Parcelforce end eBay offer early

It was announced this morning that Parcelforce's discount offer to eBay sellers would be ended early, "due to unprecedented demand". If you still want a discounted delivery, plenty of sellers are still offering them.

Parcelforce low cost Christmas deliveries

Send a parcel anywhere in the UK from just £10.99 for Parcelforce 48 and £11.99 for Parcelforce 24. The offer runs for all eBay sellers from the 13th to 21st of December 2007. Parcelforce will collect from your doorstep and deliver to your customer and you don't even need a ParcelForce account to take advantage of the offer.

There are some terms and conditions but this is a great opportunity to sell those heavier items and qualify for eBay Get it Fast. Let your buyers know their purchases will arrive in time for Christmas. This offer was previously only available to PowerSellers but is now open to all eBay sellers.

Of course if you need to send a lot of parcels it's worth opening an account so don't forget the free wine promotion.

Get it Fast in time for Christmas

Time to start adding Special Delivery or ParcelForce options to all your eBay listings. From tomorrow eBay will start promoting 'Get it Fast' to buyers in the run up to Christmas.

Get it fast gives buyers the option of a guaranteed delivery time on their purchases to ensure the gifts they buy arrive in good time for Christmas. Many will be willing to pay slightly more for the peace of mind knowing the presents they buy will be there for the big day.


eBay have a 'Seasonal Seller Guide' with tips on selling in the run up to the holiday period

Free wine offer from ParcelForce

Couriers! Which one to choose? which is most reliable? Which is cheapest? Lots of questions and just about everyone will have a different opinion on which courier is best to use.

Why not have a glass of wine while mulling it over with our offer in conjunction with ParcelForce? Simply open an account, spend £100.00 and they'll deliver a case of 12 bottles of wine to your doorstep*. Of course a few bottles of wine isn't a great reason for choosing your courier so read on to see what could make ParcelForce a good choice for you. If you send at least 5 UK items or 1 international item per week then you could become an account customer.

Price

The cost per parcel is always negotiable on a courier delivery contract and it's no different with ParcelForce. Don't accept the first price they offer - get a price and then negotiate using tactics like "If you could lower the price below £7.40 I could put all my Special Delivery parcels with you as well". The larger the quantity you can ship with them the better the price you'll get.

International

Don't forget if you can ship one parcel a week Internationally it's worth opening an International account as well as one for domestic deliveries.

Fuel Surcharge

Most couriers charge a fuel surcharge and ParcelForce is no exception, don't forget to factor this in when negotiating a price.

Redelivery Cost

This is a charge which may be hidden in your courier contract. Many couriers will attempt delivery twice before charging it. Sadly with home users if they leave a card the recipient may not get it until they're home from work. The next day they telephone to arrange redelivery but by that time the parcel is out on the van for the second delivery attempt. When the parcel is eventually delivered the sender (you!) will be charged a redelivery charge. The great thing about ParcelForce is that they do NOT have redelivery charges.

Return Charges

Many couriers will charge you to return an undelivered parcel, some charge more for returns than the initial delivery cost! ParcelForce do NOT charge for returns.

Over water and Highlands and Islands surcharges

Couriers may charge extra for crossing water to destinations such as the Isle of Wight, ParcelForce do not surcharge for this. Many couriers including ParcelForce charge extra for certain areas of the country, the good news is that with ParcelForce you can negotiate a flat rate regardless of the destination in the UK.

Insurance

This is something we hope we never have to use, but inevitably whichever courier you choose they'll lose a parcel or one will be damaged. Make sure that their insurance covers the goods that you wish to send, e.g. for glass many decline insurance coverage.

Redirects / Saturday Deliveries / Post Office collections

Selling is all about making it easy for the customer, and ParcelForce excels at this. If a recipient would like delivery to an alternate address (a neighbour or work), or on a Saturday they can arrange this and ParcelForce will bill them a small surcharge. You the sender don't have to pay the charge.

ParcelForce can delivery to a local post office and your customer can collect from there. ParcelForce are set up to make it as easy as possible to get your goods to your customers. If they're home users that are out at work all day collecting from a post office or redirects/Saturday deliveries are great options.

VAT

ParcelForce are currently the only courier in the country not to charge VAT. This is a great advantage to sellers who aren't VAT registered. Even for those that are VAT registered it still saves paying out VAT simply to reclaim it on your VAT return.

eBay and ParcelForce

Finally ParcelForce are the only courier which appear in the eBay shipping options. If you want to use a courier to qualify and appear in eBay Get it Fast searches ParcelForce is the choice to make.

Free Wine Offer!

So if you're looking for a courier or want to try an alternative why not give ParcelForce a try? Visit ParcelForce on their website or call them on 0800 413 501. When you speak to them or register on their website quote reference number 463931 to qualify for 12 bottles of wine* as soon as you've spent £100 on deliveries.
(*Terms apply. Closing date to open account 31st March 2007, account spend must reach £100 by 30th June 2007)