of incidents of damage, we are very very careful of what gets sent with them.

Royal Mail gets used for some SMALL class parcels, as its cheaper (£3).

Peteff - 9/12/13 at 07:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Proby
MyHermes is great as long as its nothing breakable.


They managed to mangle my spraygun so it doesn't have to be that fragile Also it arrived at 18.30hrs delivered by a bloke in a Daewoo Matiz so don't send anything you want delivered in work hours.

[Edited on 9/12/13 by Peteff]

mark chandler - 9/12/13 at 07:56 PM

Post office is cheap if it will fit in the letter box, larger and use a carrier

Scuzzle - 9/12/13 at 08:15 PM

MyHermes or Collect+ are two of the cheapest around. The Royal Mail are always shooting themselves in the foot, they go on strike and businesses and individuals use other couriers, find out it's cheaper and easier and never go back.

The parcel pricing at the Post Office is crazy, I sent a speedo head in a small box which never weighed much to the USA for £3.50 yet a cylinder head gasket in a flat packet that weighs nothing either was £7 to a UK lowlands address.

FASTdan - 10/12/13 at 08:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Oddified
quote:
Originally posted by FASTdan
The only time I use couriers at the moment is overseas above 2kg.


Agreed, but even for the uk 2kg seems to be the line where below that the post office is ok, and over it's normally cheaper to use a courier/parcel2go etc.

Ian


Over 2kg I change to using parcelforce via the paypal application - there is quite a significant discount here for some reason (without this it would definitely be expensive). Costs me about £17 to send 5-7kg boxes insured up to £300. Its a little more pricey than PM (cost around £14 with insurances and VAT on here) but because Im dropping at the post office every day it is more convenient than waiting for a courier (ties me down, cant go out to collect things etc) or going to another drop off location.

I will also say I would never ever ever recommend P2G - I had the most horrific customer support case ever with them. They are nothing short of useless. PM seem good - very on the ball with support.

In regard to queuing at the PO - the drop and go card eliminates that. I'm in and out in a minute.

[Edited on 10/12/13 by FASTdan]