PCInk
msg:4431834 | 6:47 pm on Mar 21, 2012 (gmt 0) |
This really affects businesses that sell light items but that are too large to fit in "large letter" post. To international people that is anything over about one inch tall, including packaging.
It seems shocking that if a business sells items that weight 150 grams and send 20 a day that the cost of postage has gone up from about £2,000 per year to almost £10,000. Now it looks like they want another 53% (estimated) which takes the cost to over £15,000 a year.
That is an increase of 750% in about 6 or 7 years. Still, they manage to make a loss. So where is the money going?
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engine
msg:4431839 | 7:00 pm on Mar 21, 2012 (gmt 0) |
>So where is the money going?
In part, the pension fund.
Additionally, as i understand it, they were delivering almost 100 Million items a day, and that has now tailed off significantly. I couldn't find any stats to back that up other than a percentage decline in volumes of over 6% in the last year.
According to our postman, he's delivering more packages than previous years, so ecommerce must be taking up the slack.
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haggul
msg:4432136 | 3:48 pm on Mar 22, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Our post route has completely changed - we used to get letters from our postman, and small packages from a later van. Now the postman has a little cart to push and he delivers everything except large / heavy items. Now we are lucky to see him before 3pm!
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scooterdude
msg:4432175 | 5:24 pm on Mar 22, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Could there are fewer postmen
According to our postman, he's delivering more packages than previous years, so ecommerce must be taking up the slack.
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dpd1
msg:4432268 | 8:43 pm on Mar 22, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Same thing with the US system. Separate people are a thing of the past. I think they have maybe one separate driver for the station, just for the big empty box deliveries. My guy is like 70 years old with a limp. I have to carry all the stuff down to the truck for him each day. They told me they expect them to be done by 4 on Saturdays... They do not want any overtime paid out. I notice there's days where they basically just do ad delivery. Pretty sure there's days they hold back mail to save money, but of course they would never admit that.
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topr8
msg:4432279 | 9:15 pm on Mar 22, 2012 (gmt 0) |
>>Could there are fewer postmen
that's true, according to my postman, from his sorting office there are now less 'walks' (seemingly the technical term) than previously and each one is longer. They also get extra bags dropped off while they are en route by a van driver.
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dpd1
msg:4432359 | 12:09 am on Mar 23, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Do they even still use the old brown relay boxes? I thought those were pretty much a relic. I still see them here and there, but they don't looked used. But I do recall somebody saying they still do a lot of that in Manhattan.
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piatkow
msg:4433611 | 6:03 pm on Mar 26, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Royal Mail business rates have been available for a while. The general postal rates are still not published which is getting worrying for any business that does not have the volume or frequency required for a contract or to justify a franking machine.
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Digmen1
msg:4433684 | 9:22 pm on Mar 26, 2012 (gmt 0) |
When you add the courier companies to the postman, there are a lot of people and vans rivin gup and down our roads, this must be costing us all more.
The Post Offices (World-wide) need to realise that as they are now more dependent on parcels (on line sales) they need to stop putting the prices up, as it makes online selling less competitive.
If the postage costs more than the product !
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PCInk
msg:4433840 | 9:04 am on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
New mail prices to be announced at 11am today.
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haggul
msg:4433881 | 11:46 am on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Wonder if the courier companies will see this as an opporunity to win more smaller parcels, or an opportunity to bump their rates as well?!
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piatkow
msg:4433982 | 4:46 pm on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
By comparison with the headline rates the increases for large letters and packets (at least for the sizes that I send) don't look too painful until you realise that they are still over 11%.
If you don't have the volumes for a contract the rates still look competitive.
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PCInk
msg:4434010 | 5:12 pm on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Since First Class packet rate between 501-750g has gone down from £3.05 to £2.70, I need to find a way use this rate more often!
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Miop
msg:4434100 | 8:22 pm on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Yeah but 100g has increased from £1.58 to £2.70, so that's a whacking price increase for me that I really can't avoid passing on. :(
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topr8
msg:4434112 | 8:42 pm on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
>>Wonder if the courier companies will see this as an opporunity to win more smaller parcels, or an opportunity to bump their rates as well?!
doubt it, royal mail is still the best value ... but yes this rise is going to cost me - i charge flat rate shipping (in UK) and i'm not going to increase the price
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Digmen1
msg:4434114 | 8:50 pm on Mar 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
That increase sucks, and I imagine that it will be passed on all round the world.
It will slow online sales.
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