"And why are prices cheaper if you select both Evri & RM? Makes no sense that a 1-2kg parcel is £3.71 (which will go with Evri) if you have both selected but £4.06 if you have just Evri. What is going on???"
There is a logic to the figures you quote for the possible charges if you appreciate that:
1) The “best” way Ebay will get a parcel from seller to buyer is pure marketing speak. In reality what they will choose is purely based on money.
2) Ebay will have been quoted figures by its two chosen couriers. These must be in bands somewhere between a single price for every UK postcode and an individual quote for every single postcode.
Currently Evri have one charge for most of the UK (what I will call the good postcodes) but also have a small number of postcodes they charge a premium for or even worse will not deliver to at all (what I will call the bad postcodes) and Royal Mail, who want the same, but only premiums not exclusions, not one universal charge.
3) I think Ebay will have asked the two couriers to quote, something like, for the cost of services to:
i) Good postcodes (most of UK)
ii) Bad postcodes (the outlying islands etc.)
iii) They might get contract for both good and bad, just good, but worst scenario just bad postcodes
4) I will illustrate with figures that are plausible but purely for illustration as none of us will ever be privy to such confidential information.
i) Evri quote £3.70 for good postcodes but excessive large amount of £1000 for bad postcodes that they have no real interest in delivering to
ii) RM quote £4.26 for good postcodes and £4.27 for bad postcodes, which they already have network going to
5) If Ebay are to only offer one simple rate for the whole of the UK then
Both carriers chosen by seller - the minimum would be the £3.70 charged by Evri for good post codes but would need to be a bit higher in case RM needed to be used for bad ones at £4.27. So say £3.71
Evri only chosen by seller – for most Evri would be charging £3.70 but some would also be at a scary £1000, so estimate at £4.06
RM only chosen by seller – for most RM would be charging £4.26 but some would also be at tiny bit more so say £4.27
