Couriers

[Island Jim]

Hi Everyone

My apologies if this has already been covered but does anyone have any recommendations for couriers when posting a bike?

I recently sold a bike on eBay. EBay suggested the postage should be £20 I set it at £40 and when I went to Parcel Force they charged me £67!!!!!

They have this daft rule about the combined length and girth having to be under 3m and the length has to be under 1.5m. Mine was over that 3.4m total so it was a special item.

Any suggestions gladly received.

Jim

 

[Gtpulse]

I find Parcelforce volumetric pricing confusing. If you put the dimensions and weight in it quotes a ridiculous price.

You can get away with a lot cheaper if you manipulate the quote page numbers but keep the actual parcel within the weight and dimension limits of the service. The parcels always get through, I think there is something wrong (not sure if it’s deliberate!) with their quote system. I’m not suggesting or condoning any type of fraud here, it’s all within their stated service prices it’s just that their quote system doesn’t work!

A whole bike is cheapest to send in two parcels one with the frame and forks and one with the wheels. You should be able to do this for 2 x £11.75 for a 48 hour service collected from your door.

 

[Island Jim]

When I sent mine it was the ridiculous price and the guy at the depot wasn’t letting it through on the lower price. Sending it as two parcels is a good idea.

 

[Black_puma]

I sent a bike via Parcelforce48 tracked last year and If I remember correctly it cost between £50 and £70, ridiculous prices!

 

[Once A Hero]

I've spent a lot of time chopping bike boxes down to meet the Parcel Force less than 1.1m x 0.7m rule. You can fit most 26" sized mtbs in a box of that size but it will need to be fully dismantled. Then all you have to worry about is getting the insurance value right.

Paisley Freight is a much less size restrictive option, and price is around £50 from memory.

 

[Twozaskars]

View attachment 899592View attachment 899593I find Parcelforce volumetric pricing confusing. If you put the dimensions and weight in it quotes a ridiculous price.

You can get away with a lot cheaper if you manipulate the quote page numbers but keep the actual parcel within the weight and dimension limits of the service. The parcels always get through, I think there is something wrong (not sure if it’s deliberate!) with their quote system. I’m not suggesting or condoning any type of fraud here, it’s all within their stated service prices it’s just that their quote system doesn’t work!

A whole bike is cheapest to send in two parcels one with the frame and forks and one with the wheels. You should be able to do this for 2 x £11.75 for a 48 hour service collected from your door.

This^^
Did it the week before last as it was too much hassle, needed more packaging and I would have had to find a big box to get it all in one. To then have to pay more for it.
They even bring the label(s).