What a shock from Sweet Squared!

[fozzyo]

A quick comparison on costs sending a 2kg parcel with Yodel.

From UK Mainland to UK Mainland £10.99 + VAT standard Next day. £6.50 + VAT Yodel 48

From UK Mainland to NI or Highland & Islands £15.36 + VAT takes 3 Days for delivery.

The problem is that with Yodel you run the risk of not getting it delivered on the day it should, or it just gets lost. Or if it arrives on the day it may arrive at 8:45pm (yes evening) or even 7:30 on a Sunday evening rather then the previous Thursday. I have *very* low expectations of their service.

S2 couriers I like - nice email in the morning telling me when to expect it.

 

[deanosnana]

To crystaltash, I feel your pain re: shipping charges. I try to avoid them any chance I can.

Is there a co-worker or other nail tech you can order with, that way you can split the shipping charges? I do that whenever I can and it does help.

Best of luck!

 

[Lynne Baker]

I feel that I can speak both as a consumer and as a distributor.
As a consumer I used to get bent out of shape at having to pay for postage. Flippin' heck I've just spent £100s and now you want me to pay postage too - sheesh!

As a distributor I get bent out of shape when I have people having a go that we charge for postage. We charge a flat rate so if you order one lipstick or 100 you will charged the same price. What?! How can that be fair? I hear you ask. We actually charge EXACTLY what it costs us to send by courier. We make not one penny on shipping, not one. And you're not paying for just the cost of the courier. You're paying for someone to do the picking and the packing too. The boxes cost money, the poly chippings cost money, the parcel tape, the label, and the storage of the products too.

Yes, it's true that Ellisons etc give you "free" postage over a certain amount, but please don't think that you're not paying for it elsewhere. It will most definitely be hidden in the prices of the products.

We're honestly not trying to fleece people; we're just trying to provide an efficient, revenue neutral, professional service.

 

[fozzyo]

It is also about the sizes of companies - how could Lynne compete with a company the size of Ellisons on postage charges?

If I had a choice between free delivery with Yodel on a £60 order or paying for a delivery with a decent courier I would choose paying.

And if you think that price from S2 is outrageous last Friday I was quoted "over £200" for a Saturday delivery on about £60 worth of product!

 

[Bluerinse]

Awww blue I'm sorry my fault I did yeah. No tone in text is there lovely :-( xxx lots of hugs

No that's the hardest bit on here... Knowing how to write without taking it the wrong way xxx

 

[geeg]

No that's the hardest bit on here... Knowing how to write without taking it the wrong way xxx

I don't agree ... :hug:

The hardest bit on here is those who look for trouble where there is none.

There is no tone in the written word unless the person gives it tone by emphasis or just plain rudeness. If people spent more positive energy on thinking the best instead of the worst, then life would be allot happier.

 

[Lolly22]

The problem is that with Yodel you run the risk of not getting it delivered on the day it should, or it just gets lost. Or if it arrives on the day it may arrive at 8:45pm (yes evening) or even 7:30 on a Sunday evening rather then the previous Thursday. I have *very* low expectations of their service.

S2 couriers I like - nice email in the morning telling me when to expect it.

You are so right. My boyfriend works for dreams, the bed store. And they have have just changed their courier to Yodel. And what a nightmare. Every day there are customers on the phone With delivery issues. I came 4 hours late, it didn't come at all and all of this. From what he tells me they are hopeless! Total nightmare. You all wouldn't be wanting s2 to switch to them. There must a reason why they're much cheaper, because it never bloody gets there!

 

[fozzyo]

Thats the problem - the bean counters just see how much they are saving on courier costs. They don't take into account the customer service element! I have an Amazon Prime account so pay £50 a year for next day delivery, they to annoyingly use Yodel. Each delivery that is not made before 6pm I call them and register another complaint.

Hopefully when suppliers who use them start to realise how bad a decision it is for their reputation maybe they ill do something about it. So if your supplier uses Yodel please tell them of your experiences! And make sure you complain each time they mess up a delivery.

 

[ProperPrincess]

I don't agree ... :hug:

The hardest bit on here is those who look for trouble where there is none.

There is no tone in the written word unless the person gives it tone by emphasis or just plain rudeness. If people spent more positive energy on thinking the best instead of the worst, then life would be allot happier.

Well I certainly wasn't looking or trouble with blue. That would be ridiculous in my opinion. I simply thought he was being a bit off. Because mostly I can tell how blue "types" this time I got it wrong.

I'm happy. Blue and I got our wires crossed and all is good. No trouble. Because that's not the type of person I am or blue

 

[JERSEY JOCK]

I live in Jersey Channel Islands...... If I place an order for £150 or over I get free postage with Ellisons 😄😄😄😄😄😄

 

[sarah123110]

is there no way a company in Northern Ireland could become a sub distributor the way ellisons and the fingertips centre in scotland is?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[fozzyo]

is there no way a company in Northern Ireland could become a sub distributor the way ellisons and the fingertips centre in scotland is?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

Maybe a business opportunity for someone?

 

[pinkfairy]

is there no way a company in Northern Ireland could become a sub distributor the way ellisons and the fingertips centre in scotland is?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

Now there's an idea! There are no CND educators in Northern Ireland, maybe one of our experienced geeks will take on the challenge.

Oh and just for today's wee geography lesson, Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland are two separate countries, NI is technically part of Great Britain and while it is indeed overseas, it is still lumped together with the UK, which is why we get so fed up with the postage charges from 'the mainland' as we are deemed to be part of the same country...

That said, it is very commendable of S2 to be halving the costs and is another reason that I shall be ordering from them when I have completed my Shellac training x

 

[Planky1]

Well, whilst I don't live in NI and can understand the frustration of the postage prices when you are classed as UK, for me, if I did live there and knowing how superbloodyfantastic Sweet Squared as a company are, I would think there must be a very good reason why the postage is set as it is. They're certainly not in the habit of ripping us off in any way, shape or form, so my personal view would be I would have to suck it up to use them.

Yes, maybe there are a few NI Geeks who could set up in a similar way to Fingertips etc, I can think of 1 or 2 geeks who would be perfect

 

[The Geek]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Irish distributors in Dublin have recently set up a CND distributor in NI (so we won't be now). I don't have their details, but shouldn't take long to look up!

The other option is also ordering from Dublin. Its in Euros, but its also Mainland so much cheaper to ship.

 

[JenBella]

There is indeed a CND educator in Northern Ireland, details on the Creative Academy Ireland website. They may now be sub distributor so it's worth calling the girls in Dublin to ask.

Plus Creative Academy will send to anywhere within Ireland, North or South, and the postage would be cheaper than getting shipped from England, no sea or planes involved!
Price wise is on a par between the two so nobody should be out of pocket.

I'm actually surprised that folks in NI wouldn't automatically use the Dublin distributor.

 

[pinkfairy]

There is indeed a CND educator in Northern Ireland, details on the Creative Academy Ireland website. They may now be sub distributor so it's worth calling the girls in Dublin to ask.

Plus Creative Academy will send to anywhere within Ireland, North or South, and the postage would be cheaper than getting shipped from England, no sea or planes involved!
Price wise is on a par between the two so nobody should be out of pocket.

I'm actually surprised that folks in NI wouldn't automatically use the Dublin distributor.

Oh that's good to know, when I enquired recently I was told that there is no longer a CND educator in NI, must be crossed wires somewhere. I really want to train with CND but can't get down south at the minute so would be good if I could drive to and from the training

I don't order from the Irish distributor or S2 at the minute, but I do really like the work ethos of S2, not writing off the CND girls in Dublin though!
X

 

[BabyGirl]

Just to add my 2 pennies worth ) Yodel are not very reliable. They used to be a company by another name and were on watchdog. Very interesting/horrifying video footage of deliveries. Anywho a quick Google of them brings up some interesting reads lol xx

 

[xxAmyxx]

I was also recently told there was no educators in northern ireland?...

 

[pinkfairy]

I was also recently told there was no educators in northern ireland?...

I emailed creative academy Ireland yesterday and was told that there is now a Shellac distributor, The Beauty School, but no mention of an educator. There are definitely no details on their website either, the furthest north educator on the map is still Dublin.. x