Royal Mail Tracked instead of Signed For for eBay items?

[whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie]

Hello expert eBayers. I haven't sold anything on eBay for about a year but now have a nice pile of items to list and as luck would have it there's a 'Save 80% on Variable Fees' offer this week. I would usually send items via First or Second Class 'Signed For' depending on the price of the item, but I've just been double-checking postage costs and can see that Royal Mail is now offering a 'Tracked 24' service for a lower cost of £3.99 for a 500g small parcel and I can either have the item collected or drop it at my local post office. Does anyone have any feedback on this service? Is it safer to stick to the 'Signed For' service and hope that buyers will not be deterred by the higher cost? I'm worried about parcels not arriving (or buyers claiming not to have received an item). Any info gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

Hello!
I love the tracked service and get it picked up from home practically daily....I use it for another online shop aswell as Ebay.
For me, it gives extra security, as it is tracked right to the door, usually with a photo, whereas signed for doesn't seem to be signed for at all half the time, and has no tracking.
I would definitely recommend it.

You can also add the buyer's email when booking for collection and on the rare occasion that there is a dispute, I have found that Royal Mail use co ordinates to track it to the exact address.

Thanks @BCSurvivor , that's really helpful. Do you use the standard 'Tracked 24' or the 'Tracked 24 with signature'?

@whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie I just used tge standard tracked 24/48 without a signature.
Every time I've checked a parcel there's a photo of it anyway, usually in a customer 's hands or named safe place.
Also, by adding the customer's email the customer will get the tracking updates, and options to rearrange delivery if needed....it's a really good service x

@BCSurvivor Great to know...thank you so much! I've saved all my listings as drafts but will now complete them with Tracked 24 as the postage option.

How much are the items worth? Anything low value I usually post second class because you get a receipt with a reference number and you can check the delivery status online.

I use Evri or Yodel for the majority of my parcels - they're all automatically tracked, and if they go missing it's easy to claim if you buy shipping via ebay. I know couriers get a bad press, but I send out a fair number of parcels, and the vast majority of them arrive safely - it's over a year since I had a lost parcel.

I'm not sure if it's still the case, but RM used to only pay out the amount you'd paid for the item which they lost, not what you sold it for, and they needed a receipt. Evri/Yodel just pay the sold price with no quibbles.

@Soapyspuds, I use standard second class for anything below about £15.00. Two of the items I'm currently listing are higher value i.e. £75 so I need a tracked service. I used to send higher-value items via first or second class Signed for, but the Tracked 24 service is covered up to a value of £150 and it's cheaper.

@maximist, I'd definitely try Evri or Yodel but have two post offices within 10 mins walk, whereas it's further to Evri/Yodel drop-off points. And I'm only at home one day a week so collections are not that convenient - it's easier to go to work via the post office and post or drop off any parcels. Also our local Evri drop-off points are either one of the those locker-type scenarios where they are often all full, or a shop run by a grumpy man who often says he has no more space to take in parcels until the courier has been. Last time I ended up grovelling to this guy and begging him to take in my H&M parcel - so annoying!

@BCSurvivor Do you print out the label at home and attach it to the parcel?

Many thanks all!

That’s a bargain service. I might need to give it a try

@whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie yes, but there's also a free option for the postie to bring the labels with him x

Thanks all. It will be interesting to see how much I manage to sell on eBay as Vinted is so popular at the moment. Fingers crossed my nice items will still sell on eBay!

I print my own labels as at least l know they've been stuck down properly.

I use Evri or Yodel for the majority of my parcels - ... if they go missing it's easy to claim if you buy shipping via ebay.

fuck me that's worth a huge amount. Evri historically was a nightmare, if they lost something or it went back to depot, there was no way to get it back. You could phone, tweet & email all day long & there was literally no way to get a refund or find a parcel they lost.