Which is pretty well what Collect+ have done. When I get stuff from Amazon I always try and get it delivered that way if I can.
I try not to use RM because they're bloody useless round here. Delivery office is now a 14 mile round trip, much of it in heavy traffic. Because they've closed two large-ish DOs nearby, expect to queue when you get there - anything up to an hour.
Hmm, I've got a "follow my parcel now" link for a delivery via DPD tomorrow, but it just goes to the usual page that shows "at hub", "at delivery depot" etc status, I'll try it again tomorrow when it's actually "out for delivery" ...
TNT? Here in London we get two deliveries a day, the first from TNT (most of the business post), and the second from RM (mostly the junk).
And the others don't? Only delivery I have which is reasonably predictable is the RM letter service.
We seem to get a van and at least two posties. Two deliveries, one what can fit throught the letterbox unsigned and one for the rest. It's the same posties (varies which one for each delivery) from the same van but at slightly different times. The van used to (possibly still does) drop off to the boxen.
On Wednesday 16 October 2013 23:51 Bob Eager wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Even better!
I hope they wipe the floor with the other losers!
On Thursday 17 October 2013 00:38 Dave Plowman (News) wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Mine's like clockwork - and it's always one postlady...
On Wednesday 16 October 2013 23:56 SteveW wrote in uk.d-i-y:
That would also be good...
RM management needed a size 15 boot up the jacksie full stop.
TNT, Mailsort are two. I don't have a problem with that in principle but RM charged silly, cheap, rates to those companies instead of a reasonable commercial rate.
Yodel. I'm not so sure isn't Yodel's business model at least for deliveries a (branded) man with a van. ie franchises?
Postage has shot up in the last few years anyway, I suspect to try and make the businness profitable before the sell off after underselling their services to the likes of TNT and Mailsort...
Round here small stuff from Amazon can be collected from pretty much any corner shop, and our shopping mall has at least three banks of lockers. The click and collect places like Tesco and Wilko can be useful.
+1 ...
On Thursday 17 October 2013 10:44 stuart noble wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Who runs those schemes - and how do they work?
Do you put "Me, Corner shop, mytown" as the delivery address or is it something the courier has to be a partner with?
If the former, I could suggest it to the local corner shop. They are struggling (there's a OneStop round the corner) and it would be a great service they could charge for. I'd pay a quid for that each time, seeing as I've just wasted 2 hours chasing Yodel and AmazonEU.
Also, who runs your lockers? Our station has external covered space that would be ideal for that - not sure if SouthEastern would allow it though.
Collect+.
Courier has to be a partner. Most not-too-big, not-too-valuable stuff fulfilled by Amazon can be sent that way.
They have to have PayPoint (or whatever it is) for the techie side. Curently, your nearest 'corner shop' that does it is probably in Battle.
On Thursday 17 October 2013 11:23 Bob Eager wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Thanks for all that - I'll check into that a bit more.
I have not ever seen "Collect+" mentioned on Amazon - I'll look harder next time.
Lockers: I think this needs to be a more general solution that an company specific one - wouldn't be worth doing round here unless anyone could make a drop there.
On Thursday 17 October 2013 11:23 Bob Eager wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Confusingly, the option to "Collect+" is not on the delivery page of Amazon, but one page before - prolly why I've never noticed it...
Anyhoo our nearest is:
CollectPlus at Jempsons Budgens Market Place Saxonwood Road, Battle TN33 0EY
Now - that is very useful - there's good parking there (better than the PO down the road) and Jempsons are open long hours - although they close all day Sunday.
£3.30 on a test order that I have not finalised - I can live with that.Thanks for the heads up - I'll compile a list of other Collect+ locations - sometimes I know I'll be in a town in a couple of days, so could pick up on the way round.
On Thursday 17 October 2013 12:18 Tim Watts wrote in uk.d-i-y:
And according to:
I also have:
Cranbrook (kids go swimming there every Tuesday and pickup is 19:30
Wadhurst
But strangely, noone in Tunbridge Wells, either centre or the retail park at North Farm. Weird...
I'll have a look in the mall this afternoon. One is an Amazon locker, but there are two others IIRC.
Come on! An Amazon locker in The Pantiles? :-)
I thought that would be the one - I did do a check. Wadhurst and somewhere else were the other two obvious ones. Or somewhere near work if it's not too big...
Our nearest is about a mile away, with two others not much further.
We have Prime - I did wonder if it was only available on Prime while I was out earlier. Four of us ordering stuff and the Prime fee becomes worthwhile!
TW is too posh for corner shops!
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