Two more time saver tips for you
Try out these two new services and see if they can benefit your online business
Well, what a fantastic week I’ve had and what absolutely lovely people I’ve met. I think I am still on a high after hosting my first ever eBay workshop last weekend! Yes – it was the first one ever – so you can imagine that I was feeling just a little nervous beforehand. I’m delighted to tell you that it all went really well and the feedback I’ve had so far has been absolutely great so I’m feeling delighted and will now definitely consider doing more workshops throughout this year – I’ll keep you informed of developments!
Anyway, following on from my ‘Fast Post’ tip from my 13th January newsletter - which you can read here if you missed it, and whilst chatting with eBay workshop attendee Gordon on Sunday, I learned something new too!
Yes, I don’t know whether it’s because I live out in the sticks, but when Gordon mentioned ‘Post & Go’ as a method of posting your eBay parcels, I'd never heard of it. Now, I don’t mind admitting that and neither had quite a few other people heard of it either, so I’ve done some investigating and can bring you up to speed about it today. It wasn’t easy finding this information either as Royal Mail seem to be quite shy about publicizing this service!
What is Post & Go?
Well as the name implies, ‘Post & Go’ is a self-service system where you can literally ‘post and go’! If you spot a big red monster of a machine in your local Post Office looking extremely menacing in the corner then the chances are that it’s a Post & Go machine! Here you can weigh letters and parcels all by yourself and print the necessary stamps. It caters for 1st and 2nd class, international and signed for postage – basically everything that you would normally queue up and do at the Post Office counter - and when you’re done you simply pay by cash or card via the machine.
The thing is that the Post Office has not actually been advertising these self-service machines anywhere – not even on their own website as far as I can see – which is probably one of the reasons that I (and many others) had not heard of this service! That coupled with the fact that I then realised on investigation that the nearest Post & Go machine to where I live is about an hour and a quarter away so not really time efficient for me!
Anyway, you might be in luck and find one near you as there are quite a few Post & Go’s dotted around the country - apparently there are over 220 terminals in 146 Post Office branches - but the majority of them do seem to be in and around
Now, having never used a Post & Go machine myself I’m afraid I can’t comment on how efficient or easy to use these machines are but I can definitely see the possible potential for you to use them to speed up the whole posting process for your eBay business if you don’t want to print your own postage at home or queue up in the Post Office.
So, if you are reading this and you are a regular Post & Go-er then please let me know how well (or not) it works for you! Especially if you are posting a large number of parcels each time you use it…
A new service from UK Mail
Now still on the subject of postage, this week I also want to tell you about a service that has been set up by UK Mail. You’ve probably seen their vans around – white with a blue and red logo. Well, they are the largest independent parcel service in the
Here you can actually sync your eBay account to ipostparcels so that when you sell an item you can immediately and automatically fill in the ‘quote and book’ form on their website with your sold item details – this in turn gives you immediate access to next day delivery. You can link to eBay here and don’t worry, eBay won’t release your account or password details so it’s perfectly safe. ipostparcels also offers discounts for multiple consignments and so is ideal for you as an eBay seller!
So here’s how it works:
You simply name where you would like your parcels collected from (home/work/etc) and where you would like them delivered to and ipostparcels will collect and deliver within a fast next day service! This way you can guarantee a quick delivery which means your customers will be really happy! With all orders you have the option to select delivery before 9am, 10.30am or Noon. You can also request pre and post delivery advice notifications by email or SMS text. The pre advice delivery is sent to your customer informing them that their delivery is on its way and when to expect it and if the delivery day is not convenient then your customer even has the option to rearrange it via SMS if you have included their mobile phone number at the time of booking.
This is absolutely fantastic customer service and can really help with positive feedback on your eBay account. Plus a proof of delivery is available with all bookings where a signature has been requested, so again this can help with any potential missing parcel disputes.
I think this is a great innovation that offers a viable alternative to queuing at the Post Office and is definitely one to look into as an eBay seller – especially if you need a fast delivery service but at a low cost.
Look out Royal Mail!
As always I wish you the very best of success
Amanda
