Hello all,
Halloween came and went, and the shops are ramping up for their busy Christmas season.
This means the shopping season has well and truly started, but do you know what will be the cheapest way of sending a parcel from Ireland to the UK?
Let me share my findings, saving you time( and most definitely money) as I had to do this exercise myself, for a box of of Lyons Tea bags I sold on Ebay.
The box measures : 23 cms * 17 cms * 12 cms and weighs 700 grammes.
| Company | Price | Notes | Specifics |
| www.Anpost.ie | €22.50 | Any Post office | http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/PostalRates/Standard+Post.htm |
| www.parcelmotel.com | € 15.50 | Any Parcel Motel | www.parcelmotel.com/prices/ |
| www.parcelconnect.ie/ | € 19.95-
€21.95 |
Collect from home or drop off at various locations | https://www.parcelconnect.ie/pricing/ |
| https://gls-group.eu/ | € 16.50 | GLS Parcelshop | https://gls-group.eu/IE/en/parcel-shops/parcel-shop-prices |
| www.citypost.ie | € 11.95 | Pick up | https://www.citypost.ie/parcel_delivery.php |
And the winner is …. Citypost!! — update 11/11/2020 – unfortunately Citypost is no longer trading… I will need to revisit this article and share an update! (Please share your best solution with me by contacting me here!
Having done this exercise, it was a pity my box was 23 cms high, so it’s falls into the package class with An Post. If it had been a bit smaller, it would have been classed as a parcel, and then it would have only cost 9 Euros. Details of measurements for An Post here. For all the other options, it’s important to note that payment and scheduling is online, so you need to plan a little bit, but it will be well worth the effort.
I have included the specific shipping conditions to each provider, noting that the majority of them don’t accept liquids. A liquid is not just “water” it can also be a perfume, creams and gels, so double-check what their conditions of carriage are internationally.
As an anecdote, I once had a blooming little business selling Nivea products on eBay, and I was starting to get orders from Israel, the USA and as far as Australia. My then postmaster ( bless him – he has passed on) was very supportive of my little trade, but as the international orders require a CN22 label, I had to specify what I was sending.. Unfortunately creams are classed as “liquids” and can not be sent internationally via regular post.. Suffice it to say it was the end of my lucrative little business:)
Aviation Security Label An Post
There are other carriers, such as DHL, TNT, UPS, however those were all more expensive, so I didn’t include them.
Would love to hear if there are other solutions out there, please share them!
Sunnny greetings from Galway,
Katleen