Royal Mail have stopped free collections from home.

[vintagechinashop]

I haven’t been doing my postage today for items sold over the weekend and notice that Royal Mail have very sneakily introduced a charge of 30p per parcel for a home collection. Has anyone else noticed this. I must have had my head under a rock for a while because I’m sure I never saw this publicised 

oh well my buyers will have to take some of this now because my nearest drop off is 10 mile away so the cost of fuel and postage will probably still make the 30p viable. Especially with the rate of sales at the moment 

[indalo999]

I didn't realise until the other day but being somewhat disabled I still think it's a bargain!!!!

[laneanddodgey]

If you bought 4 items off an eBay seller you would be happy to pay postage 4 times? Brilliant!

[indalo999]

There is no need to be abusive.
I don't see the sense in what you are saying.
My point is that as a septuagenarian who is disabled I think that 30p to save me the discomfort and problem of getting to a post office is, for me, a bargain. What can you get for 30p today?
You are obviously a very aggressive person who should respect other people's opinions and situations.

Sent from Outlook for Android<>

[laneanddodgey]

I think you should read the post again.

The point was, it costs 30p per item for the RM to pick up several parcels at the same time, which many would say is not a good bargain. But if you’re happy with that arrangement fine, but a lot of people are not, and if you’re going take an aggressive stance just because an opinion was formed on your post and you didn’t like it,

it begs the question - are you the kettle or the pot?

[storage.boutique]

This has been in place for a while. 

Presumably you are a business. You need to sign up for an Online Business Account and if you do 3 tracked parcels per day they will collect for free.

[vintagechinashop]

I don’t think this would be best for me as I barely send 5 items per week at the moment   Maybe if my business picked up to 2020 levels it would be. Most of my sales are coming from another platform where the buyer pays for the label and I just have to drop it at the in post locker but I’ll certainly look into it if things change 

[storage.boutique]

Okay in that instance it is different. You are definitely a business and should have a business account on eBay and the other platform. As a business, you need to consider whether eBay is the best platform for you - I would say that if you are selling collectables, then it is. There is a price to pay to operate a business on eBay - and one of those prices now is the collection charge by the Royal Mail. If you think about it, there is usually a fixed price plus a variable price for things like eBay fees and credit card charges on your own site. This is something you need to figure into your margins. If you are trying to compete on price by constantly lowering your prices to acquire customers, then you don't really have a business, as all you are doing is racing to the bottom. If that is the case, you should use this time wisely to research alternative products or find a better solution. If you only sell 5 items a week, I am sorry but I think it is reasonable for Royal Mail to charge you a collection charge as it is certainly not in their financial interest.

[vintagechinashop]

My post was not intended as a complaint but just an observation and to highlight it as it seemed to have slid under the door. I’m happy to pay 30p per parcel because it suits me to use the service.