In 2025, the battle for the top spot in online delivery services isn’t exactly a David vs. Goliath story — it’s a fierce competition between major players all vying to offer the fastest, most reliable, and most affordable service. With online shopping showing no signs of slowing down, the pressure is on to deliver (literally) in all areas: speed, price, and reliability.

At Trade Sports, we’ve chosen to partner with Royal Mail, and we’re often asked why. We include the cost of delivery in our product prices, offering free 48-hour tracked delivery on every order. In this post, we’re pulling back the curtain on our shipping choices — explaining the real costs behind our service, why we believe Royal Mail still leads the pack, and how we balance value with customer satisfaction.

What We Actually Pay for Delivery (And Why We Offer It Free)

At Trade Sports, we currently offer two free delivery options for all UK orders with Royal Mail:

Tracked 48 Parcel – used for the vast majority of our items.

Tracked 48 Letterbox – used for smaller items like T-shirts and accessories that fit through a standard letterbox.

If you prefer a faster delivery option, you can upgrade at checkout by paying just the difference.

So, what do we pay?

Tracked 48 Parcel (up to 20kg): £3.23 per parcel (including VAT and fuel surcharge).

This rate is available to us because we ship over 20,000 items a year, averaging around 50 parcels per day.

Tracked 48 Letterbox: £2.81 per item — typically used for clothing and slim accessories.

We absorb these delivery costs as part of our pricing, which means shipping is completely free to you. However, when items are returned, we don’t recover these costs — so we lose that amount permanently.

We do actually have a signature service and so you if you live in a flat or multi occupancy building we will add signature for peace mind so that the package isn't just left to be taken by another occupant of the building. 

The Pros:

• Seamless Integration: Royal Mail offers widespread integrations with major e-commerce platforms, making it easy to scale your business operations.

• Low Entry Barriers: Their account setup and service requirements are straightforward, ideal for both startups and established retailers.

• Nationwide Reach: With infrastructure covering even the most remote parts of the UK, delivery times remain consistent and reliable across the country.

• Competitive Pricing: Their rates are reasonable, especially for the level of service provided.

• Premium Tracked Options: The Tracked 48 service delivers a premium feel for customers, offering peace of mind with full tracking from dispatch to delivery.

The Cons:

• Declining Trust: Ongoing scandals and reports of internal mismanagement have caused public trust in the brand to hit a low point.

• Security Concerns: We've experienced parcel theft and other losses — issues that seem to be growing industry-wide, with Royal Mail not exempt.

• Outdated Technology: The platform is starting to show its age. Legacy systems and lack of innovation are beginning to cause inefficiencies and cracks in service delivery.

• Hidden Charges: While preparing this post, we discovered we were being overcharged for Tracked 48 LBT, with unexplained surcharges appearing on our invoices.

• Poor Claims Process: Compensation claims have been routinely ignored or delayed blamed by computer updates. In fact, we only received payouts from March 2025 deliveries after pursuing legal action.

Despite these challenges, we still find Royal Mail to be the most viable delivery partner for our business. Their overall service, particularly their tracked options, remains strong — and for now, they continue to offer the best balance of price, reach, and delivery speed.

Have We Tried Evri, Yodel, DPD, and Amazon Logistics?

In a word: yes. We've trialled all of these services — and while each has its advantages, none have matched the reliability and accountability we demand for our customers. Here’s what we found:

Evri (formerly Hermes): Cheap but Risky 

At first, Evri looked promising. During our initial trial, things ran smoothly — just one or two minor hiccups in the first week. But as soon as peak season hit, the cracks started to show.

• High parcel loss rates: High-value items would reach the depot… and vanish. The biggest issue wasn’t with drivers, but internal handling at the depot — theft was a real concern.

• Claims process: Surprisingly straightforward, but slow. Worse, compensation came as credit rather than cash, which locked us into further usage.

• Costs:

  • 48-hour service: £3.59

  • 24-hour service: £4.35

Yes, we could have saved a fortune — but the stress, losses, and customer complaints weren’t worth it. For high-value or sensitive items, Evri simply isn’t viable.

Yodel: Low Cost, Even Lower Reliability

Yodel’s pricing is attractive (around £2.42 for bulky items), but our trial revealed major concerns:

• Missed or false deliveries: Parcels marked as “delivered” that never arrived.

• Incorrect drop-offs: Items left at the wrong address or unsafe locations.

• No reattempts: Failed deliveries often weren’t followed up with proper instructions or second tries.

• Customer service: Inconsistent and often unhelpful.

While the low rates were tempting, the damage to our brand would far outweigh the savings. Reliability and customer satisfaction come first.

Amazon Logistics: Brilliant — Until It Wasn’t

On paper, Amazon Logistics seemed like a dream:

• £2.81 per parcel

• Prime-style delivery speed: next-day for many areas, 2-day for the rest.

• Broad national coverage and slick integration.

But then things went sideways.

• Theft became a major issue — not just by delivery drivers, but shockingly, even by the collection personnel picking up from our warehouse.

• On the last day of the trial, one-third of all parcels disappeared — never recovered.

• We ended the trial immediately and pursued legal action against the consolidator.

When it worked, it was the best service by far. But when it failed, it was catastrophic.

DPD: Premium Price, Mixed Performance

DPD has a strong reputation in the industry, and it’s often viewed as a premium courier — but our experience told a different story:

• Frequent losses: More lost parcels than expected for a premium provider.

• Difficult claims process: Compensation was slow, frustrating, and often unresolved.

• Management issues: Poor handling of escalations and accountability.

With a cost of £5.25 per parcel, we expected top-tier service. While they may have improved since we last used them, at the time it just didn’t deliver on the premium promise.