Whilst this won’t necessarily appeal to volume sellers, there’s an eBay Packlink shipping promotion running until the end of the year that will definitely appeal to those who use eBay to purchase shipping labels offering 50% off the cost of postage. If you don’t generally use Packlink, check out the prices as it might convince you to try the service. There’s also an offer on Hermes Collections making them the same prices as drop off.
Sellers who complete a transaction on eBay UK and click the Print Postage button on my eBay and purchase eligible delivery services can access the Packlink shipping promotion savings until midnight on the evening of the 31st of December.
Promotion #1 – 50% off
Until the end of 2020, eligible delivery services available on Packlink for purchase via eBay UK will be discounted by 50%. Prices are automatically reflected on Packlink site in the purchase flow and at checkout and apply to both collection and drop off.
All carrier services for delivery within the United Kingdom and available for purchase on Packlink when sellers click on Print Postage on My eBay via eBay UK are included in the promo.
Promotion #2 – Hermes Collection Promo
Until the 31st of December, you can get your parcels collected from home via Hermes at the same price as drop-off. eBay will match the rates for collections with that of the dropoff services when purchased through Packlink.
This represents significant savings for sellers and as it runs until the end of the month it really is worth considering switching to using eBay Shipping to produce your labels rather than going directly to an alternative booking site.
Full T’s and C’s available on eBay
12 Responses
a simply stonkling deal
picked up from the door , a very generous size allowance tracked and insured,
half the price or less
of royal mail,
@victor
Yes but Royal Mail generally deliver.
Hermes and Packlink the opposite.
Currently waiting for a Hermes / Packlink delivery that has allegedly been “out for delivery” “with your courier” since December 4th.
It’s December 7th today.
Yep, happy to 100% agree with Victor. I found this out yesterday, UPS deliveries in the UK up to 2kg for £3.50, great deal.
Hermes are £1.45 for under 1kg, but add a signature POD it is £2.35, still a good deal
And as I cannot get RM Parcel Collect to work anymore……..it used to and now does not….long may this offer continue, well a few more weeks at least.
If anyone has any advice on RM Parcel Collect please?
I cleared out cookies, I have gone incognito, i have tried using Paypal, tried debit cards, one at a time, 5 at a time, nothing works …. it fails. But as soon as I take the “collection booking” off it allows me to buy postage, just not the collection. But it had offered me dates, so it is in my area. I have bought postage then tried to add a collection “for an item that already has postage”, that falls over too at the final stage. RM not much help, nice people when you get through, but so far no joy. i am on [email protected]
Sounds good but with no guarantee that Hermes will collect when shown it’s easy to fall foul of ebays same day despatch e.g. customer orders Sunday with order to be sent Monday. Delivery booked via Packlink on Sunday with collection Monday. Monday comes but the courier doesn’t so post has to be taken to a shop on Tuesday.
@Kate
I did have a Paclink Hermes parcel “stuck” at the Hermes National Hub last week. Sat there for 2 days inexplicably, but on the 3rd day it moved and the delivery arrived. I put it down to cyber monday / black friday etc and just sheer volumes.
I have lost 2 parcels with Hermes over the years, and I will admit when it’s lost, its gone, despite return addresses and bar codes etc. One was sent to the wrong local courier, said as much on the tracking and was returned to their hub…….never seen again.
But generally I find them okay. I have a couple awaiting collection, the chap gets here around 14:30 – 3pm each day.
all couriers lose items fail or are late to deliver, plus Royal mail are fast becoming a postal black hole
this deal from ebay is so good its daft not to take advantage of it
Thanks for posting about this Chris.
I actually didn’t know about it until reading this yesterday.
I am trialling it today with our local shop.
I have about 25% of our Royal Mail large letters (not even parcels!) not delivered to our customers after 10 days following collection, according to the delivery confirmation (tracking) number, and several of our customers.
As a result of this I bit the bullet and started to use Hermes again, with all my fingers crossed, as I really didn’t want to have to use them, but for low value orders, they are not valuable enough to pay for a good courier. Royal Mail was the only viable carrier for low cost packages.
Now after a month using them in the busiest time of year, most Hermes (direct with daily collections not via Packlink) are being delivered in the expected 2 days, fully tracked with photo and GPS location on delivery to a safe place, however we do find the occasional item is damaged, missing some contents (or swapped entirely with something completely different once). None of these are refunded despite ‘insurance’.
However this is still better than Royal Mail at the moment whose delivery confirmation shows nothing for 10 days, and often never shows delivered. Customers who do eventually receive it, get it after our replacements were sent via Hermes. And when lost, Royal Mail don’t reimburse as their items are not insured when sent through a business account. More packages are currently lost or too late by Royal Mail and need resending (by courier – no good resending by Royal Mail) than the trouble with Hermes. Still at half the price of other couriers, even DPD, the cost of Hermes still makes it worth it, otherwise high volume low margin lightweight packaging supplies could no longer be viable without Royal Mail.
I don’t send anything by Royal Mail parcel now, even under 1KG, as Hermes are providing a better outcome with full tracking for similar / lower cost.
I just wish I could find an alternative for the Royal Mail Large Letters, as so much time and money (in replacements) are being lost to Royal Mail delivery delays and lack of tracking info, and we can’t get a fully Tracked service without a large commitment and costing more than a courier, and yet the service is not much better – it just shows where it was last scanned, if at all, but may still be sat in a backlog of post.
@Nick
we very much mirror your experience with royal mail and your alternative with my hermes exactly
The great thing about collection is that fact I can stay at home and cut down on social contact. For the same reason we have been using RM parcel boxes and drop off lockers since COVID. The less we can all interact, the better.
Those Expensive services aren’t always great either.
I used UPS as I preceived them to be professional with ltd losses and a good rep.. However this week items I took to our local “DROP OFF” a grocery store (a 5 mile round trip because I’m concerned I’d miss the collection drivers) were left sitting for 7 days!!!. Yes 7 not 2 or 3 but A WHOLE WEEK!
Today Monday the 14th of Dec they collected my “next day delivery” parcels for the first time in a week. I paid a premium to get these to my customers and I’m getting angry emails, “Where’s my item” ect. Tracking shows it’s not moving?
I called their customer serices and talked to a lady (in the USA) 2 days ago. Gave her all the details inc tracking numbers and was told someone from their UK CS would call me back within an hour. Did UPS make that call – Anytime since. Guess?
NO!
I emailed their CEO UK a MrMark Vale – no response. All I want to know is HOW can parcels languish in their own drop off locations for 7 days.
I went to that drop off today and they’d been and collected parcels. but there on the shop floor was one of mine from Thursday. Still there, how in the name of Google does that happen also? I personnally took my parcel and one for today to the local UPS depots (Their Glasgow hub. Only 5 miles away from the drop off) Stood outside (Covid restrictions) and insisted a manager come and give me some answers.
The manager who finally came out (I was originally told no-one would come out I’d have to call them) he was pissed at me. I was clearly an inconvenience to him. He said after I asked why that he’d call me later to update me. Didn’t happen.
My buyers want postage refunds (Quite justifiably) as things are WELL DELAYED.
My reputation/feedback could be at risk. And what help are those Global shipping experts UPS? None, ignored and disowned. It would appear they couldn’t care less.
So even the ones you trust and have strong faith in might make mistakes, but it’s how they handle those mistakes with their customers that tells you how they feel about customers I believe. Crapped on is how I feel. Abandoned and ignored.
Oh and if your faith is in their technology them think again. Doesn’t matter how many items a drop off records it only shows as one to the UPS collection driver. *-
So if your parcel is lying on a shop floor and some decides they want it there’s not much UPS will know about that or probably based on my experience do about it either.
Insurance with all these companies is a bit of a profit making extra rather than protecion for you the person paying for peace of mind. Disgusted
Since this seems to have been such a success and great for sellers who have to give free shipping on ebay, it will be great if ebay continues this indefinitely