eBay

msmaggie060 · ‎02-02-2023

I have had a request to ship an item to the UK. Low priced item, high shipping cost. I will have to ship tracked Pkt I think. Is it worth the risk now due to the strikes and postal problems in the UK?

femmefan1946 · ‎02-02-2023

The postal workers are announcing in advance when they will be on strike.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-royal-mail-workers-strike-24-hours-feb-16-union-says-2023-02-02...

OTOH, the Royal Mail management and the Conservative government are being hard nosed about talks and if Canada Post is any guide, they may lock out all the workers completely messing up mail services for weeks.

https://www.ft.com/content/66282eed-adc5-4538-aec7-6451cbafe636

Personally, unless you have a repeat customer, I would ask if he would prefer to put off the purchase until after the labour dispute is over and a new contract signed, or if he would prefer to use a private courier service for $xxx. The latter would require some research, probably more than economic for a low value purchase.

Don't use Surface shipping, in any case. Ever.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎02-02-2023

@msmaggie060 wrote:
I have had a request to ship an item to the UK. Low priced item, high shipping cost. I will have to ship tracked Pkt I think. Is it worth the risk now due to the strikes and postal problems in the UK?

To add on to @femmefan1946 here is the latest CP update for the UK Jan 31, 2023

The Royal Mail is experiencing severe service disruption to its international export services following a cyber incident. Items despatched to Canada may be subject to delays and limited tracking and visibility. Items mailed from Canada to the UK may also be subject to delays and limited tracking and visibility.

In addition, Due to the ongoing and sporadic strike actions taking place with Royal Mail, there may be some ongoing disruption to service in the U.K. For the latest news regarding the strike action, please refer to the following link: Royal Mail strike updates | Royal Mail Group Ltd

Consumers and business shippers should consider the additional delivery time when making commitments to recipients in the U.K. Please know our people are working hard to process items as quickly as possible and keep the mail moving. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding during these exceptional times.

We suspended on-time delivery guarantees on March 18, 2020 due to the unique circumstances we are operating in. The suspensions remain in effect for XpresspostTM-International and PriorityTM Worldwide.

-Lotz

triber · ‎02-02-2023

We grew up in the UK and have many relatives there. We are still getting Christmas cards! Most of our relatives are not mailing at this time, coming the other way I am not sure. I stopped selling to the UK when shipping prices increases, now just Canada and the US, it means much more peace of mind.

This has been going on for several months now.