ping beamends

We don't currently export outside the EU as a rule, because the paperwork and getting the delivery right is a nightmare! However, I'm in the process setting up to send stuff to Auatraila/NZ (since neither are noted for reaching for their lawyers at the drop of a hat). We can send stuff there by Royal Mail now, but anything over 2kg is very expensive and/or very slow (3 months plus!). I'm currently talking to a courier who I hope can deal with vast majority our parcels, as Royal Mail's new "volumetric" idea is uttery unworkable for anyone not using standard sized boxes, and in the process start sending stuff to selected countries outside the EU.

Keep nagging me!

Richard

Apart from the price I wouldn't have thought there was that much difference anything bigger than a VHS cassette box is a "packet".

I haven't check but I think the "pricing in proportion" only applies to Royal Mail not to Parcel Force. The current overlap between Parcel Force and the Standard Parcel rates offered by Royal Mail does cause confusion.

On or around Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:32:40 +0100, beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

sent a 4kg parcel to alaska the other day, international datapost, collected from here and got it to alaska in 3 days (where the USPS took 5 days to deliver it) for about 62 quid. not cheap, but fast and tracked and 150 quid compo if they lose it. 10 quid more gets you up to 500 quid compo.

some of the couriers use volumetric too. Hmmm. wrap it in strong plastic and suck the air out and then use a displacement test to get the volume.

On or around Sun, 18 Jun 2006 11:00:52 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice" enlightened us thusly:

international datapost has volumetric pricing - it depends on the wieght though - you either pay by weight or volume, depending on which is larger. I think the same applies to standard parcels.

30x30x30 cm gives a volumetric weight of 4.5 Kg, ISTR.

It's not that simple - there's some templates that things have to go through, plus envelopes over 24mm or something are not envelopes - it's going to take the bloke at the post office *ages* to deal with it (I'm bloody not - if RM want to do such a stupid thing then their staff can dam well do the work).

The pricing overlaps are pretty stupid too - second class only goes up to such a weight, first class can be cheaper than standard parcels, etc etc. If the yuppie bloke who's "going to sort things out" would care to spend a week with us he'd soon see why his company is in chaos - it's because it is. I have a strong suspicion that going on the proramme "Back To The Shop Floor" would be a real eye opener to him - I really don't think he has a clue what and, more importantly, how his company works - like so many who took part in that programme he's just being presented with meaningless figures by managers who don't care as long as it looks good. The prog about Caudwell was good, he went back to his roots, attended a board meeting and pormpty sacked most of his senior managers for doing just that - I seem to recall he used the word "lying".

And don't get me going on "Lost" mail........

Richard

it depens on the firm exactly how they do it - with our current courier the EU is on weight unless it's a daft parcel (e.g. an exhaust) in which case they measure it - but the difference between weight an volume charging is minimal unless it was spoiler or something - but then the packaging would out-weigh the item anyway!

Richard

Or me! My wife sends out 20+ packages a week, it is pretty commonplace for one a week to go "missing".

Not to mention our home postal delivery. Last week we had 5 letters for other addresses. One day we had 4 letters: one was for the previous owner (fair enough, even though they did move out 3+ years ago!) one was a card saying that we had to go to the Sorting Office because someone hadn't paid enough postage (why the postie couldn't bring the letter to our door and take the 21p back with them instead of charging us an extra £1 "handling fee" and forcing us to go over to the Sorting Office I have no idea) the third item was for next door and the last item was for an entirely random address! At least once a week we get post for "Prospect Crescent" instead of "Prospect Avenue" - despite the postcode being entirely different aside from the first two letters. (I've actually got something from the Tax Office for her on my desk from Friday waiting for me to re-post!)

Spoken to them countless times about it, with the usual "Yeah, whatever." response - given up now.

Matt

When I was a student, we got a pile of 30 letters and small parcels pushed through our door in one go, addressed to towns all over Britain! We phoned the post office, who weren't interested, then just shoved the lot into the nearest pillar box.

I asume you are refering to dishonest buyers. Order something, wait a fews days, complain it hasn't arrived (when it in fact has), get refund from seller who then claims for lost item from the PO...

This is why my other half now sends everything by some form of "signed for" service. The buyers seem happy enough to pay the extra cost. She also sends about 20 items/week.

As for poor postal service. Ours isn't, it is excellent. You can almost set you watch by the time the van arrives in the morning. Post arrives virtually everyday regardless of conditions, and that includes roads covered in 6" of snow and drifts several feet deep making the roads single track. Conditions if they occured in the SE would be headline news for days with questions asked in the house as to why "they" didn't do something about it.

That sort of thing is pretty rare really.

No, I mean packages going "missing" in the post. We get a lot of parcels too and quite a few have gone missing coming to us. Not long ago a post van tuned up with 13 parcels for us, posted on a variety of days over the previous two weeks. The postman admitted that they were so short staffed that they just couldn't deliver parcels on time so were stocking them up and delivering them when they had staff avail. Things do seem to have improved fairly recently on the parcel front tho.

Are you joking?! Our post arrives anything between 9am and 4pm! Very rarely does it arrive at a similar time daily. Now for the courier I use, I can guarantee that he will arrive between 8am and 8.30am every day, and if I'm sending something he will arrive at almost exactly

2.30pm, and this is to a private address as I work from home, not a business address.

Matt

We NEVER get our business mail before 11am, wankers.

--

Subaru WRX Range Rover 4.6 HSE (The Tank!)

We might be going on a summer holiday, the Greece Ball rally!!!!

If Richard can't help at the moment I can probably give you details of a NZ based supplier.

I mark a lot of exam papers and it is not unusual for one lot to go missing. I spoke to the lady behind the Post Office counter about it and was advised NOT to send mail recorded delivery because that highlighted the fact that it is valuable and therefore more likely to vanish! Can this be true? Alan

>

sure she wasn't talking about 'registered'?

so far as I know, 'recorded' is simply that, whereas registered gets some insurance.

Has anyone considered marking each item "RM vs Courier Test - Mail #5473"? just a thought.

Nope, if the post hasn't arrived by 1000 I half worry if he has had an accident. Those at the end of the round won't get their post until lunchtimeish. We are fairly near the begining of the round those right at the begining of the round will get their mail around 0830.

The various couriers also all arrive at roughly the same time for each of them. DHL will be around 0845, Parcel Force 1630, several others don't deliver direct but the minibus from the local that takes some of the kids to school brings back and delivers parcels for them. I think some also just drop at the garage and the "last mile" is done by the garage.

One advantage of being remote is that the drivers make damn sure they deliver when they get out here. If they don't they'll just be doing the hours drive in and hours drive back out again for the second attempt.

Piss poor postal service is a feature of the big cities only as far as I can tell. They have a huge turn over of staff, of the 5 or so posties that deliver round here there has been no more than two new ones in the last 7 years.

All post is insured(*), OK 1st Class only up to the price of 10 1st Class stamps but thats enough for small items.

Registered doesn't exist anymore it's now called "Special Delivery". Recorded just gives each item a traceable number but not tracking apart from it was delivered to... before... and the online service now reproduces the signature. Again SWMBO'd has had recorded stuff returned as "uncollected" but when the client is asked no card has been left, curiously this only happens with address's in large cities...

(*)For general items, valuables, cash and fragiles not...

Yes, you can get a cardboard template sent to you free from the Royal Mail website. A3 size with two colored areas starting from the bottom left corner. Align item to bottom left corner:

Is the item within the red area (240 x 165mm)? yes > Will fit through the 5mm slot? yes > It is a "letter". no > Will it fit through the 25mm slot? yes > It is a "large letter". no > it is a "packet". no > is the item within the grey area (353 x 250mm)? yes > Will it fit through the 25mm slot? yes > It is a "large letter". no > It is a "packet". no > It is a "packet".

Fairly sure 2nd class has an upper weight limit as is.

There are similar anomalies in the current system.

I think a lot of firms are going to get caught out by the size of the "letter". One company then sends me lots of stuff, A4 folded once, uses envelopes that are just bigger than "letter" size. If they don't spot it they'll be hit with roughly a 10p increase per item (roughly 'cause they use a franking machine so get a discount on stamp rates).

I used to live in a little market town mid-way between Nottingham and Derby (Long Eaton for the curious), and the Post people were lovely. Very short-staffed, extremely pissed off with the management, very apologetic when the second post was cancelled and the delivery promise went from "by midday" to "by 4pm", but if something went missing (which was rare) they worked hard to find it for me. I never lost an exam script package, and even a year after I had moved to France (and the international redirectiona had finished) I rang up one day to chase a parcel that mother-in-law had sent by accident to the old address, and they found it and sent it on, having remembered who I was! Greta service, but they felt totally let down by the decisions made by people "higher up".

Stuart

When is this new system coming into force? I've not had anything measured as of yet! I can imagine the queues at the Post Office when it does and I turn up with two carrier bags full of parcels of varying bizzare shapes and sizes!

Matt