Whilst you want to ensure your parcel gets safely and securely from A to B, you’re probably a little reluctant to spend valuable time making it happen.

So how can you make parcel delivery a hassle free experience?

Here are three top tips.

1.      Decide what delivery specification you need

In short, when must your parcel arrive? It’s pointless searching around for the cheapest deal if you have a delivery deadline to achieve. Here are your main options.

• A timed service: This premium option guarantees delivery before a particular time – and assuming you’ve met the collection cut-off, you’ll get delivery the next working day. The most popular options are by 9am, by 10am and by 12 noon.

• Next day: As the name suggests, this option promises delivery by close of play the next working day (again assuming your parcel has been collected before the cut-off).

• 48-Hours: This is usually the cheapest option and may be preferable if you’re in less of a rush and budget is more important than speed. 

2.      Search online

You don’t need to spend time ringing around couriers to find out the best price. Instead you can look online. Even better, you can use the free, no obligation quote and book service provided by parcel re-sellers such as collectmyparcel.com. Here you can type in your parcel dimensions and delivery postcode and instantly see quotes for a range of services from the big brand couriers.

3.      Use a courier

You could send your parcel via the Post Office but you may find it’s less convenient. After all, it means popping out and maybe even queuing.

Instead, arrange for your parcel to be delivered via a courier. As well as being an affordable alternative, they’ll collect from an address you specify. It means you can stay at home or carry on with your work and still get that important parcel sorted.

If you have a parcel to send you’ll have certain expectations or preferences.

Perhaps you want:

• Reassurance your parcel will arrive on time
• The best price
• A well-known brand
• The ability to track online
• Reliable customer service etc.

Whatever your requirements, you’ll want the confidence that you have made the right choice. After all, if you’re sending something that needs to arrive safely and on time, that peace of mind is very important.

So in terms of answering the question “which is the best courier service” it all depends on what you’re looking for.

Start with social media

A really good way to make your choice is to ask your social media contacts. Simply tweet a question or post a request on Facebook and you’ll quickly get some answers and opinions.

Then compare online

Alternatively you could check out a parcel re-seller such as collectmyparcel.com.

Parcel booking agents and re-sellers will help you make the best choice for you by making it really easy to compare prices and delivery specifications for a range of big brand couriers such as Parcelforce Worldwide, City Link and Yodel. The advantage is that instead of visiting a number of different sites or making numerous enquiry phone calls, you can discover everything you need to help make your decision in one place.

What’s more it’s simple and fast to use.

So if you want to discover which courier service is right for you, getting an online quote and seeing a comparison could be a great time saver and a handy place to start. What do you think?

Are you looking to send a parcel?

If so you’ll probably want the best service. But what does that mean to you? Are you most interested in price? Are you concerned about reliability? Or are you looking for a combination of both?

If so, you may be tempted to choose one of the big brand couriers such as Parcelforce Worldwide, City Link or Yodel. Perhaps you feel you can trust a larger company with your important delivery. But perhaps you are put off by the perception of high cost.

In that case it’s time to check out a parcel re-seller.

Let me explain…

Parcel re-sellers are Internet based businesses that will book a courier collection with a big brand courier on your behalf. You benefit because the re-seller buys collections in such a large quantity that they receive a bulk-buying discount from the courier and pass some of those savings onto you.

It means you can access the likes of City Link and Yodel, but often for less than going direct.

What’s more, because parcel re-sellers like collectmyparcel.com enable you to get a quote before you book, it’s really easy to see at a glance which courier company will offer you the best price for delivering your parcel.

In fact, not only could a re-seller save you money, it could also save you time hunting out the best deal.

Next time you have a parcel to go, test the service for yourself and see if it helps you get the parcel delivery service that you are looking for.