Advice on couriers..

[valdoe]

I am fed up with Australia post.

They seem to be making more profit on my item then I am.

I made a $10 profit on an item and all my items are packed in a satchel and on average weight between 1 to 2 kg

Using C&S calculator I charge according to what it says. . but in the very fine print hidden amongst a sea of type is a clause saying they may cube the parcel, which I believe do not know that.

One parcel I sent today said it cost $20 but when I went to the post office costed me $25. I cannot lower my postage because my competitors are even charging less.. no they did not bump up the price of the item.

I have come to think they may be using couriers.  

I checked fastway and yes they are cheaper but they do not deliver outside cities.. eg they service the Sydney Area but if you send a parcel to Bathurst area they do not cover the area.

I looked at TOLL DHL Star Track Express TNT Toll as per ebay notice.. but will I run into the same problem?

Execpt Fastway the other couriers do not have prices showing on their sites.

Could people that use couriers give me help.

Can you advise who I should be looking at and who to stay away from..

Any help would be appreciated. 

[shepherdsrule]

Are you using eBay C&S satchels ?

Check this link: http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/click-and-send.html

[valdoe]

The C/S satchels are too small even the prepaid 5 kg satchels are a few inches too small.

[davewil1964]

Does the B4 box work? That's about $17 including postage.

[monstersinthedungeon]

http://www.temando.com/

[lyndal1838]

As far a I am aware none of the companies you have mentioned will deal with one off parcels. You need to have an account with them and be sending large amounts of freight.

From a buyer's point of view I would not recommend Fastway if you want return buyers.....they are slow and more often than not will dump the parcels in front of the door in full view of passersby, even when the recipient is home.  But they do service interstate and county areas...I am in Sydney and have had Fastway deliveries from Victoria and Queensland.

I would check out the Temando website...they are a courier broker and give you a choice of courier companies for each individual parcel.

[dowd_hardware]

I've been using http://www.transdirect.com.au/

So far I haven't had any complaints from customers

[phorum_junkie*]

If you are using click & send with your own packaging then why aren't you using the calculated postage option and inputting the size so that buyers see the correct cost to their postcode?

If you are not using the ebay satchels or AP boxes then click & send parcels are treated just the same as any other parcel and subject to cubing if over 500g, the only difference is the $1.50 extra you pay to give yourself  Paypal protection.

[acetoneco-z]

I've had the worst experience with Fastway couriers. You'll have more PayPal claims on your hands if you use them. They are the most unreliable, rude and unprofessional courier service in Oz. they may not be rude to you as a seller because they're happy to take your money when you use them. But as far as the customers receiving their goods is a different story. There were a few times when they lie about leaving a calling card to say that they've attempted delivery but in reality never actually show up (and of course no card calling card). And continually lie about the many attempted re-delivery they've done even though someone was home all day for the whole week. The online tracking is useless because everything there is just rubbish and lies about what they've done so far.

So if you'd like a successful and relatively pain free eBay business in Oz. avoid Fastway couriers at all cost. They are the worst and extremely unreliable courier company to have been formed.

[arnl7178]

Do not use Priority X Couriers. Their website shows cheap prices, but you get what you pay for. Trust me. Avoid at all costs.

In general, I would try and avoid couriers as much as possible. A lot of people wont buy from you for that reason alone.

There's many reasons why people don't like couriers and the biggest seem to be that if your buyer isn't home, the courier company won't re-deliver and their depot is too far away for the buyer to go and pick the item up.

AP may appear more expensive, but at least, they are usually reliable.