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Posting rods

B

Ben Jennings

Senior Member
Hi all been a while since i posted rods (pre covid i reckon). What’s the best courier to use? It’s been so long i can’t even remember who i used last time im thinking possibly inter parcel but prices are ridiculous.
 
Try the post office first. The three I’ve tried said that they can’t post them or it will cost £30-odd or, thankfully my local, £12!
 
It's a lottery! Our Post Office is operated by fascists, so they're a no-go (they turned me away with a pre-paid package over a measly 2g... TWO FLIPPING GRAMS!) It depends on the length of the tube ultimately, but it is a nightmare if it is over 140cm, so three-piece 15' rods or two-piece 11' are extremely hard to get posted for under £30.
 
Ben Jennings said:
Hi all been a while since i posted rods (pre covid i reckon). What’s the best courier to use? It’s been so long i can’t even remember who i used last time im thinking possibly inter parcel but prices are ridiculous.
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I must admit I would not trust posting a rod via Royal Mail or a courier , but I have bought rods on here from BFW members taking a gamble believing they know what the rod is worth and means. I wouldn’t do the same on facebook as not a member or eBay. There are some members on here that have posted rods to me on here and hopefully they will advise. The rods I have bought have all be in strong plastic tubes and the rods inside well cover in a thick layer of bubble wrap. Sorry this post is of no great help. Good luck.
 
Ben Jennings said:
Hi all been a while since i posted rods (pre covid i reckon). What’s the best courier to use? It’s been so long i can’t even remember who i used last time im thinking possibly inter parcel but prices are ridiculous.
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I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with posting rods, won’t entertain it again…too risky. Personally I’d rather arrange collection or meet half way, might take some effort and time but negates the risk
 
I have posted scores of rodsin UK and all over the world only experiencing the occasional problem BUT , the cost of posting long rods is very expensive [ over 1.5 metres ] . also if you read the very small print , most couriers don't insure rods for damage in transit .I have found UPS and parcelforce the most reliable , avoid YODEL .For convenience you can get prices via comparison sites like Interparcel orParcel to Go but it is always cheaper to search yourself with individual couriers on their online booking facilities . Also posting overseas is now , thanks to brexit, a complete nightmare with all the customs hoops you have to go through . If you are posting to highlands , Islands or Northern Ireland there is always a surcharge , don't know why. In terms of packaging as I posted rods regularly I bulk bought rod tubes , however lightweight drainpipe is ok , or if you live near a carpet place they often throw away cardboard tubes which you can blag for nothing . I highlight Yodel as poor as I once witnessed one of their drivers re arranging his load by literally throwing parcels on to the side of the road and re packing them with equally gay abandon , you could heat stuff breaking as he did this , avoid , they are cheap for a reason ....
 
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A mate of mine runs a rod building company and he recommends UPS.

I use the Post Office for shorter parcels eg 4 piece fly rods.
 
UPS are very good . I remember sending a rod to Italy during the pandemic . At the time the Italians put exclusion zones round certain towns / cities and UPS could never get the rod to its destination , they tried and returned it to me x4 times but persisted and it arrived unscathed after months of back and forth much to the amazement and delight of the purchaser . A tip I would give if you book Parcelforce online is go for the deal where you can drop the rod off at your nearest Post Office you then don't have to wait in all day for them to collect it from you as the collection window is usually 9am to 5 pm and you can have many frustrating hours waiting for the door bell to ring
 
Never had a problem with UPS,not sent for a while though and used wicks drain pipe with padding inside to stop movement as much as possible
 
I use my local Post Office for everything - even 12ft 2-piece rods. I'm not sure why people think the Post Office won't accept items of a certain length - they'll accept a rod of this length to be sent by Parcelforce. And the price, with insurance up to £200.00, is about £13.95. I've also sent canoe paddles of about 5'6" this way. Never had a problem.
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Kevin Steele said:
I use my local Post Office for everything - even 12ft 2-piece rods. I'm not sure why people think the Post Office won't accept items of a certain length - they'll accept a rod of this length to be sent by Parcelforce. And the price, with insurance up to £200.00, is about £13.95. I've also sent canoe paddles of about 5'6" this way. Never had a problem.
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As has been said above, you are lucky !

I have 3 rural post offices fairly close to me. One takes anything, the other two are really pernickety and won’t take anything over 1.5 m
 
I’ve had 3 rods from Mark Tunley all sent by UPS and no problems
 
One supposedly respected courier I would avoid is DHL. I've had incoming via DHL twice in the last month and both times they gave me a delivery slot, yet failed to turn up. I didn't think any courier could be as bad as Evri, but DHL is it.

Maybe, like rural post offices, the service varies around the country, or even locality, but apart from Parcelforce, I've always found DPD to be reliable.
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Mike Hodgkiss said:
basically your local PO are not sticking to their own rules regarding length...
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These are not Post Office rules. There is clearly some confusion about the distinction between the Post Office and the services it offers from Royal Mail and Parcelforce... maybe even the PO staff are confused... mine are effing useless at times, I have to tell them what service to use and how much it should cost.

This is from the Parcelforce website:

We carry up to 30kg per parcel and up to 2.5m length and 4m length and girth combined.
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Thanks chaps. It’s definitely changed since i last sent some. My local post office say it’s 1.5m maximum length which is a shame, post several shorter rids but the 2 piece 12 foot has been a no go i’m afraid. Will have a look at ups.
 
Pa
Kevin Steele said:
These are not Post Office rules. There is clearly some confusion about the distinction between the Post Office and the services it offers from Royal Mail and Parcelforce... maybe even the PO staff are confused... mine are effing useless at times, I have to tell them what service to use and how much it should cost.

This is from the Parcelforce website:

We carry up to 30kg per parcel and up to 2.5m length and 4m length and girth combined.
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Parcelforce may carry parcels of this length but not for £13.95 as was quoted earlier
 
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