Looking for a shipping company (e.g. DHL, etc.)

maschera

Hi all,

I am setting up an eCommerce shop and am looking for a continuous working relationship with a shipping company to serve my customers, who are based in Ireland, UK and EU (especially in Italy).

Could you recommend me a shipping company that I can rely on and is not too expensive?

Many thanks

Maschera

Compton

I can't fault any company to be honest with you, and I've dealt with a lot

DPD
Fastway
DHL
GLS
TNT
UPS
etc..

Joseph

I find DPD absolutely fantastic. Great online interaction, tracking etc. Out of many many many parcels I have got through them only one was late (the next morning) and this was because of Christmas rush (they delivered on Sat to make up for it)

maschera

Thanks guys,

I dropped DPD an email and am going to contact the others too.

I worked with GLS when I was back in Italy, but my experience was not amazing. They were the cheapest on the market though.

Happy new year;)

TylerIE

Fastway have been great for me this year when sending stuff out.

I get a lot of inbound parcels by Fed Ex and have been regularly disappointed with their delivery as they outsource a lot of stuff to local courier companies in rural areas. In THREE seperate instances the drivers literally couldnt be bothered looking for the delivery address when there was no phone number...

Id also consider some sort of addressee only policy and perhaps putting special instructions of signature on delivery on packages as a few times Iv had couriers leave package in window or at a neighbours and then been plagued when the customer contacts me to say they never got it.

maxer68

DPD would be best for your businessa s they have their own operations in UK & most of europe.

To get the lowest rates you will ahve to prove you can do the level of business, but based on 500 parcels per month, you should get Irish rates at under €5, uk at under €8 and europe at €12-15.

Their tracking and next day delivery ratio is surperb.

maschera

maxer68 wrote: »

DPD would be best for your businessa s they have their own operations in UK & most of europe.

To get the lowest rates you will ahve to prove you can do the level of business, but based on 500 parcels per month, you should get Irish rates at under €5, uk at under €8 and europe at €12-15.

Their tracking and next day delivery ratio is surperb.

Ok, it sounds pretty reasonable and people all sound enthusiastic about the service.

Great if Europe would be even cheaper!

maschera

TylerIE wrote: »

Fastway have been great for me this year when sending stuff out.

I get a lot of inbound parcels by Fed Ex and have been regularly disappointed with their delivery as they outsource a lot of stuff to local courier companies in rural areas. In THREE seperate instances the drivers literally couldnt be bothered looking for the delivery address when there was no phone number...

Id also consider some sort of addressee only policy and perhaps putting special instructions of signature on delivery on packages as a few times Iv had couriers leave package in window or at a neighbours and then been plagued when the customer contacts me to say they never got it.

In addition, I think FEDEX is hugely expensive. I remember my old company shipped me a laptop from the US to UK and they charged something like $600!

Regarding Fastway, I don't think they ship abroad: do they? I'd prefer to have one only shipping company for admin easiness.

Compton

Using fastway a lot now, their rate in Ireland is great if you're doing big quantities.
Thye ship to the UK too.

Compton

Using fastway a lot now, their rate in Ireland is great if you're doing big quantities.
Thye ship to the UK too.

NomadicMe

Fastway have a great service in Ireland- they usually deliver when they say they will.

I have heard of issues with deliveries in the UK and I think they have started offering deliveries to Europe as well now.

For the most competitive prices, you might have to get 2 different courier companies as I don't think any one company can offer you the most competitive prices across the board but you are the only one who can weigh up the difference of having 2 different systems for the different companies vs the savings/ added expense.

TylerIE

maschera wrote: »

In addition, I think FEDEX is hugely expensive. I remember my old company shipped me a laptop from the US to UK and they charged something like $600!

Regarding Fastway, I don't think they ship abroad: do they? I'd prefer to have one only shipping company for admin easiness.

Fed Ex offer discounted rates on accounts, they are actually reasonable value for large items to the US. These discounts are easily enough obtained (a bit behind but 5 years ago we got them very easily).

Im unsure re Fastway and mainland Europe. They do Mainland UK - contact your local depot on www.fastway.ie .

As another poster said you may find that one company can offer best pricing for Ireland, while you will need another for the EU/UK, or will need to compromise with second best in one market if you want a "one provider fits all" solution.

Compton

NomadicMe wrote: »

Fastway have a great service in Ireland- they usually deliver when they say they will.

I have heard of issues with deliveries in the UK and I think they have started offering deliveries to Europe as well now.

For the most competitive prices, you might have to get 2 different courier companies as I don't think any one company can offer you the most competitive prices across the board but you are the only one who can weigh up the difference of having 2 different systems for the different companies vs the savings/ added expense.

Yes the UK serivce isn't great at all, takes very long around a week sometimes.

Ireland is 95% next working day for me, very rarely get damaged goods.

szita2000

Had a business quote last week from DHL, we are a startup business too. but they were hugely expensive. €22 for up to 1 kg, and about the 40 mark for 2 kg.. As we only sell jewellery I had to laugh at the sales rep...

maxer68

szita2000 wrote: »

Had a business quote last week from DHL, we are a startup business too. but they were hugely expensive. €22 for up to 1 kg, and about the 40 mark for 2 kg.. As we only sell jewellery I had to laugh at the sales rep...

Do you go to Patrick Guilbaud's michelin star restaurant when all you want is a sandwich??

I'd say the rep was laughing at you not understanding your own requirements and not doing any basic research into the service you require - not a good sign for a start-up business.

DHL are mainly express COURIERS - unless your package absolutely has to be at their destination the next day there is absolutley no point whatsoever in contacting them as their service is far and away above what you require.

For normal everyday delivery, you want a parcel delivery company - DPD, GLS, Fastway (uk/irl only), Nightline etc.

szita2000

Certainly.

Mind you, this quote was sent to me after I answered they questionare about my requirement. stating that my packages would be less than 200grams, more like airmail packets in a small jiffy envelope.

maschera

Guys, this is the outcome so far:

- TNT: prices are absolutely ridiculous, however they're not the ideal shipping company for a startup
- DHL: waiting for a quote
- AnPost: Best quote and great first impression so far (an Account Manager came and see me face by face)
- DPD: We are negotiating, however prices are competitive

I requested both Fastway and GLS to give me a call back, but they still haven't replied.