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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> Posting stuff
        
(Message started by: Jonnycab on Dec 25^th, 2010, 4:14am)

Title: Posting stuff
Post by Jonnycab on Dec 25^th, 2010, 4:14am

Could anyone advise (on experience) the best, most reliable parcel/courier company to use when posting parcels both in this country & abroad.

Royal Mail are no longer a consideration, as they have lost a few parcels in the past & have now lost two of three parcels I sent in November ???

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by lesterlad aka Rodders on Dec 25^th, 2010, 9:56am

After Royal Mail lost a parcel of mine I now use Interparcel for sending large and small parcels to Italy. (they don't use royal mail)
When you do a quote you will get a choice of courier that they use with various costs, you choose the one suitable for your requirements.
All you need to do is print out the address labels that they send to you by e-mail.

I sent 6 largish boxes weighing a total 35kg for £80.00 (FedEx)and 1 very large box weighing 15kg for £35,(DPD) both consignments took 5 working days to get there.

Quote:

Interparcel have major accounts with the world's largest and most trusted courier companies. Thanks to our massive buying power we have secured huge discounts off their normal selling rates. This allows us to offer you some of the lowest courier prices in the country!

Interparcel > > http://www.interparcel.com/

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by gozz on Dec 25^th, 2010, 11:58am

Interparcel appear to have dropped DHL as a choice,they were spot on,I tried to get a Transit bumper picked up from Doncaster the other day and had to opt for UPS without realising that I had to email a bar code to the sender,DHL didn't need that because the driver did everything at the door,the bumper is still in Doncaster !!
Merry Christmas
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by TiberiuS on Dec 25^th, 2010, 8:25pm

I used to use UK Next Day when I was doing customer repairs on Briarsfield, had no problems at all with them. Switched to Interparcel, works better now I'm doing all sales - a couple of ££ cheaper and their website is easier to use, you can see previous orders and store addresses etc, most times you can book before midday and get a collection in the afternoon.

About DHL, you've gotta be careful with them. Last parcel they delivered to us, the guy came in a Rover estate, no van anywhere ???

Job sheet said two parcels to deliver to us, he could only find one. He goes out and tips everything out of the car all over the pavement, rummaging around for the other parcel ???

I joked that I liked his van, he looks at me with a blank expression and says that a lot of them don't get a DHL van and use their own cars now ???

I try and keep to UPS for more valuable/fragile stuff like amps and turntables, TNT or Citylink are fine on larger stuff like speakers, haven't yet had anything lost or broken.

Bruce ;)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Jonnycab on Dec 27^th, 2010, 9:03pm

Cheers for the replies guys ;)

Been looking around at a few & as well as 'Interparcel', 'Parcel To Go' seem quite reasonable as well...anyone ever used them ? :)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Highlander on Dec 27^th, 2010, 11:05pm

Interparcel and Parcel 2 Go are just agents for the big couriers (at only half the price)

I've used Interparcel for many years, mainly the interparcel economy service which is cheap even for heavy items, (£8 for up to 40Kg I think) just print off the shipping labels and stick them on the parcel.

usually its UPS that collect for them here, the oddtime DHL.

Never had any problems with them, online tracking and almost always next day delivery on their 48 hour service

I did try the home delivery network twice through Parcel 2 Go, a couple of quid cheaper but that was a disaster as far as collection/delivery went.

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Jonnycab on Dec 28^th, 2010, 12:43am

Cheers Stuart....advice noted ;)

I'll give 'Interparcel' a go then :)

Just for the record....I'll let you into a little secret ;)

I used to be a delivery driver for Parcel Force (Chelmsford depot) about 15 years ago & the way they used to unload the lorry every morning was frankly shocking :o

The warehouse boys would split up into 2 groups...the throwers & the catchers. The throwers would go into the lorry trailer & start slinging parcels out the back of the lorry left right & centre, & the catchers.....well it's obvious what they had to do, & lets just say that a good few parcels used to hit the deck ::).

'Fragile, handle with care' parcels weren't given any more consideration than any other parcel (I remember a case of Scotch whisky hitting the deck & they had to hose the depot down).

The catchers then threw all the parcels into cages for the delivery drivers to sort out.

Many a time I went out with parcels that were so damaged that I had to apologise to the customer (even though it wasn't my fault) about the state of it & asked them to open it while I was waiting, just to be sure that what was inside wasn't broken....& many a time, I returned to the depot with filled in complaint forms about the conditions of parcels....which was then added to a large pile of other complaint forms by a rather unconcerned depot manager ::)

Not sure if Parcel Force have improved their way of doing things since, but from my experience 15 years ago (worked there for a year), I wouldn't have advised anyone to use them at the time ;)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by gozz on Dec 28^th, 2010, 9:19am

Straight from the horse's mouth ;)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by lesterlad aka Rodders on Dec 28^th, 2010, 11:46am

on 12/28/10 at 00:43:18, Jonnycab wrote:

'Fragile, handle with care' parcels weren't given any more consideration than any other parcel (I remember a case of Scotch whisky hitting the deck & they had to hose the depot down).

Sacrilege, I would have been tempted to stand in the spillage area taking in the fumes with deep breaths. ;D

I often wonder if Fragile or handle with care parcels get more consideration, ........a more experienced catcher or a smaller throw distance perhaps ?

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by TiberiuS on Dec 28^th, 2010, 12:17pm

Jon, I've also used another company a couple of times for bigger stuff (car parts, giant 50kg loudspeakers ;)), it's a small family owned place somewhere oop north, I'll have to dig out an invoice to remember their website though ::).

Again they're just a middleman for the couriers but their prices are good, the last time I used them they got me a set of 4 rims+tyres for the Jag shipped for £36 via TNT ;)

I tried Parcel2go once but the booking system had trouble understanding that I wanted the item collected from a customer at another address, phonecall and email to customer services went unanswered even though they started sending marketing stuff to my email so I didn't use them again :)

Bruce.

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Highlander on Dec 28^th, 2010, 7:32pm

I sent an autobox through Interparcel recently, wouldnt have fancied being the "Catcher" ;D

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by gozz on Dec 28^th, 2010, 7:45pm

on 12/28/10 at 11:46:46, lesterlad aka Rodders wrote:

A retired Royal Mail inspector does a bit of driving for me,he advised me against putting 'fragile' on any parcel because certain members of staff would 'test' how fragile it was ::)
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Highlander on Dec 29^th, 2010, 9:44am

The damage policy for these courier firms says that the parcel must be suitably wrapped to protect it from damage, if it gets damaged it wasnt suitably wrapped! ;)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by solarpanel on Dec 29^th, 2010, 4:01pm

we run two rounds for fedex in norfolk and we dont lose stuff

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by solarpanel on Dec 29^th, 2010, 4:04pm

oh fragile thats eu slang for kick it lol

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Jonnycab on Dec 30^th, 2010, 1:46am

Thanks for all advice guys ;)

I decided to try Interparcel today to send a parcel to the Netherlands using Fedex. It's cheaper than Royal Mail/Parcel force equivalent, takes the same amount of time & I get a tracking number ;)

Fingers crossed it will get there in good time & unscathed :)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Highlander on Dec 30^th, 2010, 9:27am

I've never had any problems with Interparcel going abroad either Jonny.

Norway, Russia, Estonia, USA, Canada, the Phillipines, no probs :)

Title: Re: Posting stuff
Post by Mike H on Jan 9^th, 2011, 1:48pm

on 12/28/10 at 11:46:46, lesterlad aka Rodders wrote:

I often wonder if Fragile or handle with care parcels get more consideration, ........a more experienced catcher or a smaller throw distance perhaps ?

LOL ;D