Postage and Packing Revisited

[collectandplay]

I would like to be able to force/recommend to a customer to have to take insured post if the order value is above £28 (as this is the amount the postoffice covers).

Currently the rules seem to say, pick the shipping based on lowest cost. I would like to be able to override this by bringing order value into the equation.

I hope v7.X examines the whole postage area and allows retailers to be more aggressive in disallowing particular shipping if the order value is above X. (Or at least recommending that the customer does use a registered/insured postage service)

On a side note...using a forum to discuss features is AWFUL. You should be able to raise feature requests within a searchable knowledge db and have responses to the various features visible. (Voting for a feature should also be possible).

These things go off radar so quickly.

Adam

[Toby B]

Hi Adam

I would like to be able to force/recommend to a customer to have to take insured post if the order value is above £28 (as this is the amount the postoffice covers).

This can be achieved by setting your shipping to be calculated by order value. I set up a class called "Standard" and entered my basic shipping charge then set the Excess to "Don't Allow Excess". I Then set up another class for the "Insured post" with the Excess of "Take Highest Value in Table".
The value is set to £28 so any order equal or above will use the cost entered.


We have a wishlist for customer requests. Consideration is given to all wishlist items but those requested often carry more weight.

You can add any request here:

www.actinic.co.uk/support/wishlist.htm

[collectandplay]

Toby,
My order system works on weight. What I want is something that works on weight and exlcudes postage options if the order value is X.

For example, if you order from the site, special delivery can insure an order for 100, 250 or 1000. However if the order value is £28 or less, then the only options available should be First Class and First Class Recorded as there is no point in them selecting any other.

So the correct calculations should be based on order weight and order value.

AND if you really want to get pedantic about it, Standard Parcel extra has 'options' to insure up to £100 (50p) £250 (£1ish) and £500 (2 something or other).

Adam

[fleetwood]

I too would like to have the option of postage calculated by weight with a value over ride.
Like Adam says, its useful to calculate postage by weight, but if the order value is over a certain limit, you want to use a different set of rules to cover insurance requirements.

As a side note to Adam, you may want to consider forcing insurance at a level higher than £28. If you read the new Post Office insurance rules, they only cover you for the net cost of goods, not the full retail value.
Therefore, if you trade with a margin of 40%, and you lose goods with a retail value of £28, the PO insurance will only refund £16.80 (retail less 40%).
Similarly, £46 at retail is worth £27.60 net - so the £28 insurance limit SHOULD cover £46 worth of retail goods (assuming a margin of 40%).

You would obviously need to adjust the calculations to suit your own profit margin, and may also wish to confirm all this with the Royal Mail (if you can find someone who understands their own verr changing rules!).

The major disadvantage of using an unsigned for service is the lack of parcel tracking.

My own experiences using Royal Mail and Parcelforce is that the loss rate is very low (less than 1 in 200). Often, a non-delivery reported by a customer is simply because they haven't been in when the delivery was attempted, and then neglected to contact their sorting office to find the parcel waiting there for them.

[george]

Agree regarding the post Fleetwood. Sorry for beaming the thread off the track a bit but if you post a parcel using First Class (not Recorded), and Mr X says it does not arrive, whos responsibility is it to claim for it? Mr X or the Retailer? Customer care aside of course.


Re wishlist. I mentioned before that this forum would be improved with a section on `wishlist items`. That way folks can pick up on others ideas, etc and add their own comments. Speak up for the wee guys!

[collectandplay]

It is the poster's responsibility to reclaim the moneys. However we get proof of posting receipts most of the time.

We've also now stated on the site that it is the buyer's responsibility to choose the correct postage delivery service. I expressly put how much each postage option covers when they select the postage service.

Should a parcel be lost, we will always claim up to the amount of the service they chose. It really is their decision.

ACTINIC PEEPS: It would be nice to have them select a postage type and when this is submitted, it checks the maximum that the order is insured for. If it is insured for less, it should put up a warning page saying that they agree to this level of insurance and that any orders lost in the post will be refunded/credited to the value of the insurance only.

The page should give them the option to change the shipping type.

[fleetwood]

Sender is the one responsible for any claim, although in can be VERY frustrating when its not the sender nor the carriers fault that the parcel hasn't been delivered.
If the recepient claims non delivery after 14 days, and they contact the PO, the standard Royal Mail help desk response is "that parcel is lost - get the sender to make a claim".
As I mentioned in last past, in the vast majority of cases the parcel is simply sitting in the local depot, but there is no easy way for the recepient to contact the local depot. When we took steps to conatct the depot ourselves, the depot manager admitted that the Royal Mail "help" <sic> desk "don't know their *** from their elbow".

Making a claim for loss is a right pain, and most times we swallow the loss rather than volume with the ridiculous levels of proof required to claim, and the percentage of losses are very small.

Using signed for services makes life easier (due to tracking), but not cheaper.
Cheapest signed service - Recorded - costs 65p or so, yet average losses in my experience are less than 1 in 200. Therefore, you are paying around £130 (200 x 65p) for maximum £28 insurance cover. Like I say, its cheaper to just send regular post, and swallow the occasional loss, on parcels valued under £28. Using insured post costs around £3.50 per parcel. Thats a cost of £700 over 200 parcels.

For all the slagging they get, Royal Mail is relatively cheap for lower value packages. When tehy get it wrong, they really do foul up, and make life very difficult to put it right, but most the time, we find they get it right enough for the cost.

The ability to have a weight/value postage combo seems to be a popular request lads - can we have it added to the wish list please.