Choosing the Best Courier Service for Online Orders: Why Reliability Matters More Than Price
Firstly I must apologise for the tardiness of this post! I was quite shocked when I realised I hadn't blogged in months - stuck on the old hamster wheel, working IN the business instead of ON it. Sometimes you just have to. We've had a few staff changes which has resulted in lots of training for new staff and extra hours for me and others trying to keep on top of orders. I am pleased to say we did also manage to squeeze a week's holiday in to celebrate our son completing his GCSEs.
Today I am pondering shipping. We've always used Royal Mail but their prices just seem to go up and up. When you sell on Amazon, all your orders have to be shipped with what's called Valid Tracking. If they aren't, your Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) is negatively impacted. Ultimately this puts your Amazon account at risk, something we simply can't afford. As an example, it costs us £10.00 to send a 200g sign to the US, these same signs retail at around £25.00. Do the maths .... It's not great and it's not just us who are suffering.
It's a very common problem as small business struggle with these high costs. In an attempt to bring our postal costs down whilst also using an Amazon recommended courier, we recently brought in an alternative "budget" courier with high hopes. As a business that ships hundreds of orders each week, we know just how important it is to choose the right courier. At first glance, it might seem like going with the cheapest delivery service is a no-brainer. After all, lower shipping costs mean more profit… right?
Unfortunately, that’s not the full picture.
Royal Mail vs. Budget Couriers:
We’ve tested various courier services over the years, and while Royal Mail tends to be more expensive upfront, it does seem to outperform cheaper options in the areas that really matter to both us and our customers.
Here's why.
Cheaper couriers operate using large vans that can carry high volumes of parcels. While this is efficient on paper, it comes with a major downside: increased risk of damage during transit.
Over the last couple of weeks our customers have - unfortunately - seen the downside of this:
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More parcels arriving damaged or bent
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Customers waiting longer for delivery or orders simply not turning up
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Significant increase in customer service queries which all have to be responded to
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More refunds and replacements to process
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Increased workload
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More negative feedback and reviews
All of this adds up to higher costs, not lower.
Not only are we paying to send out replacements, but we’re also losing time, materials, and customer trust — things that are much harder to replace than a damaged sign.
Royal Mail might cost a little more per parcel, but in our experience (generally speaking):
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Parcels arrive in better condition
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Delivery times are more consistent
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Customers are happier and more likely to leave positive reviews
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Our customer service team deals with fewer complaints
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Our selling accounts (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, etc.) stay healthy and active
When your business depends on customer satisfaction and marketplace performance, reliability isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.
We are currently reconsidering our options, perhaps we should stick with Royal Mail for most of our online orders. It might protect our reputation, it saves us time, and ultimately provides better value — even if it costs a bit more upfront.
If you’re running an online business and weighing up courier options, we strongly recommend looking beyond the price tag. Choosing a courier based on cost alone can be a false economy. When it comes to delivery, cheaper isn't always better — better is better.
I would love to hear your experiences of different shipping companies - good and bad.