Ebay and postage

[Steve Randles]

I'm advertising a few items on Ebay tonight, I have sorted most of it out but I am unsure what to put as the postage rates.

 

Is there a standard ie, use DHL or something?

 

I'm selling a guitar so its quite heavy and would probably need insurance on it too. Do I just advertise it UK or worldwide..its all a bit new to me this ebay lark and I'm just looking for a little guidance..

[*Ant*]

A business carrier would charge you £6.95 for your guitar within the UK, you would also be able to track the package.

[Eddie]

Do a search and see what everybody else is charging for postage?

[Steve Burke]

Peggy and I just state "post and packing at cost". This then covers all countries.

 

As for insurance, we point out that that the Royal Mail offers a maximum of only £28 of cover for 1st and 2nd class post. (In the small print it excludes breakage of china and glass, but they normally do pay out.) To get extra cover you can use Special Delivery or Parcel Post. See the useful booklet "All You Need To Know" available from your local Post Office.

 

Above 2kgs weight the cost jumps up with Royal Mail. We then use Initial City Link, whom we have a contract with and so get a competitive rate from. This rate includes full insurance and is negotiable, being based on the amount of expected business in a year. If you only do a few parcels a year expect to pay a lot more than the £6.95 Anthony quoted - and don't forget to add VAT.

 

Finally, make sure that any buyer pays all of your bank charges. Cashing cheques drawn on overseas banks can be expensive. Peggy now accepts only PayPal from overseas buyers.

[jeepster]

i use royal mail special delivery for reels, line etc (about 5 or 6 quid per package) but anything bigger, i use my friends account with city link, which costs me £10 for up to 20kg. who would you use that charges £6.95 anthony??

[Steve Burke]

I'd add that we don't use Recorded Delivery, which costs 65p extra. Instead we get Proof of Posting, which is free on request and gives the same insurance cover. Likewise we always ask a seller to get Proof of Posting.

 

If a seller insists on Recorded Delivery, I refuse to bid. This is because I'm often asleep when the post arrives and don't appreciate getting woken up. Living in the sticks, if I don't hear the doorbell or I'm out, it then means a long trip into town, which by the time I've added in petrol etc has never been worth it. Having politely pointed this out, only once has a seller not been accomodating.

 

[ 04. May 2004, 05:37 PM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]

[*Ant*]

My partner works at an international company as head of the parcel dept and does all of the post. According to her they use "Parcelforce" for large parcels which is £6.95 that includes delivery to the Channel Islands and Ireland, and "Business Post" carriers who's prices range from £4.50 to £7.50 for large and heavy parcels and is an overnight and guarranteed service. They use Special delivery post for small parcels price ranges between £3.95 to £6.95.

She tells me that a guitar delivered by "Business Post" would cost £4.50 by overnight carrier.

[jeepster]

thats a good point steve, the trek to the post office for a missed parcel is always a pain. i only usually post special delivery because people usually want the package insured and as recorded delivery is only insured to £28 people seem happy to pay a fiver for special. i've never had to use the insurance though, the royal mail, despite recent criticism, seem pretty reliable to me.

[*Ant*]

She says she will try to find the price lists of Parcelforce and Business Post at work tomorrow.

[jeepster]

thats cos she works at an international company as head of the parcel dept!!!!! the prices for individuals are much more expensive, large companies get big discounts cos of the amount of parcels they shift. however, if we can forward parcels to you, i'm sure we can arrange a Small commission for you