1st or 2nd class postage?
The majority of our items are around £10 with free postage and small enough for us to use Royal Mail letter post up to 100gms. As the postage has just gone up from 95p to £1.10 this takes another bite at our margin. If we used 2nd class postage at 75p, we would save 35p per item. I am wondering if anyone else would risk using 2nd class postage these days. Yes, I appreciate that we could state 2nd class in our T&C’s but do people read them?
1st or 2nd class postage?
The majority of our items are around £10 with free postage and small enough for us to use Royal Mail letter post up to 100gms. As the postage has just gone up from 95p to £1.10 this takes another bite at our margin. If we used 2nd class postage at 75p, we would save 35p per item. I am wondering if anyone else would risk using 2nd class postage these days. Yes, I appreciate that we could state 2nd class in our T&C’s but do people read them?
31 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
I only ever send 2nd class - I don’t have any extra t&Cs , the EDD covers it
my handling is set to 2 days and transit time as standard
My prices are calculated on 2nd class though
So you could either raise yours to match the rise in postage or leave them and send 2nd class
Seller_77IcbQKVGdZo0
I send everything 2nd Class on all platforms unless the customer pays for faster delivery.
Mostly it is received within 2 working days, it is not uncommon for letter products to be received the next day.
I wouldn’t pay the additional for 1st class. INR claims are fairly low at around 0.25% a month and some of these can be disproved.
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
I have ALWAYS used 2nd Class, and most arrive within 2 days, with many comments about quick delivery.
Why do you think it is a risk ?
Seller_DTufFoxJuMU0M
I also send 2nd class.
On ebay I let the customer upgrade to 1st class for a small fee, but Amazon don’t allow that.
I do offer premium on Amazon however the customer has to pay an extra £4 for tracked48 (since Amazon have stupid rules) and I am frequently not eligible because apparently Royal Mail can’t delivery Special Delivery on time (which I use for my 1 day service) 
Seller_YjCwCmrdYNXmU
Only ever send 2nd class, my prices are based on that
Seller_LKjg1QRrO36Yq
I guess it depends on what you sell but like many others, I send almost everything 2nd class. I’ll upgrade to 1st if I’m running a bit late with any given order.
When I started selling on Amazon I sent almost everything 1st class but quickly worked out it was largely a waste of money.
Most of my items are between 100-500g and the price difference between 1st and 2nd is significant.
Seller_SmRXp4eOK8VXX
I find 2nd class gets through pretty quickly. I left a book at our Royal Mail sorting office yesterday at 9.00am - tracked delivered at noon today. Conversely when I occasionally use first class if I have not posted soon enough, I don’t see any real advantage. One day maximum.
Seller_DTufFoxJuMU0M
Yeah might remove the 1 day option and put the price if 2 day up when I get it back. I do get 2 or 3 a day so it’s annoying to lose it fir a whole month
Seller_dRAoy8g5oPiwI
I sell books - only about 3-5 a day at the moment - I use 2nd class postage on everything I sell as is stated and as I charge for (I pay £2.99 now and I charge £2.85 but welcome to life as it is in the UK!). I have sent about 160 items out and not once had a complaint RE postage type. In fact a few of my reviews state their happiness with the speed etc of the delivery!
