If you just have a quick search on the internet you’ll find hundreds if not thousands of forum posts complaining about parcel delivery. At www.deliveryquotecompare.com we think it’s because people don’t fully understand the difference between a courier service and a parcel delivery service.
Parcel delivery is cheap, really cheap in fact, which makes it a great alternative to the Royal Mail and perfect for eBay sellers. Here’s how it work’s – your parcel will be collected from your specified location, put into the vehicle, taken to the company’s central hub and sorted. Then it will get loaded onto another van and taken to its destination. Sounds simple enough? Well, as you can imagine the logistics of it are quite significant, but there are things you can do to make it easier for them:
1. Label your parcel clearly
The quicker they can establish where your parcel needs to go the easier it is, if your label is clear it’s less likely to be put to one side to ‘decipher later’, which could mean you’re parcel is delayed.
2. Use a postcode
A postcode is the easiest way to work out which part of the country your parcel is destined for. It’s also a lot easier to read than street and town names!
3. Wrap it well
Throughout its journey your item maybe handled by up to 12 different people, so it’s important to package your item VERY well. Invest in some bubble wrap and if it’s in a box make sure it’s a sturdy one and if it’s wrapped make sure it’s wrapped a few times!
4. Insure it
Most parcel delivery companies will be insured, but often it may only cost a few pounds extra to more comprehensive cover. This will make sure that if your item happens to get lost or damaged you won’t be left out of pocket.
What’s important to bear in mind is that parcel delivery is a fast, low cost way of transporting things; it’s not suitable for everything – your Grandmas’ glass vase being just one example. Anything that is valuable, fragile or expensive may be better off with a dedicated courier delivery. This service will cost you more but your item will be handled by just the one person and is likely to be delivered door to door, with no depots in the middle, meaning there is much less chance of damage. It’s still very important to consider insurance and make sure the item is packed as well as possible though.