Recently the BBC reported on the minefield that are the various methods used by parcel carriers to calculate the cost of your shipment.
Some carriers charge by ‘volumetric’ weight meaning they take into account the physical size of the parcel not just the weight. The theory being the larger the parcel the less of them they can fit on any one mode of transport on any single journey. This made sense in years gone by when data available was limited and being “complex” would be seen as being credible. Much of it, however, allows carriers to charge more than really is warranted given the weight of the parcel.
However, times have changed and at ParcelWorks our customers want simple solutions to simple problems, namely getting a parcel from A to B as quickly and cost effectively as possible whilst remaining reliable.
Different carriers have differing maximum dimensions allowed and some calculate volumetric rates using vastly different multipliers. One carrier’s small parcel is another’s medium parcel. The confusion for customers is endless.
Whilst we can’t control all the various providers shipping domestically we are working towards making ParcelWorks as simple as possible for our clients who wish to send a parcel internationally.
For example; our ParcelWorks Plus service, which allows users to ship to over 30 countries worldwide and pre-pay any duty charges, calculates the parcel shipping rate on the dead-weight of the parcel with a maximum parcel size of 40x40x40cm.
This ensures that if the items you wish to send fit with in those dimensions you will pay a rate based per 0.5kg. It doesn’t get more simple than that. However, we also understand that sometimes you make wish to send a gift or product which doesn’t fit in 40cm square box so we can allow you to extend one length to 1.2m as long as you still fall with in the same cubic volume (i.e 40x40x40cm=64 litres). Even in this case you still will be charged by KG weight.
We are aiming to roll this dead-weight pricing out to our other services where we will continue to work with our service providers to make the whole process of sending a parcel abroad not only as simple as it can but as simple as it SHOULD be.