Interview with Angela Thompson from Collectmyparcel.com

Sending items by courier is essential for online retailers, but companies with low volumes cannot access good prices.  Aggregators are one way to get better prices.  I caught up with Angela Thompson, Managing Director of collectmyparcel.com to find out more.

Who are you!

Put simply collectmyparcel.com is an internet-based parcel booking service. Customers can book collections fromUK addresses and send to just about anywhere in the world. We act as a middleman between the customer and the big name couriers such as Parcelforce, City Link, Yodel and DHL. We can also help customers with larger postings using our Palletways services.

Customers can use our website to get instant quotes from a range of couriers then book a collection. It’s quick, easy to use and saves money and time because there’s no need to shop around.

Please explain how your service works

The service is Internet based, so to book a collection or obtain a quote customers need to visit www.collectmyparcel.com.

The home page features a “quick quote” service.

By entering collection and delivery postcodes along with parcel dimensions, customers can view the prices on offer from our courier partners. This makes it easy to choose the most appropriate price and delivery specification before booking a collection.

Once the collection has been booked the customer receives a dedicated CMP reference number for online tracking and support. Then all they need to do is pack their parcel and wait for their chosen courier driver to collect. We do the rest.

How does your service benefit customers?

Customers often ask about the benefits of booking through a middleman rather than going direct. One of the main advantages is they usually get a cheaper price. That’s because we arrange collections on behalf of thousands of people and pass some of our bulk-buying discounts back to our customers.

A further advantage is the quote and book service. This feature enables customers to get quotes from our courier providers in seconds and then see which is cheapest. It’s a simple way to get the best price for your parcel, and given the current economic situation this is attractive for customers.

What’s more there’s no need to have a contract or account with us. The posting habits of our customers vary significantly. Some customers post on an ad hoc basis while others post daily. The middleman service works for both.

How do you differ from other aggregators like Interparcel?

Most aggregators save their customers money so I believe the feature that differentiates us the most is our customer service.

Most of the time a parcel gets collected, sorted, transported and delivered on time and with no problems. But there are occasions where a hiccup in the system occurs and either a collection doesn’t happen or a parcel arrives late, damaged or not at all. Many customers complain about the hassle and time it takes to resolve this with the courier. But if you book through us we’ll handle it on your behalf. We offer an on-line chat facility and aim to respond to support requests in minutes during office hours. Customers have told us that they value our after sales service and this is independently verified by https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.collectmyparcel.com.

For volume sellers do you offer discounts?

We tell customers we offer cheap parcel delivery; so in addition to the savings we offer compared with booking direct there are some additional incentives.

When a customer opens a free collectmyparcel.com account they automatically qualify for an additional 5% discount on all international postings. What’s more there’s an incentive for customers who post regularly. The Top-Up Account rewards them with a £5 credit each time a customer credits £100.

If a customer knows they’ll be sending at least 10 parcels a day, if they contact us we can often offer a further incentive.

How do you manage customers looking to send multiple parcels?  Can volume sellers upload their parcels via a data feed or CSV file?

Customers posting in bulk or arranging to send multiple parcels to different delivery and collection addresses want to spend as little time as possible. The CSV bulk shipping upload tool simplifies the process and enables collections to be booked in seconds. Customers can upload the spreadsheet-based tool, input their details and confirm their shopping cart before paying.

In addition, if customers choose to post with City Link they can take advantage of special consignment rates. This price is automatically calculated and displayed during the quote and book process.

What are your plans for the future?

We’re always looking to enhance and extend the services available to customers. In fact just recently City Link Sameday services were added to our portfolio. Our focus is to offer customers the best choice. Coming soon are new services and options from Palletways and City Link. In addition we’re excited about eBay integration, which will be available in the New Year.