Posting items, who best to use?

[boy"O"boy]

It’s very interesting this, I stay away from Royal Mail, because they’ve recently lost parcels for me a few times.

And evri has never lost a parcel for me ever,

Once bitten. Twice Shy.
If I'm buying, I actively discourage the seller to post Evri. - I'd rather pay the seller extra to make sure it actually gets to me.

Maybe it's regional dependant?

A friend of mine has a side line selling prints via Etsy etc... As he's regularly posting, he has a business account with Evri. Customers started complaining that their orders hadn't turned up. When he contacted them, he was told that they hadn't been able to deal with the backlog due to lack of drivers. He then asked 'Why would they continue to except orders if they knew they couldn't clear the backlog then?'
They couldn't answer.

Just putting it out there that my experience with Evri hasn't been good.

boy"O"boy

 

[mk one]

They all loose things.

I use RM, it has good compensation cover included, the reason the prices are a bit higher than other carriers, a good delivery network, and people you can actually talk to if something does go wrong.

 

[brocklanders023]

For UK Postcodes I use Royal Mail for smaller items and Parcel Force for larger items. Yes you can get cheaper, but not worth the risk.

Always use 2nd Class Signed For as a minimum and never had anything lost selling stuff on here or via eBay.

Always buy postage online and print out at home/work which means when I go the Post Office and the queue for the "Post Office" cashiers is crazy long, I can go straight to the "normal" till and the guys there can scan my parcels for me, then I walk past the long queue of people and drop the parcels on the counter while getting death stares from everyone...

This pretty much for me, up to around 1 meter but after that the price goes bonkers. For things, usually full bikes, that don't fit below the limit I use Paisley Freight as they were/are the cheapest and have not let me down.

 

[Mod-Master]

Once bitten. Twice Shy.
If I'm buying, I actively discourage the seller to post Evri. - I'd rather pay the seller extra to make sure it actually gets to me.

Maybe it's regional dependant?

A friend of mine has a side line selling prints via Etsy etc... As he's regularly posting, he has a business account with Evri. Customers started complaining that their orders hadn't turned up. When he contacted them, he was told that they hadn't been able to deal with the backlog due to lack of drivers. He then asked 'Why would they continue to except orders if they knew they couldn't clear the backlog then?'
They couldn't answer.

Just putting it out there that my experience with Evri hasn't been good.

boy"O"boy

It is regional dependent, sometimes, if you live in a rural area, the evri driver is lazy and will just skip over you for the closest next person.

I always use evri next day and always worked and delivers on time.

I use the print out at a parcel shop because it’s the best quality and not as inaccurate as printing it out at home.

 

[Tootyred]

We don't even have an evri driver in our area, too rural, nobody will take the rounds here....but still evri take the senders parcels! They dont turn up and i get my money back, seller gets a heap of hassle for 3 months, then gets there money back. Evri auctions pallets of the parcels.....con men.....they know they can't deliver, but still take parcels and money.....sorry, but not sure what else to call them.

I use RM. Postman picks up parcels from me (normally still in my nightie) scans them and off they go. Signed for insured for £50..... more if you want. You doht even have to print a label...comes with the postie for free.....what's not to like.

Parcel force for bigger items....drop at depot...insured, tracked, cheap....job done.

 

[27motorhead]

I forgot about that with RM. Collect from home and they’ll provide the labels.

I don’t work from home so no use to me. Annoyingly when you choose certain methods of posting it automatically upgrades you to free home collection and you can only remove it from your basket at checkout.

 

[d8mok]

RM and Parcelforce. No others compare. 100s of items weekly and very little issues.

Always tracked as it prevents any shenanigans.

 

[amoto65]

Thanks very much folks for all the advice, I reckon I shall be using RM. Cheers.

 

[d8mok]

I also like the fact that RM used GPS for the scan so you can even see exactly where it was delivered.

 

[ishaw]

It's a lottery whoever you use. I've had RM and parcel force lose things, probably on balance more than evri, but they aren't without issues either.

At work we use DPD but they've been pants, tried Ups who are equally as bad.

Using a reseller like parcel monkey can be challenging if things go wrong as you can't really speak to a human and as they are middle men, takes longer to sort out issues.

I think the whole market is a mess and no one really stands out over another.

I'd never ever again buy or sell using the eBay global shipping option. I've never had a single parcel arrive with me or a buyer, and the claims process is a joke with no way of escalating. A 72h period just resets and goes on for infinity. I had to threaten small claims court action before they finally took action, after 3 months of painful and protracted phone calls. Time I'll never get back.