We use different delivery companies depending on your selection and parcel type/contents.
For small items we use Royal Mail 1st or 2nd class post. Larger items use a courier, this, currently, is typically Yodel but may be a different company as needs must. They all tend to operate in the same way. We do offer alternate delivery options as well.
Order process
Once your order is placed you will receive a notification from eBay/us with your expected arrive date. This is made up of order processing/dispatch time plus expected delivery time. This is in no way a guaranteed delivery time. After your order is processed and dispatched you will receive an updated delivery schedule. This again is not a guaranteed delivery time, unless you selected it during checkout. This can also be incorrect if the dispatch is done after the collection cut-off which eBay is unaware of. We try to avoid this by not dispatching items that have no way to be collected today.
Cut-off time for same day dispatch
Currently, our cut-off time for same day dispatch is 07:30. However we will try to get any orders out same day up to around 14:30, but this is not guaranteed. Orders after 14:30 will be dispatch the following day. This is due to operation reasons and eBay expected delivery reasons.
What is dispatch?
Dispatch is really two parts. The first is the packaging the order and obtaining the necessary documents and labels for the courier/post. This is as far as eBay goes with it and it is marked as “Dispatched” at this point. The second part is getting the parcel to the necessary collection point. (Parcel collection shop/locker/postbox/Post Office). Same day dispatch depends on the relevant delivery methods last collection time. We aim to get everything out as quickly as possible, but as close to the delivery collection cut-off. This allows us the security of not having it laying around for long periods.
The stated dispatch time for each product can be different. Most items are same day the rest are either 1 or 2 days after the order is placed. We don’t usually take that long to dispatch anything but for some items it may be required occasionally.
Delivery via Royal Mail (1st and 2nd Class post items)
These items need to be in our local post box by no later than 16:00. Orders that come in later than our stated cut-off time above may not have time to be completed. We always try to get everything out ASAP. We will not compromise the rest of the deliveries to get yours out as then everyone’s package will be late.
Royal mail will collect your package form the post boxes and they process mail daily from 01:00 until 06:00. 1st Class post should be delivered after 06:00 on this next day (if it is a working day) whereas 2nd class post will take up to 3 working days to be delivered. REMEMBER: Royal Mail do not class Saturdays, Sundays or Public/Bank Holidays as working days. Your package may be delivered on Saturday but this is considered a bonus. This means that if your package is posted on a Friday, you can expect it on Monday (1st Class) and Wednesday (2nd Class). Anything posted after the deadline above on Friday will be considered as being posted on Monday so an extra day will be added to the delivery days.
Delivery Example:
Order at 17:00 Monday –> Picked, Packed, Labelled & Dispatched Monday –> RM Pickup from post box Tuesday 16:00 –> Processed (Wed 01:00 – 06:00) –> 1st Class delivered Wednesday/2nd Class delivered Friday
Please note: We have no control over how the Royal Mail operates and get absolutely no special treatment from them at all. It is possible for items of post to take considerably longer than the above times. They will not consider any complaint for at least 10 working days after the expected delivery times above. There is also no guaranteed tracking as they do not always scan the parcel when it arrives, they have other services for that. If it doesn’t arrive by the 10 working days after the expected delivery time then we will help you to sort it out and may replace the item for you.
In a small number of occasions we have had parcels where the contents has shifted during transit and it becomes oversized in one length. In these cases royal Mail will withhold the parcel and send you a red notice stating the parcel has been underpaid. It will usually contain the amount to pay to collect the parcel. We do not recommend paying and picking it up. We recommend that you get in touch with us, send a copy of the notice and we will reissue your parcel. Royal Mail will then return your parcel to us.
If you wish you may pay the Royal Mail fee and keep the item, but in these cases we will not refund the extra postage. We will normally upgrade the delivery on the replacement so that you do not have to wait a long time for the replacement to arrive.
Please Note
Deliveries to the following locations will only use Royal Mail. This is because the use of couriers is extremely high. There is also a small delivery charge to cover the Royal Mail fees, which are higher than normal courier fees.
Delivery via Yodel/Other Couriers
The benefits of using this type of delivery is that you get tracking information and in some cases the option to delay or divert your parcel as needed.
After the dispatch as above your parcel will be taken to our local Parcel Shop/Locker or may be collected from us directly. As for items that are delivered to a locker, we have no control over when they will be collected. It should be within in 24 hours from when we drop them off (working days only). This is the reason we tend to use a parcel shop. We get to know our local shop owner and can gauge more easily when the pickups happen.
Our cut-off time reflects our current ability to maximise the chance of your parcel getting to you the quickest. We make one deliver to the parcel shop per day as there is only one collection from the shop per day. We aim to be there before this happens. There is no guaranteed time for the driver to pick up form the parcel shop. They can collect anytime between 07:00 and 19:00. Our local one most often comes after 10:00 but before 13:00. As we have no way to know if they have been or not we aim to get all parcels to the parcel shop before 09:30. Any orders placed after our order cut-off above will be taken in the next days delivery.
Delivery Example
Order placed at 15:00 Monday –> Picked, Packed, Labelled & Dispatched Monday –> delivered to Parcel Shop Tuesday 09:00 –> Collected form Parcel Shop 09:30 –> Delivered Wednesday for Next Day, Thursday/Friday for 2-3 day services.
We have no control over how they operate. We must rely on our kind shop keeper to keep us up-to-date with the latest collection times. There is no guarantee that your parcel will be collected on the day that it is delivered to the shop. This is because they make no guarantee as to when they will collect it. In certain exceptional cases they may not collect on a particular day due to their operation issues (staff sickness etc.) They also only work on Monday to Friday and not on Bank/Public Holidays.
We usually offer next day business delivery on our listings. This still depends on the dispatch time and is not a guaranteed service but usually gets there next business day.
We hope that this helps you to understand how parcel deliveries happen. Generally we offer multiple delivery options on our eBay listings, which you can select at checkout. For smaller items, If you need it to get to you quicker than 2nd Class then please select 1st class. 1st Class is generally treated better by RM anyway and has a greater chance of being delivered on a Saturday. Although it is still not guaranteed.
Updated August 2023
