Sorry, but .........

[Brissles]

on here is the only place I can "rant" , because living on my own with only the dog to talk to, sadly he has started disappearing whenever a QVC parcel comes through the door !!!!!

I have taken delivery of a lightweight and skimpy Dreamkeeper jacket/cardigan/cover-up whatever, and it was wrapped up to the size of an A4 and in a see-through polythene bag. This normally would be sent out in blue plastic envelope bag.......

NOT TODAY !

This morning, it turned up rattling around in a large cardboard box, measuring 21" x 15" x 2" Are Q taken the p...ss ??? Can you imagine how much this would cost to return under the new measurement guidelines ??? Not much change from a tenner I'll be bound. Fortunately I have decided to keep the item
.
In light of all the hoo haa of recent postal changes, one would think that qvc would do all in its power to keep their customers, not put another nail in their own coffin.

UNBELIEVABLE !

 

[Akimbo]

I can only assume someone in "packing" was having an off day or just couldn't be @rsed to fetch a plastic mail bag for the item and the big box was nearer! If you change your mind and want to send it back I'd re-use a mail sack or jiffy bag from something else. I think there are different rates for small cube-shaped and cylinder parcels (within certain measurements) so maybe folding or rolling the garment will keep down return costs.
I've started using collect+ for my ebay sales, whereas Royal Mail will charge me £3.70 for a small "parcel" (i.e. deeper than an inch) for second class signed for, Collect + will send a parcel up to 2kg in weight for £3.99 (tracked via their website) or £4.99 (if a signature is required). I just print off a label from their website and take the parcel to my local Spar (far longer opening hours than the post office as well). So in future I might use this to return items to QVC. When I've had a few Q returns (3 or more) I've used Parcel Force Consignment which is 48 hour tracked delivery, and provided every parcel has the same address I've managed to return 9 or 10 packages for £12. Oh yes my name is Akimbo and I'm a shopping bulimic and have ordered and returned much over the years!

Sorry to hijack your thread Brissles but I'm evangelical about avoiding high return costs where possible! I'd agree the postal rates are putting me off ordering these days unless I know it's an item I'll keep, like repeat purchases. Regardless of the rate the Post Office charges us to send things, QVC will have negotiated huge discounts given the volume of business they give to Royal Mail, DX and Hermes etc so I think their p&p charges are insulting.

 

[spartacus]

I can only assume someone in "packing" was having an off day or just couldn't be @rsed to fetch a plastic mail bag for the item and the big box was nearer! If you change your mind and want to send it back I'd re-use a mail sack or jiffy bag from something else. I think there are different rates for small cube-shaped and cylinder parcels (within certain measurements) so maybe folding or rolling the garment will keep down return costs.
I've started using collect+ for my ebay sales, whereas Royal Mail will charge me £3.70 for a small "parcel" (i.e. deeper than an inch) for second class signed for, Collect + will send a parcel up to 2kg in weight for £3.99 (tracked via their website) or £4.99 (if a signature is required). I just print off a label from their website and take the parcel to my local Spar (far longer opening hours than the post office as well). So in future I might use this to return items to QVC. When I've had a few Q returns (3 or more) I've used Parcel Force Consignment which is 48 hour tracked delivery, and provided every parcel has the same address I've managed to return 9 or 10 packages for £12. Oh yes my name is Akimbo and I'm a shopping bulimic and have ordered and returned much over the years!

Sorry to hijack your thread Brissles but I'm evangelical about avoiding high return costs where possible! I'd agree the postal rates are putting me off ordering these days unless I know it's an item I'll keep, like repeat purchases. Regardless of the rate the Post Office charges us to send things, QVC will have negotiated huge discounts given the volume of business they give to Royal Mail, DX and Hermes etc so I think their p&p charges are insulting.

It's not just QVC who charge inflated p&p, ebay can be just as bad. I was looking at an Adley bag on ebay recently, and the seller was charging £6.50 postage which I thought was outrageous. Even QVC aren't charging that much

 

[Akimbo]

For a high-value hand bag (even a small one) that's probably less than the post office would charge for Special Delivery. They've increased the parcel rate for 2nd and 1st class signed for but reduced the insurance cover (special delivery for 800g small parcel, item value £100, would be £8.95). Ordinary 1st class only covers up to £20 (signed for £50) so if the seller risks 1st class signed for it'll still cost them £4.10 and they'll be under insured if it's lost or damaged in the post. 800g is roughly a pair of sandals in a box, so a handbag might be lighter than this. Even a single nail polish sent 2nd class signed for costs me £3.70 to post...I can see sellers dropping out of ebay because of these postal price increases.

 

[Weathergirl]

I agree Akimbo. That's one of the reasons why I have stopped selling on ebay. I wont bore you with the other! Also as someone who has recently returned a kipling bag to QVC (not a large one) first class was about £5.60 I think. So if the seller concerned wants to add the cost of a mail bag on top or send it recorded or special delivery then I am sorry I am with the seller on this one. There is nothing wrong with passing the true cost of postage onto the buyer, that's all I have ever done and I got fed up as a private seller with the pressure to reduce or give free postage. I am just a private seller not a business and most definitely not a charity!!

 

[Nutsville]

I recently sold a bias binding machine on ebay for mum. Because the weight was 1.5kg I decided to try Hermes. I was quoted £5.22, collected from my home and signed for at the other end, but before booking it I took it into the post office to get their quote. Wait for it, 2nd class recorded came to just under £14. Sorry Royal Mail, I've been a faithful user but it's time to start looking else where. If you use Hermes and recommend a friend both of you get a 25% discount off the first order. The friend gets a code and as soon as they have used it you then get a code for your 25% discount. Every penny counts.

 

[Akimbo]

Thanks for the info Nutsville, I'm always glad to find other options, cheaper than royal mail.

 

[etoile]

I feel your pain Brissles! Really think I'd be tempted just to fire-off an email or quick call to customer services. I had thought they were making an effort recently. A couple of makeup sets I've had recently came in very small packaging compared to days of old so thanks for the thread.
Like Akimbo collect+ at the local Spar much more handy and cheaper than PO.

 

[sharon-s]

I too use collect + for ebay sales but they too have put their prices up from £3.99 to I think £4.74, I've not tried to return to QVC via them as someone said on here in the past that you can't send to a PO box through them.
Also, as an ebay buyer (and seller) I use the theory of what would I be willing to pay including postage and I wouldn't mind if they sold an item for 99p and added £5 postage as long as I was prepared to pay £6 for the item

 

[Akimbo]

I have never charged more than the post office charges me for my ebay mailings, and never add on a penny of packaging and yet I've still had less than 5 stars for the postage costs part of the detailed seller ratings feedback. Ten years ago when I started ebay postage costs were often inflated to cover paypal fees, packaging materials, petrol to and from the PO and a biscuit for the dog!

 

[boffy]

e-bay selling and royal mail are not a good combination and the latest price hike just puts me right off selling. plus at the moment austerity seems to be biting hard so no good bids.

 

[Silver Fox]

I stopped ordering from Q because of the P&P costs & that of returns.I have lapsed recently & ordered the Judith Williams & Liz Earle TSVs.Using RM is a nightmare, even if I post a birthday card I take to to the post office to have it weighed & measured ! ( would hate anyone to have to pay extra on arrival!!)Hermes is always better, quicker & I know the delivery people & will leave in my garage if I am out.

 

[sunshine]

I ordered mally with free p&p and it came in an Jiffy bag envelope which was battered and bruised. The lid was broken on one so it had to go back. Far cry from the normal packaging.

 

[rainbowdottie]

I've stopped selling on eBay unless I've got a really big item to sell - but even then you have to question whether its worth all the hassle and fees.I still buy from eBay and I know that postage has gone up generally - but I really refuse to pay over a fiver for postage - a lot of kipling bags have £6 on them for P&P.I bought a kipling the other day that only cost £3 in P&P and it was a fair size - yet I was charged well over this - and I'm not about to repeat the mistake again with all these £6 postage ones.

I have used collect plus in the past and would recommend them to anyone.However I bought an item from Amazon a few weeks ago that had free delivery.I was shocked at how poor quality it was for the high price I had paid,when it arrived.I paid £10 at collect plus to send it back - wasn't happy but had to suck it up - it was an expensive item that needed insurance and came to over £25 at the post office,had I gone there.Collect plus returned the item to me saying the premises where it had gone to were empty.They categorically were not - the amazon label was rubbish with my address being more prominent so somewhere there was a mix up and it got sent back to me! I complained bitterly and managed to get my £10 refunded.I posted it on Monday again and the price has gone up to £11.75!!!!!!!! People are complaining bitterly on ebay about them as they've upped their prices with no warning - and people have stuff on ebay with their old prices!!

Postage is the main reason I've stopped buying at QVC.I just cannot see where they get their prices from and with the slowest delivery times I've ever encountered.I just can't bring myself to pay up to £7? delivery on some things and wait over a week for it.And thats per item!!! Its not as if you might think for £7 oh I'll get that too,whilst I'm paying a delivery cost.

I do have to say though that if I buy an item from QVC and sent it back - its actually cheaper for me now lol!!!!! I used to send everything first or second class recorded.I now do everything second class standard and its far less than all the parcels I've sent back over the years.I now send them exactly back how they're sent to me.

 

[Brissles]

I agree, the packaging is getting more tragic by the day.

I sent for the diamonique earrings set in a red velvet xmas bell - for gifts later in the year. They arrived in a battered white box which in turn was inside a paper envelope which was torn and ripped. How they reached me is still a mystery.

 

[candycane]

Postage at RM is stupid. I sent a pair of trousers I'd sold on Ebay and it cost me £5.20. You have to send recorded (2nd) as if you don't they magically "never arrive". It cost me £3.50 to send dolls clothes to America and £4.80 to send the same thing to Birmingham (again recorded). Postage costs are just putting an end to buying and selling on the net as people think you are ripping them off but the prices are just what it costs to post things without any added extras. I recently sent a couple of things back to QVC and they came and picked them up - they weren't that big either so it's worth a free phone call to ask if they'll collect.