Courier delivery times / Royal Mail / eBay seller reputation

[newbryford]

I explicitly request sellers NOT to use Royal Mail, and have given neutral feedback sometimes when they have.

 

Royal Mail are a great way of delivering your parcel. To the back of an interminable queue in an anonymous warehouse at least an hour's round trip from home.

 

At least locally here in Croydon, Royal Mail seem to determined to leave as many "We called" cards as possible. All of the houses on my street have a purpose designed parcel cupboard beside the front door, and every other courier now seems happy to leave parcels in there. Or leave things with my neighbours, who on both sides are retired and very likely to be in, and willing to take in parcels.

 

Yet Royal Mail seem to refuse to either use the cupboard or the neighbours. The red "we called" cards are endless. And since the privatisation the Royal Mail have closed their conveniently placed sorting office next to the station (still hasn't been redeveloped though) and moved it to what must be the least accessible location in the borough, between the council tip and the Tesco "dark store".

 

As I work, and often have things planned on Saturdays, it is exceptionally difficult for me to use the rearrange delivery option, as you can't get any more specific on times. Redeliver to neighbour is also problematic as you have to nominate a specific neighbour, which just moves the waiting around problem on to them.

 

As I understand it most couriers give their drivers a financial incentive to make the delivery and avoid re-tries. I have no shortage of safe spaces I'm happy for parcels to be left in, so this works for me. I have a feeling that Royal Mail works the other way around - "correct" is more important than prompt.

 

Royal Mail has changed so much since privatisation I find it's just more hassle than it's worth.

 

Justin

 

As much as Royal Mail may be an inconvenience to you - leaving calling cards etc,

Using other methods of delivery may be an inconvenience to the seller.

 

Basically, there is no 100% perfect guaranteed way to send or receive parcels whichever carrier you use.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[hayfield]

Nejee20

 

Firstly I would be glad not to buy from you, as I have said if someone says they cannot send goods out straight away that's fine. The seller in this case acted exceedingly quickly, it was the delivery company, who from both my previous experience and that of posters on earlier threads have previously complained of. The company have also apologised to me, admitting to failing in this instance.

 

As for the global shipping program, I agree with the many comments on previous posts of it being poor value to buyers. unlike your reply (unless I have misunderstood it) I feel a duty to my buyers in giving them a prompt, value for money service, recently I even subsidised by a couple of £'s the postage of a whitemetal kit to Australia. If it gets lost then I am happy to claim via the Royal Mail insurance system. My dad gave me some good advice, treat others as you would want to be treated.

 

However remember most buyers work out the value of the item, subtract the P&P cost to arrive at their maximum bid. You are shooting yourself in the foot by using this expensive system for those who use this system 

 

With regard to the Royal Mail, looking back at the old state run post offices, especially the larger ones, the service offered now is far superior. My local one is open to 9 pm weekdays, 8 pm on saturdays and Sundays 10 till 4. The staff are not only very helpful but exceptionally friendly

 

My postie delivered post every day during the bad weather, and this morning I received a loco posted Saturday 1st class. Back to the bad old union controlled days never, The Royal Mail has never been so good

Edited March 13, 2018 by hayfield

[hayfield]

Who are you referring to - me?

 

Mick

 

No the previous poster Nejee20 as you did, I sure you are a real gent to deal with. I forgot to use the reply link so edited it with his name at the same time you posted

Edited March 13, 2018 by hayfield

[Andy Hayter]

 

I don't understand why any buyer would opt out of the Global Shipping Programme on eBay, I think it's great. Less good as a buyer, but that's not my issue. You send the item to Staffordshire whereby it's counted as "delivered", any problem which happens downstream of that is entirely taken by eBay. So no chance of scamming, or "it's not been delivered", or "it doesn't work" or anything of that ilk. Great! If a seller emailed me and asked to circumvent it I probably wouldn't sell to them, shipping charges are often excessive anyway, would depend on the item. I did have one chap in Germany who bought 5 different lots, and I contacted him to say that if he was buying more than we'd do it outside of the GSP to save him money. He declined, and was happy with the higher unit cost. Not sure why admittedly!

 

I think you are kidding yourself - at least in respect of deliveries to France.

 

Delivery is made by La Poste (the equivalent of Royal Mail).  No signature is required and there is no tracking bar code for La Poste to scan to confirm delivery back to PB and Ebay.

If I were not honest I could easily claim no delivery.  The only comfort you have is that you have confirmation of receipt from Ebay and it is their problem.  But you do impose higher costs on the buyer and that means that I will bid less as a maximum for the item.  That has no impact if I win, but how many times have I missed by £2 because my maximum bid was reduced because of the high shipping costs, and even if I still did not win, I could have pushed another bidder up.

[njee20]

You misunderstand - from a seller's perspective, if it's sold through the GSP it is 'delivered' once eBay receive it to their warehouse in Staffordshire. Basically any risk from there on is borne by them. So as a seller it makes no odds to me if La Poste use it to play football, run over it, then lob it onto your roof. eBay will refund you, but they won't claim from the seller. It counts as a successful and on time delivery for me.

 

Justin

 

Firstly I would be glad not to buy from you, as I have said if someone says they cannot send goods out straight away that's fine. The seller in this case acted exceedingly quickly, it was the delivery company, who from both my previous experience and that of posters on earlier threads have previously complained of. The company have also apologised to me, admitting to failing in this instance.

 

As for the global shipping program, I agree with the many comments on previous posts of it being poor value to buyers. unlike your reply (unless I have misunderstood it) I feel a duty to my buyers in giving them a prompt, value for money service, recently I even subsidised by a couple of £'s the postage of a whitemetal kit to Australia. If it gets lost then I am happy to claim via the Royal Mail insurance system. My dad gave me some good advice, treat others as you would want to be treated.

I think you probably aimed that at me, not Justin. I'm not Justin.

 

If people ask then I'll consider shipping abroad, I've done it before plenty of times, but I'm certainly not exposing myself to more risk and the faff of the vagaries of hugely varying postal charges depending on the country (I have far less issue with continental Europe I'll admit) just for the sake of it. Years ago, before the GSP I sold a bicycle frame to someone in the Canary Islands. It pre-dated My Hermes etc, and options were more limited, but I know a domestic courier would be £20. To ship to the Canary Islands was £250. These days eBay would have provided a quote on the auction to Mr Canary Islands, I'd have had to ship it to Staffordshire and we'd be away.

[Guest]

I think this thread has lost it's way, so I'll reach for the "Ignore" button now. I get that John likes the Royal Mail and others don't and that's just fine. Also, as I don't care too much about a little "dent" to my ebay seller reputation, the message in the OP was somewhat lost on me. Incidentally, when leaving feedback on ebay, I will happily  say yes to the "Did the item arrive on time" prompt, I'll write a few words of positive feedback but then I never, ever bother with those star ratings - they're not compulsory. It's a bit like buying a food mixer from Argos, going online to give it a star rating and then wax lyrical about how great it is and how easy it is to use... some folk just don't have anything better to do. I guess the moral is that we each have our way of doing things, just as we each have our preference for dispatching items. I don't think there is any "right" or "wrong" way.

[hayfield]

You misunderstand - from a seller's perspective, if it's sold through the GSP it is 'delivered' once eBay receive it to their warehouse in Staffordshire. Basically any risk from there on is borne by them. So as a seller it makes no odds to me if La Poste use it to play football, run over it, then lob it onto your roof. eBay will refund you, but they won't claim from the seller. It counts as a successful and on time delivery for me.

 

I think you probably aimed that at me, not Justin. I'm not Justin.

 

If people ask then I'll consider shipping abroad, I've done it before plenty of times, but I'm certainly not exposing myself to more risk and the faff of the vagaries of hugely varying postal charges depending on the country (I have far less issue with continental Europe I'll admit) just for the sake of it. Years ago, before the GSP I sold a bicycle frame to someone in the Canary Islands. It pre-dated My Hermes etc, and options were more limited, but I know a domestic courier would be £20. To ship to the Canary Islands was £250. These days eBay would have provided a quote on the auction to Mr Canary Islands, I'd have had to ship it to Staffordshire and we'd be away.

 

Njee20 & Pete73

 

Sorry for the senior moment with the names.

 

In my opinion the shipping program offers awful value to the end user, with lost/ broken cases I think I have suffered 2 or 3 not delivered in 16 years, all UK and was surprised how easy the process was with the Royal Mail.  As for customer honesty, I must say railway modellers seem to be on the whole a really honest bunch, the items I sell/buy are at the more specialist end, and in the most items at the lower end, which I guess leaves very little room for a crook to make money

 

Is it really worth it taking the supposed easy way out with overseas buyers, you biggest loss is the reduction in interest for your items which potentially results in lower value sales. On the rare occasions I accidentally omit overseas selling I tend to get messages requesting this facility, also reading some posts on here the frustration some fellow modellers have buying goods from some eBay sellers and UK retailers who will not post abroad. I have found them great customers and anyone who bumps up the price is fine with me.  I must admit I would never consider sending a bike through the post within the UK let alone abroad. Railway modelling tends to lend its self to selling on eBay through the post, though small packet costs rose a few years back quite a lot.

 

The feedback system does form a useful purpose, as I said before unless I am spending £100+ never check up a buyers status. Again as with the comments the star rating is more in thanking a seller for the service given, have no issues in eBayers opting out of this or commenting if they wish. I have been in sales all my working life, including selling the Evening Standard as an 11 year old. I have had a life time of looking for edges to assist the selling process.

 

The way I post items being one of the variables I can control to some extent, 1/ pack the items well, 2/ control costs where possible, 3/ Dispatch ASAP 4/ Chose the appropriate carrier. I have 5 favorite sellers who I watch, likewise I seem to have a few buyers who keep buying my items 

[Sir TophamHatt]

I explicitly request sellers NOT to use Royal Mail, and have given neutral feedback sometimes when they have.

A little harsh no?

If the seller posts with Royal Mail, either ask them to change or don't buy from them. After all, it's their choice what couier they use, not your right to demand a specific one (or not in this case).

[njee20]

There are a lot of over entitled buyers, certainly...

 

 

Is it really worth it taking the supposed easy way out with overseas buyers, you biggest loss is the reduction in interest for your items which potentially results in lower value sales. On the rare occasions I accidentally omit overseas selling I tend to get messages requesting this facility, also reading some posts on here the frustration some fellow modellers have buying goods from some eBay sellers and UK retailers who will not post abroad. I have found them great customers and anyone who bumps up the price is fine with me.  I must admit I would never consider sending a bike through the post within the UK let alone abroad. Railway modelling tends to lend its self to selling on eBay through the post, though small packet costs rose a few years back quite a lot.

These days I overwhelmingly sell via fix priced sales, so a reduction in interest is moot, stuff sells or it doesn't.

 

I always offer free (domestic) postage, but even if I didn't, I would 'group' multiple items as I hate that it's a minimum of £3.90 for 2nd class signed for for a boxed N gauge item, IMO a single wagon (for example) isn't worth selling that way, the postage cost is just disproportionate, whoever bears it. Clearly this effect is even more pronounced on GSP items, where a buyer may see £15+ postage on a low value item. I very rarely sell anything below £50, above which point the cost to send properly tracked and insured items abroad rises significantly, whilst with GSP sales it simply becomes a smaller percentage of the purchase price, being largely flat rated.

 

I'm happy limiting my market by not independently shipping low value items abroad, if a buyer doesn't want to buy through the GSP they can contact me (I can't remember the last time it happened), or they can pay eBay's rates. YMMV.

[Torper]

I really can't see what all the fuss is about - I suppose it's all part of today's "I want it and I want it now" culture. When I buy from ebay and it's stated that it'll be sent Economy Delivery I accept that it may take the best part of a week though it's usually a bit quicker. If I want it urgently I'll usually pay the extra for express delivery and then I do expect to receive the goods ñext day. Life really is too short and there's far too much left to do to spend precious time writing to CEOs because an economy delivery has taken a day or two longer to arrive than had been hoped.

 

DT (actually waiting for an express delivery that had better arrive today!)

[woodenhead]

Anyone experience of using Collect Plus - I was going to use Royal Mail but a parcel tipped over 2Kg, there is a dispatch office near to me for Collect Plus.

 

Or can I use E-Bay shutl after completing a sale?

[Crosland]

I pick letters up from one Royal Mail sorting office, Parcel Force from a Post Office... all just a mess!

 

For a small fee, Parcel farce will deliver to your local PO for collection. Or at least they used to.

[hayfield]

I really can't see what all the fuss is about - I suppose it's all part of today's "I want it and I want it now" culture. When I buy from ebay and it's stated that it'll be sent Economy Delivery I accept that it may take the best part of a week though it's usually a bit quicker. If I want it urgently I'll usually pay the extra for express delivery and then I do expect to receive the goods ñext day. Life really is too short and there's far too much left to do to spend precious time writing to CEOs because an economy delivery has taken a day or two longer to arrive than had been hoped.

 

DT (actually waiting for an express delivery that had better arrive today!)

 

Torper

 

The thread is actually aimed at sellers and getting them to look at ways of improving their service standards to their customers, NOT at buyers saying I want it now !! To be fair to the courier they agreed with me that the service I received fell far below the standards THEY expect to provide, trouble is it seems this substandard service is the norm and unless the senior management is aware, how will it be fixed ?

 

I have just had a pleasant email from a buyer who received an item this morning, the other side of the country for something paid for on Sunday, second time they bought from me in the last 2-3 weeks and paid what others charge for economy delivery. 

 

So rather than go on about I want it now, its how to give excellent service to customers at reasonable rates, something I would have thought matches your own ideals

[royaloak]

I sold 2 items when this system was introduced as I was unaware it was a default option. First thing I do is to turn this and click and connect off

Why do you turn click and collect off, for some of us who work odd shifts and nights it is very useful.

[Torper]

To be fair to the courier they agreed with me that the service I received fell far below the standards THEY expect to provide, trouble is it seems this substandard service is the norm and unless the senior management is aware, how will it be fixed ? 

..........So rather than go on about I want it now, its how to give excellent service to customers at reasonable rates, something I would have thought matches your own ideals

 

Maybe I'm lucky but substandard service from couriers, or indeed RM, certainly isn't the norm where I live.  It's rare for something not to turn up when it should and if it doesn't there's usually a good reason for it.  In fact only two stick in my mond, a couple of Amazon orders that took longer than they should, but even although it was only a couple of days I was duly compensated by Amazon. (Mind you, that express delivery I'm expecting today still hasn't turned up.....)

 

As for the service I give my customers, I state quite clearly on my website that I do not offer a by-return service and that at busy times delivery may take up to 14 days, basically because we don't carry stock and make all orders up individually when they come in.  I find that as long as people know that they don't complain.  As for P&P, we charge no more than the postage rate.  Mind you, in my view the prices advertised by any company that only sells by mail order, ie where there is no other way for the customer to get the goods, should by law be required to include postage in its advertised prices.  All too often you see mail order companies advertising something at what seems a cheap price only to find a rather pricey compulsory P&P in small print at the bottom of the page.

 

DT

Edited March 13, 2018 by Torper

[hayfield]

Simple answer is I do not understand how it works. Having said this I am always open to alternative arrangements of delivery if requested by the customer. Happy to oblige where I can on customer delivery requests, but have become wary of anything where eBay can charge the buyer extra for. The worst example being the additional charges for the Global Shipping scheme

[hayfield]

Maybe I'm lucky but substandard service from couriers, or indeed RM, certainly isn't the norm where I live.  It's rare for something not to turn up when it should and if it doesn't there's usually a good reason for it.  In fact only two stick in my mond, a couple of Amazon orders that took longer than they should, but even although it was only a couple of days I was duly compensated by Amazon. (Mind you, that express delivery I'm expecting today still hasn't turned up.....)

 

As for the service I give my customers, I state quite clearly on my website that I do not offer a by-return service and that at busy times delivery may take up to 14 days, basically because we don't carry stock and make all orders up individually when they come in.  I find that as long as people know that they don't complain.  As for P&P, we charge no more than the postage rate.  Mind you, in my view the prices advertised by any company that only sells by mail order, ie where there is no other way for the customer to get the goods, should by law be required to include postage in its advertised prices.  All too often you see mail order companies advertising something at what seems a cheap price only to find a rather pricey compulsory P&P in small print at the bottom of the page.

 

DT

 

 

I do remember Kenton saying where he lives the  local Hermes courier offers far better service than the Royal Mail, which in his opinion was below par. But reading others threads this was the exception, as I said yesterday I won a loco with a bid on Friday night, seller posted Saturday morning 1st class, on my doorstep Monday morning.

 

As for extended periods prior to posting, if its stated on the listing/web page, that's fine with me.

 

As for P&P charges, I take an overall view of the total cost and bid/decide to buy where appropriate. Like you what's the bottom line

 

Question is when sending an item out to a customer and you have two choices

1 Cheaper price and quicker delivery

2 Dearer price and slower delivery

Which one do you choose ?

[njee20]

It's not that simple though, is it? If the buyer is outside the EU you've got to factor in customs charges, plus any additional fees.

I nearly bought a model from Japan last week, would have been £130, GSP shipping was £17. It may not have been quick, but you know there are no further charges to come. Yes, ok, maybe the seller would have shipped it for £10, but if I then had a bill for £25 on arrival it's pretty moot.

[hayfield]

Trouble is from what I understand you cannot exclude some areas from GSP, and the vast bulk of my international orders are from Europe, which is tariff free  

[royaloak]

Simple answer is I do not understand how it works. Having said this I am always open to alternative arrangements of delivery if requested by the customer. Happy to oblige where I can on customer delivery requests, but have become wary of anything where eBay can charge the buyer extra for. The worst example being the additional charges for the Global Shipping scheme

Basically it gets sent to the requested Argos store, they email/text me to say it has arrived there and I go and collect it at my convenience after I have woke up. rather than be woke up after only a few hours sleep by the courier delivering it at a 'normal' time, unfortunately for me 'normal' times is effectively the middle of the night when I am on nights.

[njee20]

Trouble is from what I understand you cannot exclude some areas from GSP, and the vast bulk of my international orders are from Europe, which is tariff free  

 

Fair enough, mine aren't - mainly US and Japan. A buyer from Europe can ask you to circumvent the GSP, but a buyer from the US can't ask for inclusion. So despite shouting about fairness to the buyer you're actually the one limiting your audience. Even more so with Click & Collect. Why not spend 5 seconds on Google (explanation here) rather than flatly dismiss it because you don't know what it is, then harp on about doing right by the buyer...

[hayfield]

 

Fair enough, mine aren't - mainly US and Japan. A buyer from Europe can ask you to circumvent the GSP, but a buyer from the US can't ask for inclusion. So despite shouting about fairness to the buyer you're actually the one limiting your audience. Even more so with Click & Collect. Why not spend 5 seconds on Google (explanation here) rather than flatly dismiss it because you don't know what it is, then harp on about doing right by the buyer...

 

No one has ever asked for this service, if they did I am certain something could be arranged, as I said happy to entertain most reasonable requests. Happy to be flexible unlike some

 

What happens if the item is lost/misplaced/ disappeared in store. Found nothing in what you sent or my search on eBay which mentions any protection offered to the seller for lost items, money returned to the buyer. I obtain proof of postage/ recorded delivery and its down to the Royal Mail to sort out. Royal Mail gets a signature, what happens after that if the item goes astray ?

[hayfield]

Njee20

 

This may interest you about problems in using click and collect from eBay's own community page

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Seller-Central/Click-amp-Collect-PROBLEMS/td-p/4076723

 

Quote from a click and collect user  "Anything that involves a collaboration between eBay and Argos was doomed from day one"

 

And another one "eBay contacted me to let me know that many of the items are not arriving, and that I'm doing something wrong. I let them know that I've sold thousands of items with no issues until the C&C items."

Edited March 13, 2018 by hayfield

[njee20]

The person in that link was sending parcels to the wrong address. So... yes, it seems he was doing something wrong. I'm not fussed about Click & Collect, I'm just observing you're preaching about fairness to the buyer whilst unilaterally removing an option available to them which they may want. Come to think of it I've used it as a buyer once, it worked very well. I don't work for eBay, so I've got no idea about your questions about what happens if... but that's a daft strawman. What if Argos burns down with your parcel in it!?

 

You started a thread lambasting people for not using your choice of courier (and indeed the courier themselves) and are praising how fair and equal you are? Surely you can see the hypocrisy there? You've essentially accused me of ripping people off by using the GSP, just because you don't understand it and/or it doesn't suit the people who buy your products. Which itself is probably chicken and egg. Maybe you'd sell to those further afield if you offered it. Maybe I'd sell more to people in Europe if I removed it, point is I have acted from a position of information, you've again unilaterally decided what's better for buyers, then you're telling other people.

[hayfield]

The person in that link was sending parcels to the wrong address. So... yes, it seems he was doing something wrong. I'm not fussed about Click & Collect, I'm just observing you're preaching about fairness to the buyer whilst unilaterally removing an option available to them which they may want. Come to think of it I've used it as a buyer once, it worked very well. I don't work for eBay, so I've got no idea about your questions about what happens if... but that's a daft strawman. What if Argos burns down with your parcel in it!?

 

You started a thread lambasting people for not using your choice of courier (and indeed the courier themselves) and are praising how fair and equal you are? Surely you can see the hypocrisy there? You've essentially accused me of ripping people off by using the GSP, just because you don't understand it and/or it doesn't suit the people who buy your products. Which itself is probably chicken and egg. Maybe you'd sell to those further afield if you offered it. Maybe I'd sell more to people in Europe if I removed it, point is I have acted from a position of information, you've again unilaterally decided what's better for buyers, then you're telling other people.

 

 

Before commenting on my attitude as a seller, here is what you wrote

 

I think it's great. Less good as a buyer, but that's not my issue. Your words if I am not mistaken so I am not accusing you of anything!!

 

I take a different view, whats best for the buyer, me increasing the postage rate by 70% for Airmail or eBay increasing it by 400% . Unlike your reply I think it is my issue, slightly more hassle for me, but far better for the customer.

 

Before lecturing others on ethics make sure you do not shoot yourself in the foot. 

 

I do agree with you click and collect can be a very useful facility, not one which I have been asked to provide though.

 

I ask a second time, given all things are equal which one would you choose

 

1 Cheaper price and quicker delivery

2 Dearer price and slower delivery

 

However if other circumstances arise then an alternative delivery system may be more suitable