Online Store What courier to use??

no12

Hi,

I am currently developing a new online store and will be selling products internationally. I am wondering what courier company to use for International shipping ideally Europe, USA and the rest of the world?

Already use Fastway and will continue to use them for National and UK delivery.

Thanks in advance

jimmii

I normally just use this site and go with whatever they suggest! I got an unreal offer from Fedex via them for transport from UK to Ireland.

http://www.parcel2go.com/ie/

Kendlebell

Hi ,

I have used wheels couriers in the past better rates than DHL, UPS etc,. Give them a call and speak to Les. www.wheelscouriers.ie.

The Pontiac

My website is about to go live soon, and I have been getting quotes from couriers.

The cheapest I got was €7.50 (ex. VAT) for domestic, next day delivery.

Obviously I can't predict volumes yet, so is €7.50 a reasonable starter rate, or should I haggle? It will be reviewed in 3 months time.

sandin

I don't want to burst your bubble, but maybe start a little slower and concentrate on Ireland & UK. Possibly Europe too.

Shipping anything other than very small packages to other areas will simply not be worth the hassle unless they are high value - even shipping to non-EU countries in Europe has a fair whack of paperwork and potential sale tax at the delivered end.

Assuming Ireland/UK/Europe and want to get the best deal, you need just one company - your choice will be AnPost (latecomer, but have got very very good and superb rates) DPD (very good esp for europe) and GLS (can have issues).

Also - I'm in online for 5 years now - its only since last year my volumes have got to a serious level. (we'll ship about 15k parcels this year) It takes a LOT of work and a LOT of money - but once you get to critical mass and you have a product customers will come back for, it can be very rewarding.

To give idea of rates

We pay €4 for national, 7.30 for UK and 9.50-15.00 for europe (all +vat) and a combination of anpost & dpd, but it is on min 500/month for each carrier

jimmii

The Pontiac wrote: »

My website is about to go live soon, and I have been getting quotes from couriers.

The cheapest I got was €7.50 (ex. VAT) for domestic, next day delivery.

Obviously I can't predict volumes yet, so is €7.50 a reasonable starter rate, or should I haggle? It will be reviewed in 3 months time.

If that is for a one off then that sounds pretty good assuming its not got a very small limit on it. Best I could find was at that price but you had to do 20 odd a week.

The Pontiac

sandin wrote: »

Assuming Ireland/UK/Europe and want to get the best deal, you need just one company - your choice will be AnPost (latecomer, but have got very very good and superb rates) DPD (very good esp for europe) and GLS (can have issues).

Funny that, as DPD and An Post were the only couriers that never replied to my emails. Still that won't put me off, so I'll calll in to the depot or ring them on Monday.

Some of my items are small (and cheap), so An Post is a must for small packages. I'm wondering if I can get discount rates on buying bulk stamps or tokens. There's not much point in selling a €4 product if the postage is €5 registered. Maybe I could get away with non-registered post?

My other item would be large, so a courier is a must for parcel delivery. If An Post can beat my nearest quote, then I'd be quite happy to use their services.

jimmii wrote: »

If that is for a one off then that sounds pretty good assuming its not got a very small limit on it. Best I could find was at that price but you had to do 20 odd a week.

I just told them I was setting up an eCommerce website. They never asked me how many parcels a week. In the 'Average No. of Cons/week' section they just put in Adhoc.

Max Dims 60cmx60cmx60cm
Max Length 200cm
Max Weight 20kg
Max Volume .222cu m


I'd be aiming at 20 parcels a week to start, hopefully.

sandin

an post have a sales team - you need to call parcel sales.

If volume is strong, they'll install a online printer & software. If not, they'll give you labels and a parcel record book. They will collect daily.

The Pontiac

sandin wrote: »

an post have a sales team - you need to call parcel sales.

If volume is strong, they'll install a online printer & software. If not, they'll give you labels and a parcel record book. They will collect daily.

Thanks for that. I got my local rep's number from that page so I'll ring him on Monday.

The Pontiac

Both quotes I've received stated "Max 10 parcels per consignment/delivery".

Does this mean 10 per customer, or 10 parcels daily is the max I can send? I thought they'd take as many as possible.

jimmii

The Pontiac wrote: »

Both quotes I've received stated "Max 10 parcels per consignment/delivery".

Does this mean 10 per customer, or 10 parcels daily is the max I can send? I thought they'd take as many as possible.

I can't believe any delivery company would limit the MAX you could send! I guess they only have small vans and so its 10 parcels per collection but you can have multiple collections per day or something like that.

galwayjohn89

10 per consignment would be 10 going to the same address. Some parcel companies will charge by the overall weight of the consignment even if its multiple parcels. Well thats what is has been in my experience.

The Pontiac

Thanks for the replies. Vuzuggu, you are correct.

DPD and Nightline are the lowest quotes and both quoted me the same deal. Are the both as good as each other?

An Post were the only company that never got back to me, despite trying to contact the sales rep in my area many times. Sent emails, left messages etc. Absolute farce of a company. If they quoted me €1 per parcel now, I'd decline. Bunch of incompetents!