Sendle as eBay's preferred carrier
Sendle has been the default postage method for local eBay sellers for some time now.
Sellers should be aware that Sendle are not couriers, they are courier brokers who farm out a vast proportion of their parcels to Aramex (formerly known as Fastway) and Couriers Please. At the moment, I have two separate parcels that are
“currently being processed at a sortation facility” by Aramex for the seventh day in a row.
Aramex are not so much couriers as an invitation to grief. Here is their feedback .
https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/aramex-courier
94% of the 1,446 reviewers rated them one star out of five (and many of those lamented the lack of a zero star option) Pretty impressive, huh?
And if you’re wondering how they went in their previous incarnation as Fastway Couriers, well here you go:
https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/fastway
93% of the 7,929 reviewers rated them one star.
So, my question to sellers is, do you care enough about your buyers to refrain from using Sendle or is it a case of hey, they'll pick up my parcel and they’re cheap – who cares?
For my part, as a seller, I'll use Australia Post every time - they're not perfect by any means but still a whole lot less likely to result in complaints from buyers over postage time. As a buyer, I'll be checking the seller's postage details to make sure they're using Australia Post and not Sendle or Aramex.
dacam-2441
·3 years agoshould eBay be promoting sendle as a preferred courier service when sendle has such a bad record of service???
sandypebbles
·3 years agoSo as a seller, you know they have a bad record of service
And you know they are 'very bad a lot of the time'
BUT
You choose to use them, knowing this.......because eBay list them as an option
Makes a whole lot of sense
davewil1964
·3 years ago$$, sandy, $$
eol-products
·3 years agoI don't use Sendle so have no experience but wondered where you are getting your service record for them. Most review sites will show Aust Post as having a lower rating. Where I have a storage unit the office is a drop off point and they have had no issues with them.
davewil1964
·3 years agoI don't use Sendle so have no experience but wondered where you are getting your service record for them
From the bumper complaining about Sendle, but using them regardless. Presumably because they are cheaper, and undoubtedly the savings aren't passed on to the buyer.
As you don't use Sendle you would naturally not have had issues with them
dacam-2441
·3 years agoyour 100% right,sendle has broken the items I’ve sold & still delivered them to the buyer-(many times),I’ve had to offer to send a replacement at my own cost, it’s the time I’ve got to spend messaging the buyer & resending a replacement + the time i wasted to send the broken item that really annoy’s me
davewil1964
·3 years agoSimple.
Don't use Sendle. Especially as they are a broker NOT a courier.
Or any courier, frankly, unless your items are too big for AP.
eBay shipping options (from memory - I stopped using eBay labels when they stopped passing on the massive discounts their volume would get from AP) have several options. Just because Sendle is the first one doesn't mean you have to use it. Except that it is, on the surface, cheaper. But not, as you have found.
sugar249
·5 years agoThis same thing had a go on these boards a while back, interesting you are suggesting Australia Post, Take a look at their ratings.
8011 out of 10792 rated them 1 star. Similar type odd's, slightly better but still shocking.
At least if you are going to compare 2 services, make sure the the one you are recommending has much better averages.
Remember the review site you are using, is built for complainers. Maybe thats why you like it
denhams
·3 years agoIt's worth noting however that every time I've had an issue with Australia post regarding a delivery they have solved it whereas with Sendle you can often hear nothing back, period. If it doesnt work out with Sendle they basically ignore you.
cam-2793
·3 years agoit doesnt work out with Sendle they basically ignore you.
Or say they have fixed the problem when they haven't!
This is a problem with outsourcing generally, the more layers and double-handling, the greater the chance for things to go wrong.
If you are going to use a courier, use a courier. Not an outsourcing business, which sendle is.
digital*ghost
·5 years agoHorses for courses.
The best courier I personally deal with (DHL) has a similar rating via online review sites, but I've never had a problem with them myself, in several years of using them. People are motivated to trash businesses they have dealt with (like you're doing here) if they had a bad experience, but - typically - are significantly less motivated to leave glowing reviews, even for years of great service (I've never left a review for the aforementioned courier, though I have recommended them to others in appropriate circumstances).
Most people already know they are brokers for Fastway / Aramex, and Couriers Please, and the thing about that is it makes Sendle only as good as the designated courier service that's used in specific areas, quite a few of which are franchises, and service quality varies greatly. Which is why any time Sendle are mentioned in various seller groups I visit, there's plenty of people saying they use them successfully with no issues at all, and of course some who say they're awful and to not use them.
I won't use them, I don't particularly like the way they operate, and because consistency is efficiency as far as I'm concerned (i.e. my buyers tend to know what to expect with AP, and I don't have to exclude any addresses like PO boxes, and / or use multiple carriers / pricing models.
As for "do you care enough about your buyers to refrain from using Sendle or is it a case of hey, they'll pick up my parcel and they’re cheap – who cares?" this is a false dichotomy.
If I put my most cynical hat on, let's say a seller's only concern is their own interest, which means they have to decide if it's worthwhile for them to use a specific carrier to get their products from them to their customer. I don't think any seller in their right mind would continue using a carrier if even 20% of their sales resulted in complaints, let alone 90-odd %. Even if they didn't care about their customers, they'd definitely care about the time-suck from sorting out problems, bad feedback ratings etc that these things often result in.
1076johnw
OP5 years agoOf course, any company will have the odd bad feedback from time to time. However, in Aramex's case they average at least five a day - hardly a drop in the ocean.
It's all about percentages - and of the three packages sent via Aramex to me in recent weeks from eBay purchases, one took nine days to deliver after sitting in a processing depot for three days straight, and the other two mentioned above have been 11 days in transit, both spending their seventh straight day in a processing centre.
Am I just an unlucky sod? I think not.
dacam-2441
·3 years agoYes they are very bad a lot of the time, but you have to quickly contact them to push them to take action to fix any issues you are having,it can take up a lot of your time & it’s frustrating for sure
daydreams_12
·3 years agoYou have some interesting items.
Your postage section says - Ebay postage labels - Standard parcel postage. If you are using Sendle, please mention that in your listing. There are many, many people who are not interested in courier deliveries. AP are easy to get around but not so couriers/brokers