![]() She added: “For small businesses that trade internationally, our latest research shows a third are impacted by high intermediary fees. “The lack of resources and bargaining power small firms have to navigate the postal services market means most small and medium sized enterprises have very limited scope to negotiate on price with delivery companies.” Policy chairman Tina McKenzie said: “Removing the safeguard cap on Royal Mail’s parcel services risks adding extra weight on the shoulders of many small business owners and sole traders. The Federation of Small Businesses echoed the comments by eBay. “We urge Ofcom to closely monitor the situation, so that prices can be kept as low and stable as possible for the many hundreds of thousands of small businesses who sell their products online, and for the millions of buyers who rely on these businesses for their shopping needs.” Ms Williams said eBay was concerned over the move, although did “understand that the delivery market has evolved considerably, and that some changes are inevitable as part of this”. The decision to remove the cap has sparked fears that businesses using eBay face a fresh assault after suffering from a year of industrial action by Royal Mail workers. The price of sending small parcels has risen from £3 to £3.49 if postage is bought in the Post Office and from £2.90 to £2.99 if purchased online. However, Ofcom concluded that because of increased competition, the nominal price of sending a parcel by second-class post has lagged inflation.įor instance, the price of sending large parcels has risen from £5.10 to £5.49 between 2019//24 if a customer pays for postage in the Post Office, and has fallen from £5 to £4.49 over the same period if bought online. Second class letters and parcels weighing up to 2kg were pegged to inflation as defined by the consumer prices index. ![]() While a price cap on letters is to be retained, restrictions on parcels will be removed, according to proposals published by Ofcom on Monday.Įve Williams, eBay UK general manager said: “eBay’s army of small business sellers have weathered quite a few storms over the last few years, so we are concerned about Ofcom’s recent removal of the price cap for Royal Mail on their parcel delivery service.”Ī cap was introduced in 2012 to limit price increases ahead of Royal Mail being sold off and floated on the London Stock Exchange a year later. ![]() Postal regulator Ofcom announced earlier this week that a cap on parcel deliveries – implemented ahead of Royal Mail’s privatisation in 2013 – was “no longer necessary” because of competition from rivals such as Amazon and Evri. One of the world’s biggest online marketplaces raised concerns about proposals that will for the first time allow Royal Mail to charge whatever it wants for second-class parcels. EBay has fired a warning shot over plans to scrap a price cap on Royal Mail parcel deliveries, saying the move risks a fresh squeeze on hundreds of thousands of sellers. ![]()
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