Cheapest way to send a camera/valuable?

B

BlackCloud

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,795
Edit My Images
No
With all these cheaper courier type services these days, is there a cheaper way to send expensive items like secondhand cameras/lenses worth anything up to around £1000? Still see a lot of people using RMSD but wondered if there was anything else we could trust a bit cheaper?

I've seen one or two of the courier services having disclaimer clauses that effectively deter sending valuable items such as monitors/electricals.
 
drounding said:
http://www.interparcel.com are good to check prices with.
Click to expand...

I send quite a few parcels through Interparcel. They act as agents for several of the big couriers. Their base prices are quite good but insurance cover is very limited. You can add insurance cover,but I've never tried sending expensive items.
 
People think they are safe with RMSD , I remember a guy who had to take royal mail to court to get them to pay out for a laptop that went missing.
 
Well I guess it would all depend on the terms and conditions and what the points in dispute were.

Thanks for the replies. Get the impression its still probably the better choice for such items.
 
The main problem with RMSD nowadays is the sudden jump in price from £12 at 2kg (£1000 ins) to £26.80 for up to 10kg, so that 2.2kg item I want to post is suddenly more expensive than I thought. I'll be off to Interparcel once I get a delivery postcode from the buyer.
 
I've started using interlink direct. Actually worked out cheaper than RMSD and they collect. No effort. They also give the recipient a delivery hour slot if you include their email. A no brainer compared to most of the others that can't even tell you what day it will arrive.
 
srichards said:
I've started using interlink direct. Actually worked out cheaper than RMSD and they collect. No effort. They also give the recipient a delivery hour slot if you include their email. A no brainer compared to most of the others that can't even tell you what day it will arrive.
Click to expand...
I'm a big fan of DPD and Interlink (same owners, GeoPost) but it's only fair to point out that the insurance cover on this service is limited to £75. Not necessarily ideal if you're sending a valuable camera or lens.
 
Personally if a private seller here was using a courier I would avoid, no courier that has delivered to me can currently offer a pick up location less than a 50 mile round-trip for me, and as I'm at work 8-6 Mon-Fri even a specified 1hr delivery slot isn't much use.

I imagine a lot of people a long way from a major town or city have similar issues, only RM are genuinely local to the majority.
 
StewartR said:
I'm a big fan of DPD and Interlink (same owners, GeoPost) but it's only fair to point out that the insurance cover on this service is limited to £75. Not necessarily ideal if you're sending a valuable camera or lens.
Click to expand...

Its easy to increase though. Other couriers are usually the same 75 and often increasing the cover increases the price so much they're worse than RM.
 
I second the use of www.interparcel.com you can arrange collection from any address which is useful.

As mentioned the key thing is to ensure you have the additional insurance cover included as basic is usually only about £50 worth.

With RMSD beware - they guarantee delivery to an address but not an individual - I kid you not I once had Mickey Mouse sign a delivery receipt when the person I sent it to claimed he had not received it. Royal Mail refused to do anything - so if a burglar answers the door they will happily let him sign for it.
 
Mystery57 said:
I second the use of www.interparcel.com you can arrange collection from any address which is useful.

As mentioned the key thing is to ensure you have the additional insurance cover included as basic is usually only about £50 worth.

With RMSD beware - they guarantee delivery to an address but not an individual - I kid you not I once had Mickey Mouse sign a delivery receipt when the person I sent it to claimed he had not received it. Royal Mail refused to do anything - so if a burglar answers the door they will happily let him sign for it.
Click to expand...

Can you do Post Restante with RMSD or equivalent service from RM?
 
ukaskew said:
Personally if a private seller here was using a courier I would avoid, no courier that has delivered to me can currently offer a pick up location less than a 50 mile round-trip for me...
Click to expand...

You're missing out then. UK Mail are at Frome, 22 mile round trip. UPS are at Bristol, 35 mile round trip, but they also have about 20 pickup points (in shops) closer to you than that - one of them is even in Trowbridge.
 
Mystery57 said:
With RMSD beware - they guarantee delivery to an address but not an individual - I kid you not I once had Mickey Mouse sign a delivery receipt when the person I sent it to claimed he had not received it. Royal Mail refused to do anything - so if a burglar answers the door they will happily let him sign for it.
Click to expand...

That isn't specific to RMSD. No carrier will guarantee delivery to a specific individual.
 
StewartR said:
You're missing out then. UK Mail are at Frome, 22 mile round trip. UPS are at Bristol, 35 mile round trip, but they also have about 20 pickup points (in shops) closer to you than that - one of them is even in Trowbridge.
Click to expand...

My last two UPS deliveries went back to Avonmouth, a record 90 mile round trip to collect my parcel (well over two hours!) As I've learnt to my cost, if a company quotes miles from your location on their website, it's usually as the crow flies...useful for helicopter owners. Most parcels seem to arrive by DPD, that's a 45 mile round trip, fortunately they have a habit of leaving it with a neighbour (by neighbour I mean any house within a 1/4 mile radius!) In 15 years of deliveries from many couriers nothing has ever gone back to anywhere but Bristol.

I wasn't given the option of a pick up point with UPS (that may have changed recently), the few times I've had that option with other couriers it's been a further two days before it reached there as I've only been able to specify that after they've already tried and failed to deliver to me.

As convenience goes RMSD is still way ahead for me, I have a 5D arriving today, I will miss it but I know I can collect it before work (open at 7:30) or after (shut at 8pm) tomorrow without any hassle, just a 2 minute drive from my house. If renting a lens, for example, it would be the only even vaguely viable option (City Link are 82 miles) open to me to ensure I had the lens the next day after it was delivered.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top