NEW TO THIS INDUSTRY READ THIS FIRST

As we are constantly being asked the same question almost every day I thought that I would out line the facts that you need to read first before becoming a courier or delivery driver.

How to obtain work

Work:

Courier Exchange expensive but good

Courier expert cheaper but good

Shiply £0.10 p to join very productive (non eBay )

mtvan

Parcel frog

Delivery supermarket

Any van

Local paper

research local company's

shed 5

there are others out there you decide where to spend your money!

Insurance

A must is to be insured correctly and not to fall into the trap of underinsured Courier insurance is very expensive and in most cases will cost around £2,000 per annum then you will need goods in transit insurance around £300, per annum On top of this you will need public liability insurance around £250 per annum

If you are a delivery only company the cheaper option in hire and reward insurance of around £500.00 with this insurance YOU CANNOT OPPERATE AS A COURIER

Then if you are self employed i suggest that you get some sort of medical and health insurance bupa or other

Lastly and most importantly ££££££££££££ have at least enough capital to last you the first 3 to 4 months running costs and living expense's around £5 to £6,000:00 minimum

So in all you will need at least £15,000:00 before thinking of joining the industry legally and safely

Then of course the van

£600 per month lease or £21,000 bought out right or £450:o00 on finance for 10 years

maintenance

£300 per month

Tyres winter £1000 per year Summer £1000 per year

No dobt ther will be others that sugest mor than i have posted but tghis will give a insight to the industruy known as "the courier "

Excellent post!

Good advice

Great post. I will be making a 'recommended post' feature for contributions like this.

The only one of the above I would do if you're new to the industry is research local companies. Don't even think of joining sites such as Courier Exchange or even this one if you've no experience.

Find a reliable local company who will put you on their "circuit" of drivers. This means you phone in every morning (not many companies expect you to turn up at 8.00am in their yard and sit there in your van these days) and you go on a rota - first in first out. When you're top of the list you get the next job that comes, as long as it's not too far away from you. That will give you the experience of working as a courier whilst easing your cashflow because such companies often pay one or two weeks in arrears.

If you try to find work through an exchange site you will be waiting one, two or even three months to get paid. Any companies that post work through exchange sites will normally expect you to know exactly what to do and won't want to hold your hand while you learn the ropes.

Try sites such as indeed.co.uk or the government jobseekers site and look for "courier". Don't bother with Citysprint unless you want to stay poor!

Also, to quote myself....

S Garner Courier said:

---

recommend you try this...

http://www.mtvan.com/forum/general-discussion#search

There has been loads of discussion about it, in fact most questions have been asked.

In fact search all of the courier forums you can find! READ, READ, READ!

I'd argue that Shiply is not 'non-eBay', I've seen a lot of eBay items on there.

Also, some of those figures mentioned are a bit of a rough estimate, it all depends on your business/van/market area etc etc. I'd suggest you get your own quotes.

Also to think about...

• Phones - landline and/or mobile
• Internet - connection office and/or mobile
• Website - do you want one, can you build one or will you have to pay someone, domain name(s)
• VAT - do you need/want to go VAT registered, it works for some and not for others
• Accountant fees - for tax returns, I've had wildly differing quotes
• Bank account
• Card payments - do you need/want to take a card, you normally pay a % of what you're charging and sometimes a subscription depending on vendor

Rapid Movements Europe Ltd said:

---

Lastly and most importantly ££££££££££££ have at least enough capital to last you the first 3 to 4 months running costs and living expense's around £5 to £6,000:00 minimum

So in all you will need at least £15,000:00 before thinking of joining the industry legally and safely

Again, I'd argue this figure depends on your circumstances. A single 25 year old living with mum not paying any board has very different income/expense needs to a married 40 year old with three kids paying a mortgage and is the only bread winner.

Perhaps someone with expert knowledge should write a guide!

I'd argue that Shiply is not 'non-eBay', I've seen a lot of eBay items on there

Yes there are but I my self tend not to bid on that type of work

I operate outside of the uk and have secured long term contract off the site with a good revenue

Again, I'd argue this figure depends on your circumstances. A single 25 year old living with mum not paying any board has very different income/expense needs to a married 40 year old with three kids paying a mortgage and is the only bread winner.

I agree, this was just a guide and an out line to what you need , but i would disagree with your thoughts as a 25 year old I was playing rugby sat in the club every sat / Sunday off my face on beer so I would actually need more just for the bar bill

Rapid Movements Europe Ltd said:

---

Again, I'd argue this figure depends on your circumstances. A single 25 year old living with mum not paying any board has very different income/expense needs to a married 40 year old with three kids paying a mortgage and is the only bread winner.

I agree, this was just a guide and an out line to what you need , but i would disagree with your thoughts as a 25 year old I was playing rugby sat in the club every sat / Sunday off my face on beer so I would actually need more just for the bar bill

That's why I said 'different income/expense needs'. I didn't say which one needed more! ;-)

Rapid Movements Europe Ltd said:

---

I'd argue that Shiply is not 'non-eBay', I've seen a lot of eBay items on there

Yes there are but I my self tend not to bid on that type of work

I operate outside of the uk and have secured long term contract off the site with a good revenue

Good for you, I'm glad to hear it.

So to clarify your comment, Shiply is not only ebay jobs but has other work available. As I understand it, you were trying to let people know that they should not be put off by those that say 'stay clear of Shiply because it is full of ebay tat' because not all jobs are ebay related.

Also, there are those among us that make their business dealing with the so called 'ebay tat' and that is up to them. Whilst I use the term 'ebay tat', it is not meant to be derogatory, it is simply because everyone knows what that means, my business doesn't generally operate with these jobs but I'd never say never. If it pays enough and it's legal it goes!

There's more help here:

Tonys Guide Free Online Guide to Courier Work

We definitely agree with the point about totally new people learning the ropes by joining a courier company before trying to launch as a courier available to all and sundry.

mtvan.com Ltd said:

---

There's more help here:

Tonys Guide Free Online Guide to Courier Work

We definitely agree with the point about totally new people learning the ropes by joining a courier company before trying to launch as a courier available to all and sundry.

When I started thats how you learnt from others mistakes ;-)