Sending Parcels (May 2013)

This is the place for posts that don't fit into any other category.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
User avatar
Old-Guy
Posts: 1798
Joined: 11 Sep 2008, 12:08
Location: Gloucestershire
My Cars: 2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
x 17

Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by Old-Guy »

Strictly speaking, this isn't specific to French Cars, but as members often need to send 'bits' to one another, the following may be useful.

To send a Xantia radio, which is just a bit too large to be a Royal Mail 'small' parcel, the cheapest my local Post Office (very obliging) could do it for was £8 :shock: second class parcel post.

However, I discovered that Collect+ (book and pay on-line 24/7, leave the parcel at a local corner shop) will deliver anything up to 2Kg for £3.99 (the radio packed weighs a bit less than 1.8Kg) anywhere in mainland UK. 2-5Kg for £4.99, 5-10Kg £6.99. If it's more convenient for the recipient to collect the parcel from their nearest 'corner shop' agent, Collect+ will leave it there for collection and will let them know by e-mail when it's ready for collection. The agencies are all early 'til late small shops so parcels can be dropped off or collected whenever the shops are open. Collect+'s website is really well thought out: you just stuff in your own postcode and the map shows you the nearest agencies, you pick one, stuff in the destination postcode and it shows that together with the nearest agencies to it. Payment by PayPal or any Credit/Debit Card (except Amex of course). Simple idea, well organised and implemented - wish I'd thought of it!

Update:When it came to sending the radio, I discovered that Collect+ do in fact have maximum parcel dimensions but they're quite generous (small = 30 x 30 x 50 cm IIRC) so I was able to abandon the hunt for the smallest possible box that the radio would fit in and use one kindly supplied by Amazon with lots of space for protective bubble-wrap.
I dropped off the parcel at 8:50 on my way to work on a Saturday morning, getting a receipt with a tracking number in return (confirmed by e-mail). The consignee was alerted by e-mail when the parcel was waiting for collection at his local 'corner shop' and I received another at 11:24 on the Tuesday morning to tell me it had been collected. Not only was collection more convenient for the consignee, but it reduced the charge from £3.99 to £3.49. So "3-5 days" was in fact 2 working days - pretty good.

In complete contrast, when I got home on Saturday afternoon, there was a Royal Mail card to tell me that a 'Signed For' letter was waiting for collection at their local 'Collection Office' (open 7am to 12noon Monday to Saturday). Fortunately for me, it's 'only' a 4-mile round trip and there was no excess to pay.
2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - after 11 years now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
evilally
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 742
Joined: 17 Apr 2008, 22:39
Location: Clydebank, Near Glasgow.
My Cars:
x 2

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by evilally »

In my opinion Royal Mail have shot themselves in the foot. All they've done is complain about how email has reduced their business, completely ignoring online shopping, ebay and people sending things to one another on the internet (such as car forums). They've done away with their Standard Parcel service which was cheap, had optional insurance and was perfect for the non-business user. Now not only do you have to use either 1st class or Parcel Force for large items, parcels are also charged on their size as well as weight making many things completely unrealistic to send.

Other businesses such as Collect+ (and personally I've been using My Hermes) have identified this home user gap and stepped in with more tailored services. My Hermes has online tools, automatic import of ebay items, local collection and drop off points at corner shops who open early and close late, and best of all, most of my items have been working out about half the price of what Royal Mail now charge. All tracked and with optional insurance. Sure, it's a 3-5 day service but we don't need to pay twice the price for 24-48 hour service, most of us don't care. They've been closing down the local Post Offices near me, so now I have to travel to get one, and the queues are huge. If I miss a delivery then I've got to get to the depot before 12, unfeasible if you're working.
'96 405 1.6 GLX with 306 GTI engine on Cat cams @ 195bhp

'05 RenaultSport Clio 182 Cup, 102k

'97 406 1.9TD, 314k.
citroenxm
Posts: 8061
Joined: 30 Dec 2004, 23:10
Location: Somewhere in North Wales, Anglesey
My Cars: M reg Xm S2 2.1td Auto Exclusive. 269k and rising
L reg XM S1 V6 12v Manual SEi
L 94 XM 2.1 TD auto total resto

2008 Peugeot 207 Sw 1.6 16v hdi. 217k and rising
2010 Peugeot 207 SW 1.6 8v HDi 161k and rising
x 70

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by citroenxm »

*EDIT: Ditto EvilAllys comments above..

MyHermes has Sucesfully helped me send - A complete Steering rack for an XM (Track rods undone from the main rack but in the package) - An intercooler and inlet manifold (My useless packaging there though helped a broken bit) - an XM Pump and feed pipe - so these are my latest parcel senders!

Very help full web site too..

My hermes ALSO has a compulsary £50 insurance for FREE too! Optional higher at cost too
Sharing a pug 207 1.6 hdi Sw 16v.
M reg Xm 2.1 td auto exclusive S2 269k and rising
L reg XM V6 12v SEi auto .. Light project

A very sad...
1994 XM 2.1 d auto
User avatar
myglaren
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 25366
Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
Location: Washington
My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX
x 4888

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by myglaren »

Just used iPost to send a parcel to Croatia.
They were the lowest-cost option but more significantly I was able to drop the parcel at their depot as having it collected proved to be a problem.
Took increased insurance just in case.
They are only ten minutes away from me. The fact that it took me two and a half hours to find them isn't entirely their fault - they are part of UKMail and I drove past several times.
Very friendly and helpful service, emails to say when the parcel was delivered and in about half the expected time.
vborovic
Locked user account
Posts: 1750
Joined: 31 Oct 2013, 17:07
Location: Somewhere
My Cars: A used Citroen
x 27

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by vborovic »

Anyone has a rough idea what would be the cheapest shipping option from UK to Croatia for a single shirt (the eBay item shipping cost is 18.31 GBP)? If the shirt would arrive in one piece, I'm happy, it can come in a Coke can for all I care ... :D
User avatar
myglaren
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 25366
Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
Location: Washington
My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX
x 4888

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by myglaren »

Checked iPost but without exact size and weight. Guessed 30x20x5 and 1kg, £22.
vborovic
Locked user account
Posts: 1750
Joined: 31 Oct 2013, 17:07
Location: Somewhere
My Cars: A used Citroen
x 27

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by vborovic »

I think the shirt shouldn't be more than 300g, and the compressed size should be roughly 15x10x5 cm ... is there a royal mail option in an big bubbly envelope? No tracking required, snail mail also ok? I've found a Citroen shirt on eBay, 8 GBP for the shirt, 18 GBP for the shipping ...
Last edited by vborovic on 06 Feb 2016, 09:49, edited 1 time in total.
Gibbo2286
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 7171
Joined: 08 Jun 2011, 18:04
Location: GL15***
My Cars: 2006 C5 2.0 Litre HDI VTR Automatic Estate.(now sold on)
Currently Renault Zoe 2014 ZE
x 2500

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Have you looked here: https://www.parcel2go.com/ I've been using them for years but not recently so I can't say how good they are now.
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
vborovic
Locked user account
Posts: 1750
Joined: 31 Oct 2013, 17:07
Location: Somewhere
My Cars: A used Citroen
x 27

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by vborovic »

I did actually, the cheapest method is 25 GBP (incl VAT)
User avatar
bobins
Donor 2023
Posts: 5697
Joined: 05 Jul 2012, 18:07
Location: Midhurst, West Sussex
My Cars: Kia Sportage
Mazda BT-50
Land Rover SIII SWB
V-F-R800
SL320
MX5
x 2871

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by bobins »

Royal Mail international standard (3-5 days) should be about £5.50 for your small parcel*, you could save 20p and go for international ecenomy but it could take 15 days !

*-Minimum size: One surface must be at least 9cm x 14cm.
Maximum size: The combined length + width + depth must be no more than 90cm with no single side longer than 60cm
Maximum weight: 2kg
Sadly no longer a C5 owner :(
vborovic
Locked user account
Posts: 1750
Joined: 31 Oct 2013, 17:07
Location: Somewhere
My Cars: A used Citroen
x 27

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by vborovic »

Which should save me 10 GBP from the initial listing ... not a bad deal then (the shipping would be the shirt's value)
Peter.N.
Moderating Team
Posts: 11563
Joined: 02 Apr 2005, 16:11
Location: Charmouth,Dorset
My Cars: Currently:

C5 X7 VTR + Satnav Hdi estate Silver
C5 X7 VTR + Hdi Estate 2008 Red

In the past: 3, CX td Safaris and about 7, XM td estates. Lovely cars.
x 1199

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by Peter.N. »

If I have anything bulky or heavy to send I use one of the pay and collect firms which seem to always be cheaper than the Post Office and also much more convenient as we don't have any corner shops and Axminster is 7 miles away.

Peter
User avatar
myglaren
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 25366
Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
Location: Washington
My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX
x 4888

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by myglaren »

If you want it sent to me I can forward it on to you after altering the dimensions to the Post Office requirements.
I pass a convenient Post Office on my way to and from work.
vborovic
Locked user account
Posts: 1750
Joined: 31 Oct 2013, 17:07
Location: Somewhere
My Cars: A used Citroen
x 27

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by vborovic »

@ Steve - deal, I'll buy it and have it sent to your address ... no hurry with the shipping, whenever it arrives is fine
User avatar
myglaren
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 25366
Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
Location: Washington
My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX
x 4888

Re: Sending Parcels (May 2013)

Post by myglaren »

I will send it on the day following it's arrival here and let you know when it has been dispatched.
Post Reply