Evri/Yodel hiked their postage prices up to double the estimate

[merrychristmasuk]

I sold a few items on eBay recently and when making the auction I selected the postage options and it gave me an estimate for the postage costs which is what I charged to the buyer's. Now when I go to buy the postage label, I noticed that yodel/evri have hiked their prices up to almost double what they estimated originally.

I'm going to have to send them through a different courier which is annoying because it's not the one the buyer selected but what else can I do? Royal Mail are the only courier that haven't hiked the prices up so I'll go with them instead.

Has anyone else had the prices hiked up like this for no apparent reason? Is this a common tactic with the courier companies to try and make more money or have I just been unlucky? I think in the future to avoid this problem I'll just select Royal Mail, at least they are consistent with their prices, and I've never had a postman put my parcel in a dirty bin (unlike Evri).

[technthread · Accepted solution]

Evri prices can increase depending on buyer location. What they refer to as remote zones such as Islands, Highlands, NI do cost more. 

I am not as familiar with Yodel, the last time I sent a parcel to NI with them using Packlink, the price was normal. 

This is the reason I use other 48 courier as my freepost option on my small parcel listings and above to give myself flexibility to change who I use. 

If this isn't the reason it sounds like you are using eBay's estimate for a lower weight parcel. Always take eBay's postage suggestions with a pinch of salt and work it all out yourself when creating a listing. 

[merrychristmasuk]

I just realised that multiple buyer's are located in the Scottish Isle's so that's why they want to charge more.

[technthread]

Usually those buyers will be reasonable if you message them and say the courier needs to change as they probably half expect it should be Royal Mail anyway.

As long as the cost is similar to what they paid I don't think they will care and eBay seem fairly laid back about it.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

the important part of your comment is the 'message' bit!  I would (and have) had problems with sellers sending by different means - EVRI because our local courier will not go off the main roads so those of us who live on farms or more rural locations do not get stuff delivered and DPD because i had a very bad experience with their courier.  The rest not a problem so a message is essential.  As you say most people are reasonable. 

[rjwilmsi]

When I used to use Hermes/Evri for certain items (low value parcels between 2kg and 10kg where Evri where cheaper than Royal Mail) it was sod's law that the buyers would be in NI or remote parts of Scotland, so Hermes/Evri remote supplement would apply.

Bear in mind there are also some locations that Evri etc. don't deliver to even though in the UK and Royal Mail deliver with no issue. So I changed my listings to say I would use Evri where possible, but Royal Mail if Evri supplement applied/no Evri option.

Now I don't bother with Evri at all, but if you prefer to use them then I would put "Evri if possible, else Royal Mail" information in your listing so you have told buyers up front.

[stu4sam2010]

They just did this *bleep* to me.

The estimate price is £2.94 so stuck with that on the listing without changing the cost.

Once the item has sold the page brings up a 'Purchase a label for £2.94 once the item has sold'.

On arriving at the ParcelShop, Evri charged me £3.49 for the standard less than a 1kg parcel.  Cheeky!  Puts me off selling altogether especially at discounted / Best Offer prices.

eBay should not put these prices on there as it's bait and switch.

[wanni88]

Hi 

it seems i am getting the same issue it says £2.97 or something like that then when i post its around £5.90 its not all my listings just the odd one 

[phillsvinyl]

The extra cost is for the Highlands - way up north - you can add extra postage - or set up extra postage as i have for the highlands when you list your item - it will give postage and tehn a 1 line to say the cost for a certain area.

[simplystars]

Same, what on earth is going on, Yodel was £2.69, now it's over £5.00.  How to kill their business overnight :'(

[4_bathrooms]

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@simplystars wrote:

Same, what on earth is going on, Yodel was £2.69, now it's over £5.00.  How to kill their business overnight :'(

---

Couriers often charge more when the delivery address is in a "remote" area such as the Scottish highlands, Scottish isles, Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man etc. The "estimate" you are shown when creating the listing is the courier's "standard" charge which covers the vast majority of the addresses they deliver to.

There are two ways to stop buyers in remote areas being charged your standard postage/shipping rate. One way is to simply exclude them from the places you indicate you will post/ship to (see pic). The other way is to set up postage table rates - this allows you to specify your delivery charges to the UK mainland* and remote areas separately.

As you can see I have chosen to exclude remote areas from the places I ship to. This is because those areas would represent a tiny fraction of my sales but would constitute 99% of my problems if I did ship there due to delays, transit damage, MBG abuses etc.

*Despite what eBay thinks Northern Ireland is part of the UK mainland.

[thetimetower]

Ignore me. Every day is school day lol

[gwendolenplay]

They aren't charging fees now, total rip off for sellers twice the price for everything. They didn't even let you know. I sold something for £2.94 postage now double. Not using evri or yodel anymore. Not worth selling anything under a £10 

[61stephenuk]

They haven't hiked the prices (yet),ifyou read the previous posts you would see its an extra charge for remote zones such as Islands, Highlands, NI

[thetimetower]

Price is still £2.94. You've obv shipped to channel islands for that item or something

[spoolerdog]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Northern Ireland is not "remote" it is 22 miles from GB mainland and is still part of the UK.

This is just another way for couriers to rip people off when sending parcels.  It is the same price to send from Belfast to London as it to send from Belfast to the Orkneys.  

Buut typical of companies to try and extort money from the population.  Will certainly be rethinking who to send my post with and will be looking at other couriers 

[maryloo1968]

Seems Yodel have hiked their price today (6th December 2024) from £2.25 +VAT to £4.25 +VAT....I hope its just a festive season thing as that is a massive hike and makes RM the only reasonable delivery service now....real shame.

[simplystars]

I guess they will soon put them down again when no-one uses them!

[vintique*violet]

Is it getting "gready"  for the in house " managed " simple postal thing?

( " gready"  an error in typing ready, but thought it apt so left it.. readiness greed?)

[technthread]

It may be a hangover from this:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Announcements/Yodel-service-availability-on-eBay-Label-Platform/ba-p...