royal mail nicking items shame on them

[stevebills]

I am having a problem with royal mail staff cutting in to envelopes with a Stanley knife.

They then nick memory cards and these are sent 2nd class recorded.

What should I do apart from making claims? Maybe use jiffy bags?

any ideas and anyone else had problems like this?

[JamesNorth101]

Tell the royal mail that this has happened x number of times.

I have had it happen a few times in the past. Problem was solved by sending items recorded.

RM have a team dedicated to finding their employees that do this, tends to be a spike at xmas time with all the temps.

[GreenBean]

First option is to complain.

You can do that by phone or online. Usual have all your details to hand applies.

Stress this has not been a one off event. Be interesting for RM if the same sorting centre was involved.

Jiffy bags are usable. Make sure the item is secure ( in case a postal van drives over it).

Service is lousy enough without getting your gear stolen.

[stevebills]

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Tell the royal mail that this has happened x number of times.

I have had it happen a few times in the past. Problem was solved by sending items recorded.

RM have a team dedicated to finding their employees that do this, tends to be a spike at xmas time with all the temps.

these items were recorded but were still nicked

[Bunneh]

well if i was you, i would rather send it in a bubble envelope, as it will only be a large letter price. Which is around £2.00 for first class signed for.
Much better paying that then losing the postage and the product.

My guess is that if you sending it in a normal envelope, the sorting office probably suspects a bank card or voucher card is inside.

[stevebills]

jiffys only from now on and everything over 5 fiver recorded
and over £30 special delivery

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by stevebills

jiffys only from now on and everything over 5 fiver recorded
and over £30 special delivery

Doing this can really cut profit margins.

I work it out on a profit basis. A lot of the items I sell only cost £0.40 to buy, but I can sell for £8.00 posted

Cheaper for me to replace the odd item than it is to send everything recorded even if 10% were to go missing (its more like 1% at the very maximum)

[Bunneh]

Originally Posted by stevebills

jiffys only from now on and everything over 5 fiver recorded
and over £30 special delivery

I dont think it is necessary to use special delivery for a £30 item, especially because of the new cost of it now.
You buyers will be put off by the high postage and you end up losing clientele.

First Class Recorded is just as good. The items arrive the next day most of the time.

[Freakzilla]

I found it was pointless sending items recorded delivery and Special Delivery is crazy prices now.

From my own experience a lot of times a postman will just sign for an item himself and put it through the letterbox or not even bother obtaining a signature.

What they don't tell you is when you make a claim, Royal Mail will write to the customer. If the customer doesn't reply saying the item hasn't been received they won't refund. I found if a customer has already received a refund, they won't bother replying to Royal Mail.

You get no more cover then what you do from obtaining a postage certificate.

I now send items under £30 regular mail and take a hit if I have to refund. A lot more profitable then sending all the items recorded delivery.

[stevebills]

I think my problem was using white envelopes for memory cards and that they though
they were crdit cards and nicked them and now i am using jiffy bags instead

[stevebills]

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Doing this can really cut profit margins.

I work it out on a profit basis. A lot of the items I sell only cost £0.40 to buy, but I can sell for £8.00 posted

Cheaper for me to replace the odd item than it is to send everything recorded even if 10% were to go missing (its more like 1% at the very maximum)

Whats to stop buyers claiming a refund and keeping the item if u don't send recorded

[Bunneh]

Originally Posted by stevebills

Whats to stop buyers claiming a refund and keeping the item if u don't send recorded

yep its also easier to prove you send items when you have to provide tracking to paypal if they limit you and want to see proof of postage.

As they say....you get what you pay for!
So pay for 2nd class non recorded and expect he worst!

I try to cover myself as much as possible where ever i can.
So i will ALWAYS send 1st class recorded.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by Bunneh

As they say....you get what you pay for!
So pay for 2nd class non recorded and expect he worst!

Sad that it comes to this but...true, skimping on the protection can lead to problems...whether with buyer or (in this case) the postal service

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by stevebills

Whats to stop buyers claiming a refund and keeping the item if u don't send recorded

General decency on the whole. If a professional buyer is determined to get a free item, then recorded delivery is not going to stop that, and it is very rare (at least for me) to get professional buyers trying to get free items.

Still cheaper to send non recorded and swallow the odd loss than it is to send them all recorded, but this is only because my items cost very little to buy relative to the sale price. If your item costs £100 to buy, and you sell it for £130, then it does make sense to send recorded.

[stevebills]

I buy an item at £2.50 and sell it for £7.50 with free postage and sell lots to be honest
should it be recorded or not?
I also buy an item for £10 and sell it for £19.99 and charge £4.00 postage and these normally go out 1st recorded and also sell lots
I also buy an item for 50p and sell it for £2.99 free postage and send it out normally with a 2nd class stamp

[JamesNorth101]

It depends on if you want to take a hit on the profit margins or not. Personally I would send item 1 non recorded, item 2 recorded, and item 3 non recorded.

[GreenBean]

Agree with James.

Items 1 and 3 could go non-recorded.

Item 2 should go recorded.