Do you have an eBay shop but only sell locally?

Is what you sell too heavy or bulky to use standard postage services?

Do you buy goods off eBay and feel restricted by the location of the goods?

Do you wish there was an easy, cheap way of moving your items around the country using reliable and dedicated couriers?

Welcome to ukbackloads.com

I have written this guide as an introduction to an exciting new business venture that I am proud to be a part of.

Naturally, as I have an interest in its success I cannot claim that this guide is neutral and completely unbiased, but I will be as honest and transparent as possible.

ukbackloads.com was designed and built with 2 main objectives.

Firstly, to dramatically reduce the amount of 'dead mileage' that couriers travel by giving them access to a nationwide database of non-time critical work that needs to be covered.

Secondly, to allow buyers and sellers of large or heavy goods, or anyone looking to transport such items around the U.K the opportunity to utilise a dedicated vehicle that would otherwise be travelling the same route empty or at best partially loaded and will therefore perform the job at a heavily discounted rate.

This guide is aimed at sellers to advise how you can get the most out of the site and use it to your full advantage.

At any given time, there are around 950,000 items listed on eBay as 'collection only' due to their size or weight or the fact that they are fragile or of high value. Listing items as 'collection only' has a few obvious drawbacks, the biggest being that you dramatically reduce the number of potential bidders to people in you local area, or people with big cars or vans and therefore dramatically reduce the potential sale price of your item.

We aim to give you the ability to transport these goods around the U.K at a heavily reduced rate, meaning you can open up your sales to a much wider audience and therefore make more money. I am sure most of you have looked into using couriers to move goods around and there are many companies out there that will deliver items up to about 30 kg for very reasonable prices. I have never used these companies myself but I am sure they offer a good value service if your item does not exceed the weight limit, but for bigger and heavier items it can start to get very expensive.

With large, heavy, fragile or high value items, the only option is to employ a dedicated van, these can charge anything from £1.10 to £2.20 per mile, so employing them to take the sofa you sold for £60 to the guy who lives 150 miles away is clearly not an option. However, if you could find a courier that was making their primary deliveries in your local area and was then travelling to, or past, the area where your sofa customer lives, you would find they will be more than happy to deliver the sofa for closer to 30p a mile. www.ukbackloads.com gives you this ability and best of all; it is completely free of charge to post goods to move.

There are 2 main things that you need in order to get the most out of the site and the couriers you employ through it, good communication and flexibility.

When you post a job on the website, try to include as much information as possible about the item - there are the obvious things like weight and dimensions, but also try to think about what else you will need from your courier, does the item require 2 men to lift it? Does the item require ratchet straps to secure it for transit? Is it fragile and requires blankets to protect it during transit? Do you require a van with a tail-lift?

The more information you can put the better, it is a waste of everyone’s time if the courier arrives and cannot load the item for some reason. Include as many contact numbers for both yourself and the person who is receiving the goods as possible, it does not matter how eager a courier is to move your goods for you if they cannot contact you and if they arrive to make the delivery but cannot because the receiver is not there and is un contactable then problems can occur. This is also why it is important that you establish good communication with the person receiving your goods and keep them informed of what is happening.

The very nature of the courier industry means that couriers who are interested in your postings will more often than not be looking to collect the item that same day, sometimes within an hour or so of contacting you. It is therefore important that you confirm with the shipper that they (or at least someone) will be available to receive the delivery. This brings us to the next point - flexibility.

The more flexible both you and the person receiving the goods can be the better, while it is likely most collection and deliveries will take place early morning or evening time, it would be beneficial if you (or someone) could be available during the daytime. Is it possible to take an hour away from work to meet a courier? Can the goods be left with a neighbour? The more flexible you can be the more couriers will be interested in your job posting and the cheaper you should be able to get it done for.

You will find that most couriers will try to be flexible as well and so it is always a good idea to ask if they would mind waiting for half an hour while you get home, for example. The amount you are willing to pay for a job is entirely up to you, but bear in mind that the courier industry is under more pressure than ever with rising fuel costs, congestion charging and taxes so don't expect to get the job done for nothing and the less you charge, the longer it may take to sell the job.

As a guide, I would suggest you pay around 30p per mile for a small van, 35p per mile for a medium van (like a Mercedes Vito or a short wheel base transit) and 40p per mile for a large van (like an Iveco Daily or a long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter).

Couriers may often try to haggle with you a little over your pricing, it is entirely up to you whether you wish to haggle or not, but do not be offended, it is par for the course. If you do agree a different price and it is the receiver of the goods who is paying, make sure they are aware of the price change!

When you list your item on eBay, I would suggest you state that the goods will be dispatched through ukbackloads.com at a cost of approximately 30/35/40 pence per mile (obviously which amount is dependant on the size of van you need). Once the item is sold you can agree a firm price with the buyer and post the goods to move on the website. It is your choice whether the buyer pays you and then you pay the courier, or the buyer pays the courier on delivery, either way you are advised to have cash as couriers rarely have the facility to take card payments and will be reluctant to accept a cheque from someone they do not know.

For your security and peace of mind, we validate all registered couriers and check they have the appropriate goods in transit insurance, most couriers will have cover of between £10,000 and £20,000; if you are transporting a high value item it may be advisable to make sure they have the insurance to cover it should the unthinkable happen. Finally, enjoy the site, use it as often as you like and it will never cost you a penny and reap the rewards of opening your sale up to a much wider audience. We are always looking to improve our service and welcome any and all feedback.

Thanks

The UK Backloads Team
ukbackloads.com