Is Sendle Worth The Bother?

CascadeHush on 08/08/2023 - 22:41

Time has come I need to start selling my played-out games. I've seen regular posts about Sendle deals with ebay but whenever I've clicked through I just get overwhelmed. The information they present is baffling, seems just like a dodgy-hard sell than actually explaining how it works. Gives me very bad vibes. The fact they keep giving discounts so heavily reeks of a service that is desperate for customers.

Frankly it just seems like buying a bunch of pre-paid express satchels from the post office would be a lot less hassle, and hand-writing the address is going to be much easier than digging out the old printer only to find it won't print because it thinks I've run out of yellow even though I can clearly see there is plenty of yellow in there.

I've read some reviews online and most of them are pretty negative. The positive ones mostly seem like astroturf. And yet I keep seeing deals posted here so somebody must think it's a good idea.

So is anybody here using it? Have you saved a decent amount of money or are we talking a couple percent? Or are you somebody who can confirm the negative experiences?

(I had no idea what category to put this in, but since it's selling stuff on the internet I figured that's the closest thing I can think of. I guess the mods will move it )

Poll Options expired

  • 4
    Sendle is great
  • 26
    Sendle is okay
  • 12
    Sendle is not worth the bother
  • 8
    Sendle is bad
General Discussion

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Comments

  • brokenglish on 08/08/2023 - 22:53
    +7

    As a seller, Sendle makes AusPost look like a saint.
    Stick to Gumtree / FB Marketplace. Cash only.
    OzB Classified is good too.

    • CascadeHush on 08/08/2023 - 23:13

      Yeah, I should probably give OzB Classifieds a go.

      I'm a bit reluctant to sell through Gumtree or FB Marketplace because frankly I don't want randos coming to my house.

      • ULT on 09/08/2023 - 09:48
        +1

        nah dont share your house details, just say you are located in whatever suburb and you would like to meet in a dense/secure area like at a city station or bank in a shopping centre etc. If travel is the issue, Ive met people near my local colesworth/petrol station too for the trade

  • Kranbone on 08/08/2023 - 22:54
    +2

    I've used them to collect minor items (items < 100 )in metro locations and haven't had a major issue.

    I use Aust Post as the alternative (items > 100) or rural locations. Have had some issues with Aust Post but would rather deal with them if I have an issue than sendle.

    (my own experience, yours will most likely vary)

  • hasher22 on 08/08/2023 - 22:56
    +1

    Sendle is a hit and miss. When a small business uses them, I am a bit hesitant to buy from them unless it's the only business that has that item. A few times Sendle has been delayed and tracking would not update, got my packages 1 week late and another 2 weeks late! But other times, I had items from Sendle arrive within 3-4 days from another neighbouring state.

    You're better off with Australia post, but if you're just selling games, those games would prob sell locally easy and just post it on gumtree and marketplace and get cash…. save yourself the postage cost.

  • scrimshaw on 08/08/2023 - 23:02
    +1

    https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/couriers-please

    Sendle uses CouriersPlease. From my limited experience with sendle, the couriers they use will not drop off packages at the Australia Post office if nobody's home to collect the item, they'll instead drop it off at the local depot or return to the sender if there's none available in the delivery area.

    That can be a pain in rural areas where depots are not available and they'll simply return to sender.

    Don't use sendle for expensive items. Second hand video games are probably okay but don't use it for big ticket items like computer parts or consoles.

    • jackary on 09/08/2023 - 02:13
      +1

      They also use aramex (formerly fastway) 💀

      • CascadeHush on 09/08/2023 - 13:14

        Why would a courier company change it's name from something recognizable to something that sounds like a laxative?

        Now we just need a laxative company called fastway.

        • foxmulder on 09/08/2023 - 13:20

          Aramex (UAE based) acquired Fastway in 2016.

  • Some Human on 08/08/2023 - 23:05
    +1

    Buyers don't like it when you use sendle.

    Games can be sent as a tracked or untracked letter by auspost. People tell you you can't send games letterpost, but you can. Auspost has no issue with it. Just make sure you put a layer of bubble wrap or something to protect it.

    • CascadeHush on 08/08/2023 - 23:11

      I've had playstation games sent letter post and it's a complete crap-show. Auspost tells me I'm a naughty boy for trying to get a letter sent to my parcel collect, then tells me it will be sent to my home address, and then sends it to the post office anyway, usually a couple of weeks later and I don't get any notification at all. The last time it took a month to get Horizon Forbidden West, by which time I'd already gotten a refund through buyer protection and bought another copy from somebody else who sent it express post like a normal human being.

      • foxmulder on 08/08/2023 - 23:21

        Most of those games/DVD will be less than 2cm thick, thus it should be ok with letter track around $5. Adding bubble wrap may add extra thickness that it makes it over 2cm thickness. Bubble wrap may be ok if item is 1cm thick.

        I tried Sandle the other day, what I don't like is how they randomly choose Courier Please for my area - it's ok if the driver is good, but the driver came every 2-3 days, thus why over the promised 1 day handling time.

      • garetz on 08/08/2023 - 23:42

        When you send anything through letter post it will go through a roller, I had a book sent to me that way that was thin but hardcover, the process basically destroyed the cover. Wasn't happy with the sender for doing that.

    • stringbean402 on 09/08/2023 - 06:21
      +3

      As a buyer I avoid businesses that use Sendle.

      It's not Sendle itself but the crappy couriers they use, Aramex and Fastway are beyond shit.

  • jv on 08/08/2023 - 23:27
    -1

    Why do Sendle want your brother?

    • Baysew on 09/08/2023 - 11:02
      +1

      Because he aint heavy.

      • CascadeHush on 09/08/2023 - 13:09

        If he was, it would be better to use auspost

  • ULT on 08/08/2023 - 23:40
    +2

    Honestly as a seller I was reluctant to use Sendle too but they've delivered all my parcels with no issues, and have sent notifications to my email saying they have successfully dropped off the parcel to the buyer (especially recently with their new system updates). Sendle however DOES NOT deliver to PO boxes/post office locations (due to AUSPOST applying restrictions on Sendle) and without the ebay seller discounts I favour AUSPOST every other time as a lot of Buyers like AUSPOST and some prefer getting their parcels sent to PO Boxes. Buyers always seem to love selecting AUSPOST as their preferred service too so its holding much stronger as the incumbent deliverer. Sendle is in a good position to take more market share if they offer more deals and undercut AUSPOST prices tbh (they really should take advantage of reduced costs from using Collection points and newagents instead of buying/renting physical buildings; so essentially should be passing on savings to their customers), Sendle seems to be a very YMMV service but its been good to me so far, and has only been improving since inception. I remember when all I heard was nothing good about Sendle at all, but now its mixed/good so they must be doing something right.

  • randomusername2017 on 08/08/2023 - 23:45
    +1

    100s of items over multiple platforms no issues. Majority via couriers please. Signed up years ago on free platinum or whatever it was… Used to be really cheap not so much these days. Great for metro deliveries, some weird experiences when it's handed off to last mile couriers and goes dark for a week in rural areas. Haven't lost a package yet, scheduling pickup can be a pain, but there are more drop off locations being added regularly.

  • altomic on 09/08/2023 - 00:35
    +2

    i've used sendle ~150 times.

    usually cheaper than auspost - except for remote locations and WA.

    usually pretty good. only had one parcel that was a hassle - delayed by 3 weeks.

    other than that it has been great.

    I love that they do pick up. I just leave it on my front porch and it gets picked up.

    worth comparing parcel delivery prices with auspost.

  • AustriaBargain on 09/08/2023 - 09:10
    +1

    Search your email account for the word "Sendle", I bet you've received dozens of packages through them over the years without even realising it.

    • CascadeHush on 09/08/2023 - 13:08

      I appreciate the thought. I did check and the only thing there was a note to self regarding an ozbargain post from way back, and today's newsletter which mentioned this thread.

      Given I get my packages to a postal collect address, I was pretty confident I never had anything through them. If I every buy something and they refuse to deliver to a parcel collect address, I just go somewhere else.

      Was worth a look though.

  • JimmyF on 09/08/2023 - 09:17
    +1

    Frankly it just seems like buying a bunch of pre-paid express satchels from the post office would be a lot less hassle

    If you go this route, make sure you update the tracking details in ebay ASAP.

    Is Sendle Worth The Bother?

    Yes/No it depends on the price. For me I used them a few times when I had free or dirt cheap shipping offers. But if the price is around the same price as auspost, I just them auspost as it is the devil you know.

    • CascadeHush on 09/08/2023 - 13:10

      Devil you know is spot on

      • JimmyF on 09/08/2023 - 14:19

        Not that I had any real issues with Sendle, one package was a little 'slower' than I would have liked, but I get that with Auspost as well from time to time.

        I would use them again if they are cheaper, but if the prices are similar, auspost works well for my workflow. So I stick with them.

  • toomuchdogfur on 09/08/2023 - 10:01
    +1

    As someone who has used Sendle a few dozen times with just one issue, I actually think it's great however your experience will vary largely depending on how good your local CouriersPlease and Aramex drivers are.

    The biggest boon for me is that Sendle handles large parcels at predictable prices (making it easier to price used items for sale) and is much cheaper than AusPost for these parcels. Usually if you want to send large parcels with the courier companies, you need to prepay a bunch of deliveries to get a competitive rate, which is infeasible if you're just selling used items and are likely to be shipping only one or two items to any given zone in a year. Having said that, I'd still go with AusPost if their pricing is close, as if the parcel can't be delivered then it will end up at the local PO for pickup instead of at a courier's office five suburbs over.

    The online booking service works as you'd expect, and it's extra nice that I don't have to lug a 100L parcel to the PO or courier's office, but of course this whole system only works if your couriers pick up parcels from you on schedule.

    The one issue I had was when a parcel was assigned to an Aramex courier, but their driver never showed up - I ended up taking the parcel directly to the Aramex depot. But I don't blame this on Sendle as Aramex has almost always failed me regardless of what end of the transaction I was on…

  • rambutann on 09/08/2023 - 10:04
    +1

    I run a small business - once used Sendle as the main form of postage, I ended up spending about 1-2 hours a week following up on issues (not picking up, extra long transit times, incorrect deliveries).
    I probably get 1 Auspost issue every 3 months.

    If you are sending a small qty of parcels then its probably worth doing it via Sendle - and I do still use them when sending 1-off large items (because its a significant saving) - but for higher volumes its really quite terrible.

  • jason101 on 09/08/2023 - 11:44
    +1

    Sendle is great - they are broker for the actual carriers though, the carriers are the problem. Think of them as like a taxi dispatcher - they are only as good as the taxis' and taxi companies they refer to.

  • Bdawg on 09/08/2023 - 11:59
    +1

    I've used sendle a lot and while most deliveries go fine, when they don't they are impossible to deal with. My worst was my package didn't arrive after a month, the buyer initiated an investigation, sendle said it was lost. I put in for compensation, they initiated another investigation, found it and delivered it. In the meantime the buyer had bought the item elsewhere. Sendle ended up sending the package back to me and give me no compensation.

  • Bignudge on 09/08/2023 - 15:05

    It depends on which courier Sendle is outsourcing. I have sent stuff with Sendle before:

    1. Went through Fastway and it was picked and delivered in a reasonable amount of time.

    2. Went through CouriersPlease and it didn't even get picked up past estimated delivery date. Had to drive back to the dropoff location and repost it at Auspost.

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