Postal Deliveries and Model Shops

[Widnes Model Centre]

 

As I anxiously press "Refresh" on orders we have posted out via Royal Mail. I see many reports on here of rapid delivery, is this possibly Regionalised?

 

In an attempt to try and sustain our business we have tried a small amount of mail orders. We are still very mindful of the need to help prevent the spread of this terrible disease but are trying to make a very slow return to some sort of service. We are certainly not fully operational. In our shop which is in a town centre the couriers aren't delivering. The shop mail isn't being delivered, our local, brilliant postie is bringing it to our house on a very infrequent  delivery service. The Post Office is open 9-1pm with very long queues. My wife queued for an hour yesterday to post a couple of parcels. In an attempt to ease the queue the new postmaster came out to the people waiting 2 metres or more apart as they should be. He then went up to them and took the parcels off them to save them holding them!! Any closer would have meant a proposal of marriage!

 

A friend of ours helped us out with some stock, thank you Mike at C and M Models, Carlisle, open for mail order himself, he can be contacted on 01228514689. Excuse the plug but he deserves it for helping a fellow trader out . We needed the items to fulfill an order. He sent me a parcel and paid for Royal Mail Special Delivery guaranteed by 9am. Knowing that we needed them the next day. Royal Mail guarantee that this service will deliver before midday. The track duly arrived and we were able thanks to Mike, to fulfill our order. The cost of sending a pack of standard Peco N Gauge track, yes just one pack was £22.89p. That is a pack of standard straights, not a box of flexi track.

 

My admiration goes out to any shop that is working and doing Mail Order at these most difficult of times. Well done to those shops.

 

Please be nice. As we have found out they are wholly reliant on the variable postal deliveries for your parcel to reach you.

[Alex TM]

Hi folks,

 

"I see many reports on here of rapid delivery, is this possibly Regionalised?"

 

The Royal Mail here in Edinburgh and elsewhere have been great.  A parcel from Merseyside delivered overnight, rural Yorkshire in two days, Isle of Wight in three.  It looks like regular mail seems to be taking around a day longer than normal.  Considering the challenges they face I reckon they are doing a fantastic job. 

 

In the last couple of years I have become a regular customer of C&M, and Mike has always been a great help either in person or ordering over the phone.  I should have been visiting the Widnes Model Centre next week, but ......

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[CUCKOO LINE]

So far here in Wiltshire Royal mail here working well, tracked parcels at most 1 day extra. Other Couriers whizzing around local almost non-stop. Recent DPD and Yodel been quicker than forecast on their apps!

Edited April 28, 2020 by CUCKOO LINE

[Kris]

Down here in Cornwall Royal Mail has if anything been better than normal. Hermes has taken a turn for the worse (previously they were very good). DPD are the still okay. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

Here in Glossop RM is a bit hit and miss but most things arriving on expected day albeit up to five hours later than normal. DPD running in front of app estimates, PF no estimate then turns up, DHL managed to deliver a parcel they said they never received a day earlier than promised. 

Bought models and kits from four  smaller suppliers recently, all excellent service including one where I expected to pay delivery and got free DPD next day.

[Wicor-Models]

28 minutes ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

As I anxiously press "Refresh" on orders we have posted out via Royal Mail. I see many reports on here of rapid delivery, is this possibly Regionalised?

 

In an attempt to try and sustain our business we have tried a small amount of mail orders. We are still very mindful of the need to help prevent the spread of this terrible disease but are trying to make a very slow return to some sort of service. We are certainly not fully operational. In our shop which is in a town centre the couriers aren't delivering. The shop mail isn't being delivered, our local, brilliant postie is bringing it to our house on a very infrequent  delivery service. The Post Office is open 9-1pm with very long queues. My wife queued for an hour yesterday to post a couple of parcels. In an attempt to ease the queue the new postmaster came out to the people waiting 2 metres or more apart as they should be. He then went up to them and took the parcels off them to save them holding them!! Any closer would have meant a proposal of marriage!

 

A friend of ours helped us out with some stock, thank you Mike at C and M Models, Carlisle, open for mail order himself, he can be contacted on 01228514689. Excuse the plug but he deserves it for helping a fellow trader out . We needed the items to fulfill an order. He sent me a parcel and paid for Royal Mail Special Delivery guaranteed by 9am. Knowing that we needed them the next day. Royal Mail guarantee that this service will deliver before midday. The track duly arrived and we were able thanks to Mike, to fulfill our order. The cost of sending a pack of standard Peco N Gauge track, yes just one pack was £22.89p. That is a pack of standard straights, not a box of flexi track.

 

My admiration goes out to any shop that is working and doing Mail Order at these most difficult of times. Well done to those shops.

 

Please be nice. As we have found out they are wholly reliant on the variable postal deliveries for your parcel to reach you.

Like you we are trying a limited return to mail order but I'm worried about despatch as our local Post Office too has limited opening hours and normally a lengthy queue.  Mail is still being delivered here but it seems to be sporadic.  Like you I wonder at how some of the shops are coping with their mail orders. All the best to you, stay safe and good luck!

[G-DIMB]

Have you thought of drop and go? Its what my wife uses through a much smaller post office (the crown ones are much much busier) and we never have to wait. Or you can do collect from your door, it will cost versus drop and go but again reduces contact further.

 

I have to say round this way (South Bristol) deliveries are fine from royal mail or DPD (i always use them as quite frankly they are easily the best out there given you get hour delivery slots and full driver tracking). Even 2nd class seems to be getting through fairly quickly even next day in many cases. I suppose however in the middle of cities the situation may be different.

 

[Widnes Model Centre]

6 minutes ago, G-DIMB said:

Have you thought of drop and go? Its what my wife uses through a much smaller post office (the crown ones are much much busier) and we never have to wait. Or you can do collect from your door, it will cost versus drop and go but again reduces contact further.

 

I have to say round this way (South Bristol) deliveries are fine from royal mail or DPD (i always use them as quite frankly they are easily the best out there given you get hour delivery slots and full driver tracking). Even 2nd class seems to be getting through fairly quickly even next day in many cases. I suppose however in the middle of cities the situation may be different.

 

 

Thank you. The local Post Office having checked, does show as having this service. I shall make some enquires tomorrow. Knowing the layout, l suspect we would still have to queue in order to drop and go.  The counter is at the far end of a very narrow but very long shop. Crown Post Office closed about five years ago.

[Ryde-on-time]

Royal Mail post to where I work, from the Leighton Buzzard sorting office, doesn't seem to be suffering any delays. (Also no issues sending or receiving by any of the couriers)

 

Post to home from one of the large sorting offices in Milton Keynes is very delayed. The recent issue of Garden Rail magazine reached me a week after it was available in the shops, usually I receive it a week before. Other letters and bills are similarly late

 

I therefore think problems are localized with some offices suffering with staff shortages

[John M Upton]

Down here in Sussex, some post is taking a week or more to get here and deliveries have started to get only on alternate days as well.

 

Noticeably, Royal Mail online postage labels that used to have a post by the end of date of the next day on them now give you over a week after paying and printing to get it either in a post box or handed into the post office. 

[G-DIMB]

45 minutes ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

Thank you. The local Post Office having checked, does show as having this service. I shall make some enquires tomorrow. Knowing the layout, l suspect we would still have to queue in order to drop and go.  The counter is at the far end of a very narrow but very long shop. Crown Post Office closed about five years ago.

It depends. Ours let us by pass the queue and take them direct to the drop off door and someone takes it from there. But i think it depends upon your local postmaster and how they work.

[Chris M]

I've had quite a few things delivered over the last week or two. Everything seems to be running very well indeed. 

[meatloaf]

1 hour ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

Thank you. The local Post Office having checked, does show as having this service. I shall make some enquires tomorrow. Knowing the layout, l suspect we would still have to queue in order to drop and go.  The counter is at the far end of a very narrow but very long shop. Crown Post Office closed about five years ago.

Hi mate i work in a post office with drop and go you just leave the parcels and go. You don't need to queue as it defeats the object. We then process them when we get chance between customers. Youll have an online account and all your tracking number appear online for you.

 

What was the weight of your track you sent? Was it in a normal parcel size?

 

 

[Colin_McLeod]

Post in Ireland is more or less normal service.  Items arrive on the normal day but can be an hour or two later than normal time as An Post have staggered the shifts to reduce the number of staff at their depots at any onen time.

[Phil Parker]

1 hour ago, Ryde-on-time said:

The recent issue of Garden Rail magazine reached me a week after it was available in the shops,

 

I think mine beat yours by about 2 days then. BRM was about the same so I suspects it's a local issue since (I assume) Warners don't walk down to the Post Office with subscription copies.

 

Post around here seems OK, perhaps a little slower than normal although a couple of things winging their way from the Isle of Man seemed as fast as ever.

 

Also had a 24-hour parcel picked up from home and delivered on time by DHL last week. No problems there.

[Widnes Model Centre]

20 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

Hi mate i work in a post office with drop and go you just leave the parcels and go. You don't need to queue as it defeats the object. We then process them when we get chance between customers. Youll have an online account and all your tracking number appear online for you.

 

What was the weight of your track you sent? Was it in a normal parcel size?

 

 

That’s good to know and very useful. Only once had to send anything that wasn’t a normal size. Quote we got from Royal Mail, drove to Staffordshire with it as it saved us money. These parcels yesterday  were both around 0.5 kilograms. 

Cheers

Barry

[NINJA]

Over the last week I have purchased a couple of diesels from Mike at C&M by mail order, living in Cumbria they have arrived next day.

 

[andrew575]

Over the last few years the Post Office around here (North Derbyshire) has expanded it's opening hours by having more small newsagents/shops take on the role. I notice that there is a Post Office at Farnworth (100 Derby Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 9LQ) which offers opening hours of 7am to 8pm, seven days a week. Their hours may be reduced at present (our village Post Office is usually 7am to 9pm - but now shuts at 6pm), but the chances are that they are open much longer than the town centre one. I don't know your area - but it may be worth checking them out.

[Colin_McLeod]

An Post here are collecting letters and parcels from the sender's house if you are elderly or in isolation.

[Widnes Model Centre]

1 hour ago, andrew575 said:

Over the last few years the Post Office around here (North Derbyshire) has expanded it's opening hours by having more small newsagents/shops take on the role. I notice that there is a Post Office at Farnworth (100 Derby Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 9LQ) which offers opening hours of 7am to 8pm, seven days a week. Their hours may be reduced at present (our village Post Office is usually 7am to 9pm - but now shuts at 6pm), but the chances are that they are open much longer than the town centre one. I don't know your area - but it may be worth checking them out.

 

 

The one at Farnworth is very close it is inside a general store. Will check it out thank you Andrew.

[spikey]

In our neck of the woods (inland East Sussex), Royal Mail seems to be slowly going from bad to worse, but amazingly Herpes is getting  better!  I had a loco sent via them from Manchester Saturday morning got here yesterday (Monday) early afternoon,  DPD also seems to be still running as normal, as does Parcel Farce.

[newbryford]

Some stuff is quick, some is slow.

Items posted before others, arrive after them.

There does not appear to be any regional or distance pattern to it.

 

We send quite a bit out from work - mostly under the RM48 banner and a reasonable amount arrives in the two days, most within 3, although some has taken a week (so in reality, 5 working days).

 

Under the current situation, I think we can all be thankful (and grateful) that Royal Mail - and other courier/delivery systems - are even operating at all.

 

So if anyone sends me an email at work asking where their package is (4 days after it was posted on a Friday), is likely to will get a terse reply.

 

Note - Royal Mail have just suspended Saturday deliveries

 

 

 

 

[mdvle]

Be grateful - Canada Post is taking 5 to 10 business days to make parcel deliveries with a book I ordered taking the full 10 days to get delivered a distance of 8km.  Though they say they are delivery a Christmas level of parcels with the social distancing making efficient operation impossible.

[CUCKOO LINE]

re Royal Mail seems to suggest letter delivery on Saturday suspended but no mention of parcel deliveries which come round seperately

[John Harris]

9 minutes ago, CUCKOO LINE said:

re Royal Mail seems to suggest letter delivery on Saturday suspended but no mention of parcel deliveries which come round seperately

 

The report on the BBC this morning suggested no letters on Saturdays, but parcels "as normal".

 

jh