The Isle of Man Post Office has admitted that – in many cases – it’s cheaper to post items destined for Europe and the rest of the world via the UK.
It says it’s because of the agreement it has in place with Royal Mail.
As a regular user of the online shopping site eBay, Dave Evans, of Ballacrosha, Ballaugh, posts items to ‘anywhere that will buy them’.
He explained: ‘At the moment if I want to send a 2kg packet (top of the airmail packet weight limit) to a European destination the cost is £24.94 – that’s direct.
‘Now here’s the thing, if I were to send it to a UK address first the cost would be £6.85, if then it is sent on to Europe by Royal Mail the cost is £13.65 – that gives a total of £20.50 and therefore a saving of £4.44. The package goes just as far and is handled just as much by the Isle of Man Post Office and Royal Mail as far as I can see.’
He said: ‘You can actually start saving money on a European destined packet weighing 750g onwards to the 2kg, saving from £0.79 to £4.44.
‘Rest of the World items can make a saving too by the two stage method – of course it’s not the most practical of processes!’
He was told by the Post Office it was due to the agreement it has with Royal Mail: ‘Some agreement that is.’
Mr Evans said: ‘I appreciate we’re on an island so extras have to be considered (fuel, transport, etc), but in my simple world I can’t understand the logic of who set the prices. The service is good and still cheaper than any courier I’ve found but I wish I could get a proper answer out of them – not just the agreement blanket one’
Isle of Man Post Office commercial director Lisa Duckworth said: ‘Whilst he says that “they just throw the blanket over it, or it’s down to the agreement between them and Royal Mail” this is the reason for the price differential.’
She said: ‘We have a commercial agreement with Royal Mail for distribution of mail around the world. On top of this we have our own internal costs to get mail from the island into Royal Mail’s international distribution network.
‘We are too small a postal administration to negotiate a mail exchange agreement with 192 countries around the world directly and have to use an agent. Whenever this occurs costs are always going to be higher than going direct.’
She said: ‘I am pleased Mr Evans is happy with our service and whilst it is currently cheaper to take the two stage approach, delivery times may take longer, when time is usually of the essence for eBay users.’
Meanwhile, Mr Evans said there was another benefit of posting items via the UK. While the Isle of Man Post Office doesn’t offer certificate of posting compensation for standard airmail items to Europe or rest of the world destinations, Royal Mail does.
Ms Duckworth said: ‘Mr Evans makes a fair point with regards to the lack of compensation available for our international airmail service and I will ensure we consider the introduction of this when we next review our tariffs and terms (for introduction in April 2014).