Alternatives to Royal Mail! Save money with postage rates…

By Sharon Fussell, July 24, 2014

One of the largest expenditures you will encounter when selling books or any products online is postage costs.

I really hate paying Royal Mail more money than I receive in profits for an item, but from time to time it’s inevitable.

It used to be that it was virtually impossible to send items through the post unless you used Royal Mail services. To be fair, in the main, Royal Mail prices are the lowest for smaller packets, and they are reliable.

However, now I find that postage services are increasing, more and more services are a viable alternative to using Royal Mail.

Sometimes the value for money is amazing, with parcels tracked and signed for included in the price of the postage, unlike Royal Mail, who charge more for this service.

Competition does now mean that now large heavy books can be sent at a reasonable cost compared to quite recent times.

Royal Mail

I usually use their standard post services for most of my orders, which include second class postage, large letter up to small packet size, and included insurance up to £20. But this does not include tracking.

I always use alternative services to Royal Mail if I have a parcel that exceeds Royal Mail’s small packet restrictions, e.g. over 1kg and over 44cm long and 8cm wide.

Here are some companies I have used as an alternative to Royal Mail… All have been reliable and have delivered the item safely.

Ipost

Packages weighing up to 2kg cost £2.99 plus VAT, with insurance cover up to £50. An extra £1 will get a signature.

You can arrange for the parcel to be collected from your door for a small fee or take to a depot. All information is on their web site.

Collect Plus

This is a service I often use on eBay. It costs £4.74 for parcels weighing up to 10kg. Parcels can be dropped off for collection at a wealth of participating local convenience stores, at a time to suit you, up to 11 p.m. Very useful.

MyHermes

Parcels weighing up to 1kg cost £2.78 plus VAT, and include tracking and cover up to £50.

This service is useful for an expensive book/item, that’s worth over £20 and which you would like to have tracked. Allowance for size of packet more generous that Royal Mail’s small packet size.

Parcel2Go

Parcel2Go currently offer the first parcel’s delivery free to new customers. This is a comparison site with several postage couriers to choose from. (No cuddly meerkat toys available though!)

Click and collect services are also available: you pay £2 and collect a parcel from a convenience store, bypassing your personal address completely.

This reminds me: eBay are currently making changes to postage options: customers can choose to have their order sent to a local Argos store where they can collect at their convenience within Argos store opening times.

Beware though: if your item is not collected within seven days, it gets returned to the sender.

When you make an order on Amazon, there are often several options available to send packets to lockers and thus arrange deliveries to be deposited and saved, other than to your door.

This of course is useful if you are out all day and the item you have ordered is too large to go through a standard letterbox.

If you are looking to save money on postage, be aware of weights of parcels and explore different postage services.

Remember, every penny saved goes in your pocket!