Royal mail tracked

[paulfoltyn]

As per the title with the contactless deliveries due to cv19 no signature is being collected. Its only a matter of time before buyers "didn't" receive the items. Does paypal & ebays seller protections cover this? Selling items upto £300. If so am i better of just sending tracked rather than signed for?

thanks

[ukjay]

I use first sign for and i have had a few buyers saying not had it yet royal mail are only offering a book of first class stamps as comp.I have had 3 people saying it out of 3000 sales so i just ate the loss.

[Pandoras_box]

Posties have been instructed to sign these themselves with the letters "COV 19"
If your tracking does not show these, postie had dropped it and done a runner.

Can't blame them. Half are off sick already and my local distribution centre is now open from 7am - 9am.

[paulfoltyn]

In my waffle(sorry) i thing my point has been missed. Does paypal & ebays seller protections cover tracked only service? Or does it have to be signed - albeit by the postie?

I've not had any cases surprisingly, i usually get 1 or 2 a month trying it on.

[james_112233]

Originally Posted by Pandoras_box

Posties have been instructed to sign these themselves with the letters "COV 19"
If your tracking does not show these, postie had dropped it and done a runner.

Can't blame them. Half are off sick already and my local distribution centre is now open from 7am - 9am.

Yes, I have been seeing that on my tracking numbers as well

[LOMBOK]

I've been told they're not allowed to just leave the item and sign themselves, they are supposed to ask the recipient if it is ok for them to sign on their behalf. If the receipient is unwilling or there is nobody there they are to card and return the package to the depot.

I don't send RM signed for but do use Parcelforce and have seen all my deliveries signed 'XP1' as per the current Parcelforce policy. I send some LL stuff with them but buy my shipping through ebay for those. I don't even drop them at the post office, just drop in the postbox around the corner. No problems with those. As for Hermes, who knows what they do. Probably just drop it and run! Having said that, I haven't had any INR's from their stuff and I send 40 to 60 a day with them.

Everything seems to be getting there within the normal timescales too.

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by LOMBOK

I've been told they're not allowed to just leave the item and sign themselves, they are supposed to ask the recipient if it is ok for them to sign on their behalf. If the receipient is unwilling or there is nobody there they are to card and return the package to the depot.

They are told to first get the customer's attention, then sign on behalf of customers.
Customers can decline to receive the item but I can't think of a reason why they would.
What's more likely is a postie would take the item back if no one gets the door for a signature item.

You're doing quite well for that sort of volume without having any troubles.

We've not been half as lucky

[rsot]

Originally Posted by ukjay

I use first sign for and i have had a few buyers saying not had it yet royal mail are only offering a book of first class stamps as comp.I have had 3 people saying it out of 3000 sales so i just ate the loss.

0.3% rate - not too shabby

[lucy]

Why don't you use postage through EBay?
tinsoldier recommended it to me and its fantastic!! saves time

[Twisty]

Originally Posted by ukjay

.I have had 3 people saying it out of 3000 sales so i just ate the loss.

Originally Posted by rsot

0.3% rate - not too shabby

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

Not as shabby as your mathematics.

That's what happens when Rsot goes off script.

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by lucy

Why don't you use postage through EBay?
tinsoldier recommended it to me and its fantastic!! saves time

If you ship 1 to 5 items a day, then yes is eBay is fairly alright, but if you ship up yo 10 items a day you're wasting a life and setting up your business for risks and inconvenience.

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

You got that zebra printer yet?
Dont tell me you're still fighting with A4 paper and sellotape.

A4 paper (sticky labels) is far better and faster than using a zebra printer in my opinion.

At least I've found ways to make it work for us based on our volume.

Although I'd admit a Zebra printer while slower and more expensive, will turn out as a cheaper option in the long run of say about a year.

Still, I'd let mine collect dust. It's no match for my basic printer + A4 sticky labels that do at least four times the speed of a Zebra printer.

Not to talk of the annoying rewinder cost. Can't do without one if you do high volume. Imagine that. A simple rewinder costing nearly as much as the printer itself. No thanks.

[e2free]

Zebra printer all the way cost and speed,

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

You do not have an A4 (thermal) printer that is 4x faster than a Zebra 420D. Fact.

This is an inkjet printer doing 4 labels per page in a few seconds
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Tl...ew?ts=5e9f5c3f

I know you don't do high volumes but while you're busy collecting 100 or 1000 labels from a zebra printer without a rewinder, I'd be sticking mine on the packs.
Imagine if I swapped the inkjet for a laser printer.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

If you knew what you were doing ( or others since that's the advice you've given) you'd know fine well its the cheapest and fastest option for printing 6x4 ebay postage labels...or are the thousands of users and endless recommendations on the main forum wrong?

Only cheaper in the long run and definitely not the fastest, time-saving or most convenient.
When you're doing 500 - 1000 items daily, you definitely all your labels sprawled on the floor you don't want a device with "proprietary based support" breaking down on you if you don't have a spare. And they do break down.
God help you if haven't got an inkjet/laser printer laying around, because you're not going to be sending out any post for weeks - which is the time it'll take to get your printer back from support.

The manufacturers themselves do not recommend the ZD (most likely what you've got) series for high volume users.

The power supply is over £150
The cutter is over £100
The battery pack is over £250
A compatible rewinder is over £250
The printer itself is over £300 with just basic accessories like USB cables...
This printer is neither cheap for small-time sellers nor suitable for big-time sellers.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

As for cost well I just dont know what to say, I paid £110 for a used one and get free adhesive labels from Royal Mail - that's it, that's the entire outlay and running cost - years of use already and you want folk to believe that's an expensive option! Sorry, your entitled to your opinion but its woefully wrong.

Kind of ironic for you to purchase a used one when you proclaim it a cheap option. You'd have to consider that it is not cheap for low volume or entry-level sellers.

[e2free]

Originally Posted by Pandoras_box

This is an inkjet printer doing 4 labels per page in a few seconds
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Tl...ew?ts=5e9f5c3f

I know you don't do high volumes but while you're busy collecting 100 or 1000 labels from a zebra printer without a rewinder, I'd be sticking mine on the packs.
Imagine if I swapped the inkjet for a laser printer.




Only cheaper in the long run and definitely not the fastest, time-saving or most convenient.
When you're doing 500 - 1000 items daily, you definitely all your labels sprawled on the floor you don't want a device with "proprietary based support" breaking down on you if you don't have a spare. And they do break down.
God help you if haven't got an inkjet/laser printer laying around, because you're not going to be sending out any post for weeks - which is the time it'll take to get your printer back from support.

The manufacturers themselves do not recommend the ZD (most likely what you've got) series for high volume users.

The power supply is over £150
The cutter is over £100
The battery pack is over £250
A compatible rewinder is over £250
The printer itself is over £300 with just basic accessories like USB cables...
This printer is neither cheap for small-time sellers nor suitable for big-time sellers.




Kind of ironic for you to purchase a used one when you proclaim it a cheap option. You'd have to consider that it is not cheap for low volume or entry-level sellers.

Well I have no issue whatver you mentioned, its connected with click and drop within few monutes all labels ready, no ink usage no paper cost nothing at all, 500 orders are nothing for zebra pinter

You claming you do 500 to 1000 just think how much money you wasting just on ink and papers?
Plus which way you using to print orders? Click and drop or something else?

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by e2free

Well I have no issue whatver you mentioned, its connected with click and drop within few monutes all labels ready, no ink usage no paper cost nothing at all, 500 orders are nothing for zebra pinter

You claming you do 500 to 1000 just think how much money you wasting just on ink and papers?
Plus which way you using to print orders? Click and drop or something else?

Not a claim. We mostly do up to 500 of ours alone daily and we have a growing base of resellers who we drop ship for on a daily basis and that can sometimes get up to 1000 or more daily. It does not translate to large profits (See a sample product), but that's not the point.
The point is: What's the best way to handle large volumes?

The truth is that it is a constantly moving goalpost depending on several factors revolving about your business.
There is no 'one size fits all' but here's something to look at as regards both methods in contention:


Using inkjet / A4 sticky labels

1. A4 paper works out at £70 per month (imported)
2. Ink works out about £6 per month on an eco tank (lasts two months)
3. Back up system £70

This works out to £980 per year.



Cons: Cost

Pros:
A. No expensive collector needed
B. Labels are loosely available for a team of people to work on concurrently - huge time saver!
C. Can do any size of labels to fit various postal pack/sizes.
D. Can customize labels without limitation of hardware or proprietary software driver
E. No rewinder or extremely expensive accessories needed.
F. Can have a cheap ready-to-go backup system for £70.
G. Speed of printing 4 labels per A4 page on inkjet = roughly same as Zebra, many times faster on a laser.
Speed of printing 8 PPI labels per A4 page on an inkjet printer = faster than Zebra.
12, 18 PPI labels per A4 Page on an inkjet printer will make a Zebra cry.

H. Collecting and applying labels to packs is a breeze and allows for a team to quickly finish a stack of labels




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Using a Zebra printer

1. Paper cost-free (only if you have Royal Mail Business Account) Low volume sellers will not have this option as they would not qualify for a royal mail business account. So they'd have to purchase their papers like the rest of us - which is far more expensive than the A4 counterpart.

2. Nothing to pay for ink.


Let's ignore any paper costs for now - this would work out to be £0 per year.
Let us also ignore any spares or back-up printer and assume nothing will break down even if you do 1000 per day for one year. You can see I'm being really fair here.


Pros:
0 costs
Labels can be customized


Cons:
Does not collect all labels in one place without an expensive collector and cutter.
Not very convenient to have a team of people work on a roll label rewound or not.
You're stuck with one label size.
Creates a mess doing volumes if you don't use a rewinder.
Extremely expensive accessories that should have been part of the printer.
Ready to go backup system ~£300
Does not easily allow for multiple people to work on a print job without collision and a gross waste of time EVERY DAY.

The lack of flexibility in printing various labels, the monumental waste of time in collating labels on a daily basis especially for large volumes - when computed into one full year turns out to be far more than £1000 in loses. So we are happy to offset that with £980.

We did not even have to factors in accessories, spares and back-up to reach this decision. Perhaps things will change in the future, but for now - this works for us.

If folks can pay £156 per month to manage 4 accounts with ReplyManger just to save time, then £82 per month to save more time, have a fully functional back-up and a streamlined process that allows for teamwork is easily justified.



-----------------------------------

We have an OBA account which we use for PPI and the OBA account is connected to Click and Drop where we print 6x4 labels too.

We don't connect any of our shops to click and drop for many reasons see this post

What we do is download and merge all CSV files in excel, correct errors like postcodes spacing & capitalization, full-text formatting, catching errors like missing door numbers, etc.

All these take place in seconds as they're excel-based.
This file is then uploaded to click and drop to process the labels.

If we're going to use PPI for the day, we just use MSWord Mail Merge to process the CSVs and OBA to create the manifest directly instead of Click and Drop.

In short, if you supply me an eBay CSV with a thousand details (phake of course) including the regular customer errors of lower case names, missing door numbers, lower case or merged postcodes, etc. I'd be happy to provide you fully formatted, ready to print job in a record time of 5 minutes.

See this:

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

What has a clip of a low grade inkjet printing out RM24 got to go with printing out ebay generated labels?


You do know that's not a clip of you printing out ebay labels don't you?

It is a clip of me printing out eBay four purchases. I had edited the details on an excel CSV for the sake of privacy, then uploaded to C&D, printed the label but did not manifest it.

It was shot on an iPhone 6.
Here's the label, up close:

https://i.ibb.co/31QM7w8/oba.jpg

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

As for 'manufacturer recomendations' (whoever that may be) that just more bollocks sorry - its the one recommended by Royal Mail - they'll even lease you one! Hey, it's only been the go to choice for 6 x 4 labels for a decade or so now.

Zebra printers have "Monthly Duty Volume" or "Duty Cycles" You can ring up the manufacturer to verify this. The quoted printer is NOT for heavy-duty usage. Again, ring up your manufacturer then let us know if they've confirmed the same to you.
Royal Mail does not lease you this printer. This untrue claim leads me to conclude you do not have a business account with Royal Mail. And if you do not have a business account, you're definitely buying roll labels. Unless you said it in error, then you knowingly made a false claim.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

As for scrambling around on the floor its clear that, despite your claims, you've never owned or used one. To suggest that owners have them on the floor is laughable. No sorry its not, it's pathetic.

I did not say scrambling, I said "labels sprawled on the floor" If you do not have a cutter or a rewinder. Where else would your roll labels go? Please do a video and educate us.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

As for the list of prices you've given when that's just clutching at straws as your argument falls to pieces but I'll play along. Have you got a link to a replacement battery pack?

All prices are from authorised resellers.
Here are the links:
Replacement battery: £284
Cutter: £119
Printer: £340
Powerpack: £ 172 What a ripoff!

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

Anyway, you carry on with your time consuming costly paper and cheap ink and I hope for you that they never get caught in the rain.

We don't work outdoors.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

Thanks for the laugh, the thought of someone battling with a low grade inkjet on their bedroom floor when they've got thousands of labels to print and sort has started the day well.

...and all because you thought you'd try and be a smart arse without even knowing the circumstances in which lucy and I had been discussing the zebras merits. Silly boy.

We have a fully-fledged commercial B2 outlet with permission from the local council to use it as B8. But none of us live on the premises, sorry.
Truth be told, you may be misinforming her/him. The Zebra printer model being discussed is not suitable for entry-level sellers. And at a certain point is not going to be suitable for high volume sellers. You wouldn't know that unless you've ever processed and printed high volumes.

Furthermore, without royal mail's recommendation, you'd be purchasing the printer for the full price.
To get Royal Mails recommendation, you'd need to get a business account with RM, to get a business account, you'd need to to do more than low volume.
Without all these, you have to buy the printer for the full price and buy your own labels? Do you dispute that?

If anyone is starting up and is determined to use the ZD series. What you ought to advise them to do is start with an inkjet printer which can be setup up for less than £80 with ink to last months. Heck, they may already have one of these at home.
When they've made considerable progress, they can apply for a Royal Mail Business account, get the ZD series printer at a discount with RM's recommendation and then get free labels.
The inkjet printer can then be relegated to be a backup.
It would take blistering idiocy to argue against that.

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

But I'm nothing if not fair. You weren't to know better and I am happy to help you if you need any further info on printers. Amazon use a thermal label and packing slip printer (6 x 4 I think !) so maybe check out theirs when you next get a delivery. I really think its time to move away from messy, slow, expensive to run, unreliable inkjets - the kind most of us keep as a back up. Maybe save up for a budget laser printer, I got a fantastic Brother for a couple of hundred quid - it will put your hobby printer to shame. I'll PM you the details if you're ever interested.

We're here to help

Amazon may be using that label size, but I can assure it is not the same machine producing those printed labels.
Thanks, but we already have several printers, including laser options.

As regards your help, I'll be seeking it when you start doing high volumes or when you can be objective and follow the facts wherever it may lead.
You ideas while well-intended are not backed up with experience.

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

Whatever. Like I said, for printing out ebay pre-populated labels in the quantity lucy and I had discussed via PM, the the Zebra is a no brainer.

Why you decided to dive in there with your bull$hit and give us a lesson on OBA accounts, which I have too, only you will know.

And all this from someone who fibs about owning a zebra, how embarrassing, but again only you know why you did that.

Just to be serious for a moment is there any chance of a link to the laser you've spotted which is many times faster than the Zebra 420D? I am interested, honestly I am.

I wont hold my breathe as you wrongly claimed your hobby inkjet was - which it isn't.

(PS. no RM business account required for the free zebra labels )

The Samsung ML-2150 does 21 pages per minute X 4 labels per A4 page = 84 labels in 60 seconds.
Your zebra can't print 84 pages in 60 seconds.
I'll wait for your video.

The same printer does 252 PPI labels (12 in 1 A4 labels) in 60 seconds.
Can your zebra do that?


I've told you in another post that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

[e2free]

The biggest issue with his system too much time waste it does not matter what printer you using, csv file is old days job royalmail use to push alot back in days when they had dispatched manager it was complete time waste downlaod file upload it fix the errors and then print it and then upload again for tracking numbers
Click and drop works great and its a bul**** h its link your accounts
I have each click and drop setup with its own email address and linked oba with that never had issue with linkage or anything like this

If you dont wants to use then i recommend to do your own api setup which will be much more easier then what you doing now

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by tinsoldier

See my post above, you're full of bull$hit. The assumptions you've make are comical....and wrong.

As you're clearly clueless I will repeat it one more time, after that you're on your own.

You are NOT printing out ebay generate postage labels - that was what we were talking about until you muddied the water with your 'you dont wanna do that' bollocks.

I am NOT using my Zebra beyond its approved duty cycle - unlike you and your budget hobby inkjet.

The links are NOT for my printer, the one we were discussing.

I do have a RM OBA account, I've discussed it countless times over the years on this forum, but if you want to believe I don't then good for you. I've already confirmed you do NOT need a business account to get the free labels, yet you've surmised I'm buying them! Pathetic.

You lied about owning a Zebra 420D thermal printer and have decide to rubbish it to hide your foolishness - why I do not know.

Not suitable for beginners ... don't be so stupid, you plug it in and click 'print' - the irony is that its generally accepted that it works best without installing any drivers. Just plug it in and print - its a piece of cake to use. But of course you wouldn't know this because you lied about owning one.

What have you set out to achieve? How has all your misinformation, lies and back-peddling helped those who this wonderful little printer are aimed at?

It's quite interesting how you refuse to attend to all the merits/demerits I've listed over several posts. You can't seem to have a conversation that is civil, neither are you prepared to examine the points that have been made.

This is a poor way to mount a sophisticated argument - and only serves to deflect.

So Royal Mail labels are free and you do not need an account to get these?
See this:

Please tell us how you're getting your labels if it isn't dishonest.


James called you a wind-up merchant, but you're also clearly very dishonest and possibly deeply disturbed.



I could understand if you're writing to us from a nursing home. But why do I have to put up with your bad-addled brain if you're not my grand-parent?
Why am I in an exchange with you when agent000 won't even engage you anymore?

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by e2free

The biggest issue with his system too much time waste it does not matter what printer you using, csv file is old days job royalmail use to push alot back in days when they had dispatched manager it was complete time waste downlaod file upload it fix the errors and then print it and then upload again for tracking numbers
Click and drop works great and its a bul**** h its link your accounts
I have each click and drop setup with its own email address and linked oba with that never had issue with linkage or anything like this

If you dont wants to use then i recommend to do your own api setup which will be much more easier then what you doing now

API is too expensive and will link you really fast as you would be the only one using it to pull details out of a few accounts. Except of course you make it open source - and god knows how long until other people tag along to make it safe.

The setup we have is an evolutionary work in progress. and like I said in a previous post, I'll be happy to supply you 1000s of ready to print labels all fully formatted and error-free in five minutes, if you provide me with a list of error-ladened details.
If anyone is doing any faster, I'd be happy to learn and incorporate it.

I did not know you're allowed to have multiple click and drop accounts.
Perhaps I'll ask our RM acc manager to see what her opinion is.

With your method, besides pulling sales, it does not catch errors and it does not automatically format texts easily.
How do you deal with that?

If C&D could fix that and we could also have multiple C&D accounts with RM's permission, then I'd be happy to switch all 6x4 labels there.

Still, on your method, you would have to generate one manifest per C&D account. Are you doing these for all the accounts?
If your listings have 1st, 2nd class shipping and you offer guaranteed (to keep eBay discount)
You may need three RM bags per account for that. How are you managing to do this with multiple accounts?
I'd really like to know.

[e2free]

Originally Posted by Pandoras_box

API is too expensive and will link you really fast as you would be the only one using it to pull details out of a few accounts. Except of course you make it open source - and god knows how long until other people tag along to make it safe.

The setup we have is an evolutionary work in progress. and like I said in a previous post, I'll be happy to supply you 1000s of ready to print labels all fully formatted and error-free in five minutes, if you provide me with a list of error-ladened details.
If anyone is doing any faster, I'd be happy to learn and incorporate it.

I did not know you're allowed to have multiple click and drop accounts.
Perhaps I'll ask our RM acc manager to see what her opinion is.

With your method, besides pulling sales, it does not catch errors and it does not automatically format texts easily.
How do you deal with that?

If C&D could fix that and we could also have multiple C&D accounts with RM's permission, then I'd be happy to switch all 6x4 labels there.

Still, on your method, you would have to generate one manifest per C&D account. Are you doing these for all the accounts?
If your listings have 1st, 2nd class shipping and you offer guaranteed (to keep eBay discount)
You may need three RM bags per account for that. How are you managing to do this with multiple accounts?
I'd really like to know.

Lol royalmail staff dont know anything and i aksed number of times to them if i can make multiple account and they get back to me with crazy answers, so I tested and it works fine for me, i cant disclose here the method which may get abused but its really easy send me private messge and will tell you its very very easy
Yes each account you print out manifest for each c&d account yeah first class 2nd calss or any other parcels not a problem
Simply print sheets and give to royalmail driver with your mailing bags done
This will save hell.of your time