Exclusive Rights for Post Office?

[pongo]

28 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

I’m sick of explaining to people I sell stuff to on eBay that I’m not making the postage rates up. That really is the cost of sending a recorded delivery package from the IOM. 

Why not make the postage free and add the price to the cost of the item?

Obviously it only makes sense to sell the sort of items from here where the lowest price is not what matters.

Or source the items elsewhere and have them posted direct from wherever.

ETA: or use Special Delivery

Edited September 28, 2021 by pongo

[pongo]

1 minute ago, offshoremanxman said:

Because your eBay fees are linked to the price of the item not the postage for one. It’s getting hard to justify postage from here now. It’s ridiculous.

This is not a good place from which to ship very low margin items.

[pongo]

Just now, offshoremanxman said:

It shouldn’t make any difference.

Of course it makes a difference. Some places are better than others for certain sorts of businesses. That's inevitable and to be expected.

This is a better place than some others from which to sell other things.

[pongo]

Also - lots of people are selling directly via eBay,  Facebook and other social media without ever themselves handling the actual goods. For example.

[pongo]

Just now, offshoremanxman said:

The post office is supposed to facilitate the economy . 

Nonsense. It's not the business of the Post Office to subsidise people's businesses.

There are plenty of people running sales out of the IOM - selling goods or services which it makes economic sense to be selling from here.

It doesn't make sense to ship low cost low margin items from here. But it makes lots of sense to be selling other things from here where being based here has an advantage.

[pongo]

3 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

It’s not subsidizing peoples business is it? It’s part of attracting businesses to the IOM and keeping businesses and functions here which maintain local employment. Most of the people I know that are shipping larger packages from the IOM are doing it via DHL rather than IOM Post as it’s hugely cheaper. 

There is absolutely no sense in attracting business here when it makes no economic sense to do that sort of business from here.

It makes sense to attract the sort of business which it does make economic sense to do from here.

So not shipping packages where the margins are very low and pricing is very sensitive.

[pongo]

Why not do something which it does make sense to do here without being subsidised?

[pongo]

4 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

I think you’ll find there are ebayers literally all round the world. But that even seems to be becoming unviable here even as a side line or hobby due to cost. 

No that isn't true. It depends what you sell, what the margins are, where the items actually ship from etc.

As I keep saying - yes it doesn't make sense to ship low margin items directly from here. That's ultimately about geography. It's also kind of obvious.

Edited September 28, 2021 by pongo

[2112]

Just announced on the Nations Propaganda Mouthpiece this evening that Port St Mary’s Post Office is closing at the end of the month. Users will have to go to either Port Erin or Castletown. I wonder how Watterson or newbie Haywood will react and what they can do? What will happen if Port Erin’s Post Office is next for closure? 

[Will Halsall]

1 hour ago, 2112 said:

Just announced on the Nations Propaganda Mouthpiece this evening that Port St Mary’s Post Office is closing at the end of the month. Users will have to go to either Port Erin or Castletown. I wonder how Watterson or newbie Haywood will react and what they can do? What will happen if Port Erin’s Post Office is next for closure? 

I suspect not everyone will be disappointed with this news.

[Annoymouse]

Postage on eBay just isn’t remotely competitive, buyers have more delivery options/services in the UK, any basic tracked service (a must to stop false claims and buyers also want to track items) is considerably less than IOM post, if we had a local Hermes or Yodel drop off I’d probably use that service but waiting for Hermes to collect can take 2-3 days and buyers don’t like waiting.

I don’t find DHL, UPS, TNT or FedEx remotely competitive either, they all charge more for IOM-UK than UK-IOM which seems a bit mad when trailers go back half empty, but they seem to want UK-IOM only.

[2112]

Article on 3fm news this morning with picture of the MHKs, Haywood and Watterson outside the PSM newsagents where the PO is based. Picture would have been taken yesterday, like a command performance. Surely these two would have had an inkling that the future of this facility wasn’t safe, and have perhaps have raised it before, so perhaps it was in the headlines. It’s too late now, what’s done is done.

Edited October 6, 2021 by 2112

[Declan]

What were they supposed to do - if no-one tendered for the role?

[2112]

16 minutes ago, Declan said:

What were they supposed to do - if no-one tendered for the role?

Watterson is running around like a headless chicken trying to pretend that he is in touch with his voters. His is in touch with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and all things important and procedural. I’m sure to him Post Offices are irrelevant. Besides he is a Chartered Accountant by profession so he should have some knowledge of government and it’s workings. Also is he not aware that consumers aren’t using the post office for services, or posting letters. IOMG would make people use the online portal, thereby cutting out the post office. Michelle Haywood meanwhile has been taking lessons from the Rob Callister and Julie Edge playbook, as how to show outrage in constituency matters.

I agree that if no one tendered then there isn’t a lot that can be done, that’s why it’s a futile exercise by Haywood and Watterson. 

Edited October 6, 2021 by 2112

[2112]

16 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

Although they could maybe ask the question why nobody is tendering to lose money by running a post office that the post office itself doesn’t want to lose money running?

Under normal circumstances maybe you have a point. However shouldn’t MHKs instead of focusing on a futile exercise which isn’t going to gain any traction, let alone achieve real success, perhaps they should be holding the new administration of Alf or Alex to account. After all it’s only going to be a continuous transfer of power, no real new substantive policies to get the island out of the shit. In fact more post offices will probably close. I’ll be surprised if an attempt to close either Pulrose, Arnagh Coar or Willaston Post Offices won’t made.