Selling a camera - which courier to use

Mystery57

Mystery57

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I'm considering selling my Canon 5d3 having upgraded recently

Have been looking around at insured courier costs and it seems that they are either exorbitantly expensive or they prohibit cameras from the insurance cover. Needless to say there is no way I am going to entrust a camera to a courier uninsured.

Recent items I have bought for myself have been delivered by DPD, but when I looked at their quote onllne they infact exclude camera equipment so all I can think is that the dealers are ignoring insurance cover.

The cheapest I have found which will cover the camera for a sensible amount of money has been Royal Mail Special Services but even that is over £26.00 - which makes a mockery of the charges people put on listings on places like ebay

Can anyone recommend or give advice as to who might be suitable

thanks
 
I've sold a lot of high value stuff on Ebay, and have always used RMSD next day by 1pm and never had any issue whatsoever, if you can keep the package under 2kg, you can usually
send for around £12.
 
Mystery57 said:
I agree, last time I sold a camera about 18 months ago the buyer grumbled when charged at that time £15 so I am trying to get some options before advertising it. The list of exclusions on these courier sites these days seem to exclude virtually everything !!!!
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You could tell the buyer that at your risk it's £26+, if he prefers to arrange his own courier at his risk then that's fine with you.
 
Hogboy said:
I've sold a lot of high value stuff on Ebay, and have always used RMSD next day by 1pm and never had any issue whatsoever, if you can keep the package under 2kg, you can usually
send for around £12.
Click to expand...

The packed weight is circa 1500 grams, but at this weight to qualify for using RMSD for £11.00 the box can be no deeper than 16cm, which does not allow for a great deal of packaging around the camera

When my upgrade camera came it was in a box which was 25cm deep
 
UPS are very good and sometimes beat RM depending on size / weight
 
Mystery57 said:
The packed weight is circa 1500 grams, but at this weight to qualify for using RMSD for £11.00 the box can be no deeper than 16cm, which does not allow for a great deal of packaging around the camera

When my upgrade camera came it was in a box which was 25cm deep
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Maybe my PO is different, but they are never bothered by the size of the box, only the weight.i sold a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 a few weeks back, packed in an A4 box, cost me £12.
 
Check out APC overnight, look at fragile service , check with them for insurance, they do it but get t&c before committing .
 
Hogboy said:
Maybe my PO is different, but they are never bothered by the size of the box, only the weight.i sold a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 a few weeks back, packed in an A4 box, cost me £12.
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Our postoffice are shocking they want to know the ins and outs of a cats backside as to what is in parcels - even when the postage has been purchased online and the appropriate box ticked so say that the item was not on their excluded list - have been so tempted on many occasions to say explicit sex toys or similar :)
 
I agree Hermes are dire as are Yodel. What is interesting looking at some of the recommendations above is that UPS came up on comparison sites which said not covered when enquired, but UPS for sure seem to be prepared to cover looking at their website. Just have to be so careful, I have had several mail order items ordered for myself over the last 12 months which have disappeared off the face of the earth, this is why I am very careful when sending items myself.
 
Mystery57 said:
The packed weight is circa 1500 grams, but at this weight to qualify for using RMSD for £11.00 the box can be no deeper than 16cm, which does not allow for a great deal of packaging around the camera

When my upgrade camera came it was in a box which was 25cm deep
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Use RMSD, nothing else. Companies like Hermes don’t insure cameras.

With RMSD there isn’t a restriction on size (within reason), it’s based on weight.
 
TGphoto said:
With RMSD there isn’t a restriction on size (within reason), it’s based on weight.
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Parcels: Small/Medium/Large - depending on size, within the range stipulated.
 
gramps said:
Parcels: Small/Medium/Large - depending on size, within the range stipulated.
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RMSD to 1pm prices:

Taken parcels of all shapes and sizes.

Size restrictions:

Parcel/letter

Max 20kg | Max L 61cm x W 46cm x D 46cm (which is a pretty big parcel) - that's the only size restriction.


Weight up to and includingCompensation up to £500Compensation up to £1,000Compensation up to £2,500
100g£6.70£7.70£9.70
500g£7.50£8.50£10.50
1kg£8.80£9.80£11.80
2kg£11.00£12.00£14.00
10kg£26.60£27.60£29.60
20kg£41.20£42.20£44.20

Source: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/special-delivery-guaranteed-1pm
 
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Hogboy said:
Maybe my PO is different, but they are never bothered by the size of the box, only the weight.i sold a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 a few weeks back, packed in an A4 box, cost me £12.
Click to expand...

Our local PO didn't used to seem to care about size and just seemed to go on weight but more recently they've been very strict and now have a gauge behind the counter as well as the usual scales. I assume they had a visit or memo from HQ and were told to tighten up.

I always send things RM and have never used a courier.
 
Companies with a specific contract with DPD (for example) have the ability to negotiate their own contracts, the larger the company, the more clout they have to negotiate, so theirs may include insurance or are simply self-insuring the items.

Royal Mail has an exclusion on electronic devices with or contining a battery.
 
andrewc said:
Companies with a specific contract with DPD (for example) have the ability to negotiate their own contracts, the larger the company, the more clout they have to negotiate, so theirs may include insurance or are simply self-insuring the items.

Royal Mail has an exclusion on electronic devices with or contining a battery.
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They don’t, you just have to make them aware of it. Put the battery in the camera body and it’s not a problem.

‘Batteries, specifically new and used lithium batteries when not sent with or connected to an electronic device (including power banks)

International - Not allowed in the mail
UK - Not allowed in the mail’
 
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TGphoto said:
RMSD to 1pm prices:

Taken parcels of all shapes and sizes.

Size restrictions:

Parcel/letter

Max 20kg | Max L 61cm x W 46cm x D 46cm (which is a pretty big parcel) - that's the only size restriction.


Weight up to and includingCompensation up to £500Compensation up to £1,000Compensation up to £2,500
100g£6.70£7.70£9.70
500g£7.50£8.50£10.50
1kg£8.80£9.80£11.80
2kg£11.00£12.00£14.00
10kg£26.60£27.60£29.60
20kg£41.20£42.20£44.20

Source: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/special-delivery-guaranteed-1pm
Click to expand...

Each category has its own maximum sizes e.g.

Parcel-Size.jpg
 
gramps said:
Each category has its own maximum sizes e.g.

View attachment 286723
Click to expand...


Exactly which for a parcel over 16cm depth comes in at £26.60 *** SEE BELOW *** Royal Mail website was incorrectly trying to charge the wrong amount defaulting to a Medium parcel which was not relevant for a weight based item RMSD
 
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They DO NOT apply to special delivery, I’ve provided evidence above. Choose to believe it or not. It goes off weight and can be any size below that one max limit.
 
TGphoto said:
Doesn’t matter for RMSD. Not sure how much more clear I can make it.
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The website is insisting a small parcel which can be sent RMSD has to have maximum dimensions 45cm x 35cm x 16cm and a max weight of 2 kilos

The next size of parcel is a medium one and the dimensions 61 x 46 x 46.



I think what we have is that the Royal Mail website faqs are wrong - when you go to purchase postage it insists that over 16cm is a medium parcel -
 
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Mystery57 said:
Exactly which for a parcel over 16cm depth comes in at £26.60
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Tom's right, it's weight they go off for RM SD. However, you'd need to keep the weight to 2kg or under to get below the £26.60 price, which is a pretty eye-watering jump from £11 in my opinion! Perhaps this is due to delivery costs - perhaps a normal postie can take £2kg or less on their normal letter delivery round, but heavier parcels need a separate van going door to door to deliver them? Who knows?

I've just sent a Canon A1 35mm SLR body for a service and got it there via RM SD for £8.80; camera bodies were a lot thinner and lighter in those days, so it was a 'Small Parcel' and under 1kg, but still lots of room for a bubble wrap jacket and plenty of polystyrene Quavers all round it. So it's your own fault for having a digital SLR! ;)

So the RM SD price depends on whether or not you can safely wrap and package a 5D III and keep it to 2KG or less? If it goes to £26.60 and you're planning to sell online via eBay then perhaps consider stating in the listing that you'll make up the postage costs for secure insured UK delivery, as a stated postage cost of £15 might encourage more bids than £26.60? If selling for a Buy It Now price then perhaps keep the postage at £15 and add the remaining postage cost to the price you are asking for the camera. A bit of psychology, but it might avoid potential buyers being put off by the postage cost? Sound like a plan?
 
Mr Badger said:
Tom's right, it's weight they go off for RM SD. However, you'd need to keep the weight to 2kg or under to get below the £26.60 price, which is a pretty eye-watering jump from £11 in my opinion! Perhaps this is due to delivery costs - perhaps a normal postie can take £2kg or less on their normal letter delivery round, but heavier parcels need a separate van going door to door to deliver them? Who knows?

I've just sent a Canon A1 35mm SLR body for a service and got it there via RM SD for £8.80; camera bodies were a lot thinner and lighter in those days, so it was a 'Small Parcel' and under 1kg, but still lots of room for a bubble wrap jacket and plenty of polystyrene Quavers all round it. So it's your own fault for having a digital SLR! ;)

So the RM SD price depends on whether or not you can safely wrap and package a 5D III and keep it to 2KG or less? If it goes to £26.60 and you're planning to sell online via eBay then perhaps consider stating in the listing that you'll make up the postage costs for secure insured UK delivery, as a stated postage cost of £15 might encourage more bids than £26.60? If selling for a Buy It Now price then perhaps keep the postage at £15 and add the remaining postage cost to the price you are asking for the camera. A bit of psychology, but it might avoid potential buyers being put off by the postage cost? Sound like a plan?
Click to expand...

As I mentioned above there seems to be errors on Royal Mails website as trying to purchase postage at a small parcel rate is not being allowed when I enter the dimension as greater than 16cm - it insists on it being the more expensive medium parcel.
 

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I paid £13 to send my Camera body RMSD about a year ago, so I think something is amiss somewhere. it can't have doubled in price, can it?
 
Mystery57 said:
As I mentioned above there seems to be errors on Royal Mails website as trying to purchase postage at a small parcel rate is not being allowed when I enter the dimension as greater than 16cm - it insists on it being the more expensive medium parcel.
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It does seem a bit confusing, but it's the weight they go off. A medium or small parcel would cost exactly the same if it's the same weight. Large parcels can't be sent via RM SD.
 
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As above build the postage into your selling price .. another vote for RMSD , and DO NOT use myhermes ,now standing at 5 lost items this year , even amazon packages gone missing .
 
Mystery57 said:
UPDATE - had a quick response to my tweet and there is an error

It DEFINITELY IS £11.00 not the higher amount they tried to charge me earlier.

Have just gone back onto the website and they have changed it already and I can now buy for £11.00 so glad I didn't buy it earlier !!
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That's the good news, the bad news is I'm sending you an invoice for £15.60 for consultancy fees! ;)

Banter aside, don't forget to keep it to 2kg or under, or it will be £26.60 when you get it to the Post Office!

PS the Standard charge of £11 or £26.60 or whatever only covers you up to £500, as you can see in Bebop's post above, they charge more if you increase the insurance value so make sure you have enough insurance cover for the value of the camera!
 
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Mystery57 said:
As I mentioned above there seems to be errors on Royal Mails website as trying to purchase postage at a small parcel rate is not being allowed when I enter the dimension as greater than 16cm - it insists on it being the more expensive medium parcel.
Click to expand...


Yes, but if you look at the special delivery price for a letter, small and medium parcels, they are the exact same. The only time the price for RMSD changes is if the weight or value changes, as I said above a few times. Get a quote for a 750g letter, small parcel and medium parcel - they are all £8.80.

I don't think they changed anything on the website, probably just how you put the information in there. Any time I've tried it, it's been correct.

But yeah, if you go above 2kg then you're stuffed. In the past, I have sent the camera manual separately for about £1 as that brought it back under 2kg.
 
TGphoto said:
I have sent the camera manual separately for about £1 as that brought it back under 2kg.
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I have split many parcels for just this reason - it always works out cheaper. Especially as things like books and manuals etc. don't need insurance. You just have to play them at their own game - I've done the same with other couriers too. (y)
 
If something is fragile etc. Say you're sending live silkworms (it's the only living thing you're allowed to post) - side effect it usually gets there quicker too.
 
Mystery57 said:
I'm considering selling my Canon 5d3 having upgraded recently

Have been looking around at insured courier costs and it seems that they are either exorbitantly expensive or they prohibit cameras from the insurance cover. Needless to say there is no way I am going to entrust a camera to a courier uninsured.

Recent items I have bought for myself have been delivered by DPD, but when I looked at their quote onllne they infact exclude camera equipment so all I can think is that the dealers are ignoring insurance cover.

The cheapest I have found which will cover the camera for a sensible amount of money has been Royal Mail Special Services but even that is over £26.00 - which makes a mockery of the charges people put on listings on places like ebay

Can anyone recommend or give advice as to who might be suitable

thanks
Click to expand...
Yes, I advsie Special Delivery or UPS.
 
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