When did postage get completely insane?

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weeksy
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When did postage get completely insane?

Post by weeksy »

Sold an MTB frame and thought I'd split delivery with buyer at about £15 each.

To have it sent to insured value of £1700 was £80!

Wtf
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Count Steer »

:shock:

Who did you send it with?
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by weeksy »

I didn't.

All were roughly the same, DHL, parcelforce, DPD etc.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by rusty »

The postage itself is reasonably priced, it’s the insurance for higher value items that’s ridiculous.

If you were to post something Special Delivery you could insure it for a couple of thousand pounds value for only two or three pounds more but with a larger parcel it costs four or five times as much. It doesn’t make sense.

I just posted a hardtail frame with Parcel Force and it was only about £22 or so. Thankfully I paid for the extra cover for it as they’ve lost it and are next to impossible to contact about it.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Count Steer »

Pretty shocking. Was it to do with value or just that it's an awkward size/shape?

I guess we get used to 'free' postage - until we have to send something.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by weeksy »

Count Steer wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:52 am Pretty shocking. Was it to do with value or just that it's an awkward size/shape?

I guess we get used to 'free' postage - until we have to send something.
As above, it was a slight combination of both, but mostly the value that was the issue. If i left it at £50 it was about £20-25 to post it... but i'm not prepared to send a £2000 frame not insured value.

We'll see today if the buyer comes back to me and wants to cover the extra £50 on top of what the price was we agreed on.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by cheb »

Why is anyone surprised about the cost of insurance? Look at any number of complaints about couriers.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by weeksy »

cheb wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:51 am Why is anyone surprised about the cost of insurance? Look at any number of complaints about couriers.
I wasn't surprised that there's an associated cost... more the cost was so large !
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Mr Moofo »

About 4 years ago
There is anomalies … small parcels seem to be really cheap. Anything bigger that that becomes really expensive

You just have to shop around couriers - but there are some real rogues out there (as i found out)
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by weeksy »

Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 9:03 am About 4 years ago
There is anomalies … small parcels seem to be really cheap. Anything bigger that that becomes really expensive

You just have to shop around couriers - but there are some real rogues out there (as i found out)
I'm inclined that within reason i'll end up driving/meeting instead rather than posting it... Posting just seems a massive hassle and it's not like i'm desperate to shift it.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Skub »

weeksy wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 9:48 pm Sold an MTB frame and thought I'd split delivery with buyer at about £15 each.

To have it sent to insured value of £1700 was £80!

Wtf
We regularly send heavy-ish boxes to Australia for less than that. P&P prices can be really random at times. Fuckers like Demon Tweeks lump on the postage to N.I. I make a point of not using places like that.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Rockburner »

weeksy wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:57 am
cheb wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:51 am Why is anyone surprised about the cost of insurance? Look at any number of complaints about couriers.
I wasn't surprised that there's an associated cost... more the cost was so large !
Insurance companies have to keep the shareholders happy..... ;)
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Slenver »

I've not used them, so do your own due diligence, but this service was recommended by a website for buying/selling watches. Seems good and prices are way, way lower.

Basically they just cover the insurance separately, you post using the basic PO (or whatever) service.
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by Mr Moofo »

Do not use Parcels Compare
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Re: When did postage get completely insane?

Post by cheb »

weeksy wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:57 am
cheb wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:51 am Why is anyone surprised about the cost of insurance? Look at any number of complaints about couriers.
I wasn't surprised that there's an associated cost... more the cost was so large !

See my comment about couriers
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