Postage costs

[paul mex]

Bit of a odd question but my lad has been selling a few key rings on eBay but the post office are charging £2.80 postage
There in small jiffy bags that weigh next to nothing and easily fit thru a letter box
Any recommendations for another way to send them!??
Cheers Paul

[toad_rs]

hermes is cheaper than royal mail but not sure on a small item

[alancdavis]

Wrap the key ring in tissue and use a normal envolope

[Andyc]

And then tape up the edges so it can not full out

[paul mex]

Cheers fellas
Only trouble is he's selling them in the original boxes
Thanks paul

[alancdavis]

Charge £3 postage then ,,,

[Ray1965]

£3 is not enugh Alan, £2.80 post charge, plus envelope and packing etc, so call it £3 cost, then e-bay want 10% and paypal also want a cut, so in reality its become a £3.50 postal charge, or close to it, to the customer, then the postage costs tend to put people off, so looking for cheaper options is the only way, as putting the price up just puts prospective buyers off, flea bay and paypal have just got too greedy unfortunately

[paul mex]

£3 is not enugh Alan, £2.80 post charge, plus envelope and packing etc, so call it £3 cost, then e-bay want 10% and paypal also want a cut, so in reality its become a £3.50 postal charge, or close to it, to the customer, then the postage costs tend to put people off, so looking for cheaper options is the only way, as putting the price up just puts prospective buyers off, flea bay and paypal have just got too greedy unfortunately

That's exactly what it's costing and the buy it now price is £4.50 free post
So including the item price he's making nothing

[fox2fox]

Dont use Hermes as they are s h I t e!!!,very poor service,you get what you pay for!!!.ive had a few items go missing and some damage,so be careful with them..

[Andyc]

Dont use Hermes as they are s h I t e!!!,very poor service,you get what you pay for!!!.ive had a few items go missing and some damage,so be careful with them..

I disagree young man I have just sold a complete MK2 and sent most of it through the post by Hermes

[paul mex]

Well he's sold another, But this time he went to a different post office and they charged him 95p
Fingers crossed it gets there
Thanks for replys lads

[Neil Fletcher]

I sell lots of little bits on eBay and you can go onto the Royal Mail website and check how much it will cost beforehand - I've seen the odd time that the people at the counter get it wrong or just don't really take the time to check properly.

With something the size of a Key ring it'll be down to the total weight and the thickness - oh and whether you want it "signed for" or not, I think that adds £1.10 to the basic cost. Anyway I'd guess that the Key Ring will either be a "large letter" which is up to 25mm thick or if it's thicker it'll be a "small parcel/packet", most Post Office have a thing on the counter where you can check the size of stuff.

Now for example a "large letter" weighing less than 100 grams will be 95p 1st class or 74p 2nd class - I send all my stuff 2nd class as it only tales two days from Northern Ireland to the mainland and sometimes just one day. Now if it's thicker than the 25mm it will jump in price as a 100 gram "small parcel" will cost either £3.30 1st or £2.80 2nd class. I'd guess the first Post Office that your son was going to reckoned that the Key Ring was more than 25mm thick and charged for a 2nd class "small parcel" whereas the other place reckoned it was thinner than the 25mm and sent it as 1st class "large letter", this can happen if it's a real borderline case on thickness - did they even bother to check with the size checker as they should have one behind the counter and one on your side of the counter. I have seen this at the big Post Office in town, they don't really try that hard to get it through the slot in the checker whereas in my village Post Office the old dear behind the counter will give it a real good hard try to push it through the slot and give you the lower price - she'll say to me "if it holds it's breath it'll go through". ;-)

Now there is one other thing you can do - and I'm not suggesting that you should do this and I'd never do it ;-) but if it really is borderline and is very slightly too thick to go as a "large letter" you can go into the Post Office and buy some 2nd class "large letter" stamps, put one on each package and bung them in the post box. As long as it doesn't look far to thick I don't think it'll ever get check again.

Hope this helps, Neil.

[paul mex]

Thanks for taking time with that Neil , and I guess you've hit the nail on the head with the prices as the second post office showed him twice the packet going thru the letter box template to cover herself
Cheers Paul