DSF

Hi all,

Question regarding posting mugs outs etc... Do most of us on here use Royal Mail? Is there a cheaper alternative? I prefer to send signed for so you don't get the normal "I never received" story - But when RM want to charge £3.90 per mug... is there any point?

Anthony

We have to use Royal Mail, no other sensible alternative up here. We send everything first or second class but don't use signed for to keep down a little.

You might get a better deal with someone like MyHermes in your area? I see they do up to 1Kg with £20 insurance for £2.79 inc. vat just as an example. You have to watch that couriers will ensure ceramics though or you may find claims tricky.

Maybe someone else will have a better idea of options, mugs are a pain because of the weight!

Justin;129947 wrote:We have to use Royal Mail, no other sensible alternative up here. We send everything first or second class but don't use signed for to keep down a little.

You might get a better deal with someone like MyHermes in your area? I see they do up to 1Kg with £20 insurance for £2.79 inc. vat just as an example. You have to watch that couriers will ensure ceramics though or you may find claims tricky.

Maybe someone else will have a better idea of options, mugs are a pain because of the weight!

I think I’m going to have to revert back to normal postage without signed for and trust people... worse case scenario is you end up making a second mug and paying postage again... I’m sure 99% people will be honest but just a bit dubious.


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dj_doubler;129949 wrote:I think I’m going to have to revert back to normal postage without signed for and trust people... worse case scenario is you end up making a second mug and paying postage again... I’m sure 99% people will be honest but just a bit dubious.


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That's not my experience with ebay! I always send 'em signed for and always will.

webtrekker;129950 wrote:That's not my experience with ebay! I always send 'em signed for and always will.

Where do you squeeze profit then?

£1.50 to produce the mug and package
£3.90 Postage (2nd signed for)
£1 (minimum) for insertion/ final sale and PayPal fees

A rough estimate I know but gives a good idea... rough selling price to be competitive would be around £7-£10?

Yet some people I see on eBay sell for £4.99 free p&p... sod knows how lol





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I just use normal 2nd class postage now. I used to use signed for when I first set up but I had people complaining that they had to trapse miles to the sorting office and queue up if they were not at home or did not hear the post person.

I now just send normal post and rarely get a problem. I've sent 100's of mugs over the last couple of years from amazon and only had 2 INR claims and one of those appeared back to me as undeliverable.

The Royal Mail does have a very good delivery rate. With 2D delivery tracking now becoming more widespread on normal post then you can at least know if and when the parcel was delivered.

I don't know how they sell at that price either, but I'm doing ok at £8.99. They can take it or leave it for me as I'm retired now and not out for huge sales. For anyone at the budget end of the market the name of the game seems to be dirt cheap, warped, badly coated mugs, prints that don't last, smash-proof boxes that aren't smash-proof, and rubbish delivery companies like myHermes.

But hey, that's what the masses go for, so who am I to judge! I think you have to decide at the beginning which end of the market you want to tackle and price accordingly.

You do know that Royal Mail Small Parcels are tracked, and can be traced online? I didn't until a few weeks ago......

Anyway, when you buy form the post office, and they type in the postcode and address before printing the label. That code is then scanned by the posties through the system. The receipt you get, has the tracking number on it.

Was very handy when I recently had a 'you're a bad seller, my item hasn't arrived' email. Parcel sent as small parcel, 2nd class. Was going to scan the 'proof of postage' when I realised it said 'track online' on there. Quickly enter the number on the track and trace site, and the parcel is sat at the local office, with a failed delivery. Let the customer know, hour letter get a very sorry email, but they now have it.

No Need for recorded, unless you want a signature. We don't send hermes require signature, as its 80p extra!

The normal 2nd and 1st class parcels with royal Mail are not 'tracked' as such but do provide delivery confirmation. You can not follow the parcel through the system as with a tracked parcel.

As you say it does provide the ability to find out if the parcel has been delivered or waiting at the sorting office after a failed delivery. This would deal with 95% of claims.

However it is not recognised by Amazon as a confirmed delivery - but then again neither is signed for as far as Amazon is concerned, they want full tracking. Which basically means a myXemers parcel thrown over the hedge or hidden in a bin has a much better chance of being accepted as delivered by Amazon than the recipient saying hello to the postman and signing for delivery.

I believe that Ebay does accept the 2D delivery confirmation as evidence of delivery though.

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