Posting a big parcel via Royal Mail

HaX · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:42

Hi there,

I have sold a big tent on-line and the buyer would like me to post it to their home in Scotland.

I have managed to wrap it in Carboard and the total weight is about 16.5 kg.

Would Royal Mail deliver such an item for me, and can I just drop it off at my local post office.

Alternatively if this isn't the case, are there any couriers I could drop it off with (can't afford the time at home to wait for them to pick it up).

Cheers

HaX

qqg3 · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:47

That should be fine for RM. They've taken 14kg off of me before now. If I remember right, I think the "normal service" does up to 25kg...

PhillyDee · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:47

Main depots from Royal Mail take upto 25kg (iirc), so that would be ok. I suggest you go to www.royalmail.com and use their price finder. It will advise of the costs.

disfunktion · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:49

I imagine its larger than 610mm x 460mm x 460mm?

If so then this is the only service you could use: http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400028&mediaId=400031

Service is a farce and and can take more than a week to arrive.

You can send it via Parcel Force in a Post Office but this will be rather expensive and again the service is awful.

disfunktion · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:52

Info for First Class:

The maximum dimensions for rectangular items are 610mm x 460mm x 460mm.
The maximum length for rolled items is 900mm and the length plus twice the item diameter must not exceed 1040mm.
Items over these dimensions should be sent by Standard Parcels or using Parcelforce Worldwide
There is no weight limit for items sent First Class. (The weight limit for Second Class items is 1000g)

SiriusB · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:24

Nothing wrong with standard parcels for this? Who cares if it takes a week. A courier or parcel force will probably charge you £20+ minmum. Standard Parcels is about £15 for parcels not exceeding 20KG.

disfunktion · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:31

SiriusB said:
Nothing wrong with standard parcels for this? Who cares if it takes a week. A courier or parcel force will probably charge you £20+ minmum. Standard Parcels is about £15 for parcels not exceeding 20KG.

I wouldn't use any service from RM that isn't trackable.

Even then I've seen staff sign for items them self forging the recipients signature and then dumping the parcel in a porch etc.

Arcimbaldo · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:42

Try www.interparcel.com, they list services available on the parcel and do very reasonable prices, i was able to post off an RC Car which weighed 5kg for 6 pounds, it arrived the next day via UPS.

iKettles · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:50

www.parcel2go.com

PhillyDee · 3 Jun 2010 at 21:09

SiriusB said:
Nothing wrong with standard parcels for this? Who cares if it takes a week. A courier or parcel force will probably charge you £20+ minmum. Standard Parcels is about £15 for parcels not exceeding 20KG.

I agree.

SiriusB · 3 Jun 2010 at 21:19

disfunktion said:
I wouldn't use any service from RM that isn't trackable.

Even then I've seen staff sign for items them self forging the recipients signature and then dumping the parcel in a porch etc.

If it is a very expensive item, then a courier or other tracked service is a given, but why spend so much money on a courier if the item itself is not worth much? You can spend a few extra quid and get insurance on it.

drunkenmaster · 3 Jun 2010 at 22:48

Been reading up as I've got stuff for sale.

parcel 2 go and people offer a way to get citylink, dhl, UPS and normal couriers to pick up stuff from you, it can be fairly cheap but insurance is expensive compared to RM and they will not cover damage to monitors/tvs, special delivery and standard parcel are cheaper to insure and will cover damage to more things than Parcel2go cover, UPS and co themselves will cover things like that, but its difficult to use them without an account.

Standard parcel is fine, some people RM sucks in their area, sometimes its fine, I used to use it all the time, was very occasionally next day, but usually 2-3 days and only once remember it being longer. Its really your only cheap option, parcelforce cost more because they offer faster services but still shouldn't cost more than £20 for a 14kg parcel(just so happens I've been checking a way to send a 14.5kg parcel).

Parcel 2 go are almost certainly your cheapest option for a tent, depending on insurance required, if no more than £50, you can send it 2-3 day for £7 or so, if it needed £350 of insurance, it would cost £15.