AnPost and Postage costs

dontclickonthis

Hi all,

I'm looking to cut postage costs anybody know the best way I could do that. I send out small items every day to here and the UK always under 1kg.

I find that when you go to the post office the price of sending an item is more determined by the person who sits the other side of the counter rather then the size and weight of the item. Yesterday I sent out items that weighed 155grams cost me 1.35 each today I go back to the same postoffice and send the exact same item and the lady charges me 2.70 each and when I told her much I was charged yesterday she just told me t"well thats how much it will cost", -1.35 difference is alot of money when your sending 5 to 15 items a day.

This happens to me all the the time which means I can never calulate my postage costs correctly which means I really don't no what to charge the customer because I just don't know what there going to charge me. I try my best to keep P&P costs as low as I can for customers.

Any taughts?

Thoie

Would you be able to get a franking machine?

dontclickonthis

Thoie wrote: »

Would you be able to get a franking machine?

I taught about it they seem a bit pricey tho. Is it you just weight your item and it prints the label? Could you buy a second hand one I wonder?

Thoie

I don't think you can get them second hand - iirc you rent them from An Post.

The other thing to look at is the postage calculator on anpost.ie. €1.35 would indicate a "large envelope" weighing less than 0.25 kilos. Today's woman may have decided it was a package or a parcel.

dontclickonthis

Thoie wrote: »

I don't think you can get them second hand - iirc you rent them from An Post.

The other thing to look at is the postage calculator on anpost.ie. €1.35 would indicate a "large envelope" weighing less than 0.25 kilos. Today's woman may have decided it was a package or a parcel.

Yep she took it for a package/parcel where as the guy yesterday must of put them through as a letter.

Theres a small post office in south dub I guess i better not say where but anyways you weigh your own item before you go to the counter and then tell them the weight and they print the postage label then you put your own label on and place your own item in the anpost sack by the front door "not very secure I taught".

I have on occasion tho been a bit off with my weight so I could make a bit of a saving .

When you place sumthing in the sack the next person that comes along that has to put sumthing in the sack has notting stopping them from lifting out what ever takes there fancy and walk stright out the door.

delllat

on the quays they leave bags of mail unattended and i hate paying for a parcel to be shipped and then hoping it isnt stolen before it makes it out of the post office

they do it in parnell st as well

theres nothing to stop anyone lifting a bag of letters and parcels and walking out the door when the place is packed

its a terribible idea leaving parcels lying around that uv just paid top dollar to post

Strings.ie

dontclickonthis wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to cut postage costs anybody know the best way I could do that. I send out small items every day to here and the UK always under 1kg.

I find that when you go to the post office the price of sending an item is more determined by the person who sits the other side of the counter rather then the size and weight of the item. Yesterday I sent out items that weighed 155grams cost me 1.35 each today I go back to the same postoffice and send the exact same item and the lady charges me 2.70 each and when I told her much I was charged yesterday she just told me t"well thats how much it will cost", -1.35 difference is alot of money when your sending 5 to 15 items a day.

This happens to me all the the time which means I can never calulate my postage costs correctly which means I really don't no what to charge the customer because I just don't know what there going to charge me. I try my best to keep P&P costs as low as I can for customers.

Any taughts?

We do a lot of business with An Post and I've experienced all the problems you have described.

What's happening is some of your items are being classed as flat/large envelope rate one day and packet rate the next. Unfortunately An Post staff seem to differ greatly in their training on what the difference is between the two.

If you phone An Post's head office support they can send you a card that has holes in it. It will at least allow you to correctly identify the packets from the flats. You can then charge your customers the correct An Post price.

Overall I find An Post's pricing all over the place. For example, If I place two items we sell in a larger envelope side by side its classed as a flat. Yet if I put the same two items on top of each other in a smaller envelope its classed as a packet rate!!!

The problem with An Post is they are years behind the times. I would much rather pay a set monthly fee that would allow me to send a set number of packages up to an agreed size/weight. At least then we could offer our our customers a much simpler and unified postage cost.

As for Franking machines, when I enquired I was told you need to be sending items in the thousands to make it viable. You'll notice that Royal Mail allow you to buy postage credits and print off your own barcode stamps at home. Why An Post haven't introduced this is beyond me.

91011

An Post is trialing a self service stamp machine in Frascati centre Blackrock called stamps on a roll.

You key in the value of the stamp you want + quantity and it will print them for you.

They hope to role it out next year.

For the OP - simply get a cheap digital weigh machine and a 25mm measuring block (easy to make) and put the postage on yourself.

Until the new machines come in, just buy a rake of 55c 82c 95c & €2 stamps and apply them yourself at the published rate - will save a lot of queuing too.

LauraOrlagh

You could buy your own small electronic weighing scales and your own stamps (domestic and international ones) and use the postage calculator (available from AnPost) and then calculate yourself how much each item is going to cost, affix the right stamps and then post it.

TreasureBin

As Strings said, you can get a cardboard cut-out the same size as a standard letterbox. If your items fits through the slot, it should be priced as a large envelope. If it doesn't fit, it's a small packet and costs more.
But, as you have found out, it can depend on who is behind the counter.

I also use courier companies but they are usually only cheaper for items weighing 3kg+

BarryM3

Franking machine is the best option. We use one and it works well

Our man in Havana

But, as you have found out, it can depend on who is behind the counter.

And there lies the problem. I had similar problems where the same item was costing different amounts depending on where you posted it and who was behind the counter. There is no point arguing with the biddys they won't listen.

The easiest way around this is to buy your own postage stamps and stamp each item according to An Post rates. Then simply post the items in post box. Not alot the biddys can do then. Works for me.

delllat

Haddockman wrote: »

And there lies the problem. I had similar problems where the same item was costing different amounts depending on where you posted it and who was behind the counter. There is no point arguing with the biddys they won't listen.

The easiest way around this is to buy your own postage stamps and stamp each item according to An Post rates. Then simply post the items in post box. Not alot the biddys can do then. Works for me.

but iof u need a tracking number or a proof of postage you are at their mercy

strange how some people class an envelope as a "package" and vice versa

happens in the north too

sometimes i post the exact same small items in jiffy bags

it can cost 1.40 or 1.70 depending whos working

Strings.ie

Just thought I'd knock this up again seeing as An Post are about to raise their prices next week.

I've been getting rather frustrated with An Post to be honest. I've called and emailed them to speak with one of their business managers but they never get back to me. I spend thousands with them each year so why is it I'm paying the same rate as someone who might only post a few letters in a year?

It really does P*ss me off the monopoly they have in this country. If they worked with small businesses like myself to agree a flat rate, I could pass this on to my customers & perhaps find a level to offer free postage which would result in a lot more business for me and An Post.

The price increases are going to kill my efforts to try to pull in business from the UK. Why is doing business in Ireland such an uphill struggle? Small business are the back bone and future of this country. :mad:

sandin

Strings.ie wrote: »

Just thought I'd knock this up again seeing as An Post are about to raise their prices next week.

I've been getting rather frustrated with An Post to be honest. I've called and emailed them to speak with one of their business managers but they never get back to me. I spend thousands with them each year so why is it I'm paying the same rate as someone who might only post a few letters in a year?

It really does P*ss me off the monopoly they have in this country. If they worked with small businesses like myself to agree a flat rate, I could pass this on to my customers & perhaps find a level to offer free postage which would result in a lot more business for me and An Post.

The price increases are going to kill my efforts to try to pull in business from the UK. Why is doing business in Ireland such an uphill struggle? Small business are the back bone and future of this country. :mad:

Prices are going up and down next week.

An Post DON'T have a monopoly anymore.

An Post DO agree rate plans, but you have to have volume. I pay €4 per box up to 20kg anywhere in the country. Next day guaranteed with insurance and signature. Same rate from DPD. My UK rate is 7.25 - again per box up to 20kg.

BTW - check Royal Mail's latest prices in the UK - An Post are way cheaper when you compare the same service.

If you only have 30-40 items a week, you won't get anywhere near these rates. Volume for this level of pricing is considered to be 400+ per week

Strings.ie

sandin wrote: »

Prices are going up and down next week.

An Post DON'T have a monopoly anymore.

An Post DO agree rate plans, but you have to have volume. I pay €4 per box up to 20kg anywhere in the country. Next day guaranteed with insurance and signature. Same rate from DPD. My UK rate is 7.25 - again per box up to 20kg.

BTW - check Royal Mail's latest prices in the UK - An Post are way cheaper when you compare the same service.

If you only have 30-40 items a week, you won't get anywhere near these rates. Volume for this level of pricing is considered to be 400+ per week

Majority of my stuff is under 500 grams and half of that under 250 grams. The price increases will mean 30c - 50c per package. That's quite a jump. I take your point about volume and the rate you have is excellent, but my point is An Post should be talking to its customers and working out ways to increase my business because that will result in more business for them.
An Post do have a monopoly. I don't see any other way to send letters and packets?

By the way, Royal mail offer discounts:
http://www.royalmail.com/discounts-payment/discounts-packets-uk/packetpost
And according to that, they have a flat rate. Its crazy that I have to charge 4 different prices between 50grams and 500grams. That's just silly! Royal mail charges for 1-750grams are from £1.63 = €2.00. If I could get that, I would have the option to figure out a way to absorb that cost and offer free postage which would result in a massive increase of business for me and An Post and bring back a huge loss of sales to my UK competitors.

sandin

Strings.ie wrote: »

Majority of my stuff is under 500 grams and half of that under 250 grams. The price increases will mean 30c - 50c per package. That's quite a jump. I take your point about volume and the rate you have is excellent, but my point is An Post should be talking to its customers and working out ways to increase my business because that will result in more business for them.
An Post do have a monopoly. I don't see any other way to send letters and packets?

By the way, Royal mail offer discounts:
http://www.royalmail.com/discounts-payment/discounts-packets-uk/packetpost
And according to that, they have a flat rate. Its crazy that I have to charge 4 different prices between 50grams and 500grams. That's just silly! Royal mail charges for 1-750grams are from £1.63 = €2.00. If I could get that, I would have the option to figure out a way to absorb that cost and offer free postage which would result in a massive increase of business for me and An Post and bring back a huge loss of sales to my UK competitors.

ah come on - the discount rates offered by royal mail are 1.5% and 3%, possibly 5% for serious volumes. - This wouldn't make a huge dent in the costs.

Competitor to An Post = CityPost and there's another crowd too.

As for discount from An Post - have you asked / have you met with one of their sales people? - they are VERY pro-active in trying to gain new customers BUT you ahve to have decent volume. My discount off normal post office rate for parcels is about 70%. - Between an post & dpd, I will send out in excess of 20,000 parcels this year, so don't expect same level if you are at 1000 level.

And please don't say you asked at the post office - that's like asking a checkout girl in tesco for a discount. An Post have a business price list, there are discounts for volume packet mailings, but you need to go through their business sales dept to get the details. BUT you Have to have volume or at least show where serious volume will come from and back it up with facts and figures. They may start you at one rate and review it every few months.

If what you are sending will fit into a standard post box, the discounts can be quite reasonable AND if the volumes dictate, they'll collect from you too.

Strings.ie

ah come on - the discount rates offered by royal mail are 1.5% and 3%, possibly 5% for serious volumes. - This wouldn't make a huge dent in the costs.

I don't know where you are getting your figures from. Royal mail are saying for people who send 5000+ items per year the rate for packets up 750 grams is £1.63 (2.00 Euro) flat rate. An post packet under 500 grams is 4 Euro! Under 250 grams 3 Euro. Under 100 grams 2.50 Euro and so on.
http://www.anpost.ie/NR/rdonlyres/FDBA5244-90E7-4EE3-88F5-75AC1800B602/0/AnPostGuidetoPostalRates2012.pdf

Competitor to An Post = CityPost and there's another crowd too.

Not everybody is based in Dublin or indeed a major city. We're in Mayo.

As for discount from An Post - have you asked / have you met with one of their sales people? - they are VERY pro-active in trying to gain new customers

Is that right? So far I've phoned 3 times and was told a business representative would call me back. They didn't. Email also goes unanswered.

BUT you ahve to have decent volume. My discount off normal post office rate for parcels is about 70%. - Between an post & dpd, I will send out in excess of 20,000 parcels this year, so don't expect same level if you are at 1000 level.

Well, I look at what I spent with An post last year, it may not be in your volume but it was many thousands of euro yet I'm on the same rate as joe public.

And please don't say you asked at the post office - that's like asking a checkout girl in tesco for a discount. An Post have a business price list, there are discounts for volume packet mailings, but you need to go through their business sales dept to get the details. BUT you Have to have volume or at least show where serious volume will come from and back it up with facts and figures. They may start you at one rate and review it every few months.

If what you are sending will fit into a standard post box, the discounts can be quite reasonable AND if the volumes dictate, they'll collect from you too.

You clearly are having a great experience with An Post. Do me a favour and ask your contact there to contact me so I too can have a good experience. I'd much rather be having this conversation with an An post representative. The problem is getting hold of someone.