It’s been nearly 6 years since the Royal Mail’s 350-year monopoly on parcel delivery ended, yet it appears that the British tradition of walking down to the local post office remains. Companies such as parcel delivery comparison site, Rapid Parcel, are now urging consumers to keep their coats on and avoid the long queues, by searching online for cheaper alternatives. This is particularly the case for heavier packages that weigh more than 2kg.

By comparing the online quote systems of both the Royal Mail and Rapid Parcel, it can be seen that the comparison site is able to unite customers with much cheaper deals when parcels weigh 5kg and above. Sending a tracked, guaranteed 5kg parcel from London to Leeds will cost £12.77 with the Royal Mail, compared to just £10.50 through Rapid Parcel. Furthermore, in this example, Rapid Parcel would organise for City Link to collect the parcel from your home. Not a bad idea during the winter months perhaps.

The gap between Royal Mail and the competition becomes even wider the heavier the package; sending a 20kg parcel from London to Leeds would cost £34.12, compared to just £15 through UK parcel delivery comparison site Rapid Parcel, who would also organise TNT to collect the heavier goods from your door.

One major reason for the significant savings available is due to the healthy competition that is in place between many existing and new parcel delivery companies. Strong Ecommerce activity over the Christmas period further contributed to the need for increased parcel delivery services, which many couriers were willing to provide at competitive rates to steal as much market share as possible. Not a surprising revelation when the UK market is now worth some £4.5 billion.

Back in 2006, before the competition opened up, Royal Mail had a market share of 99%. They were also completely owned by the State. However, the UK government has recently passed the Postal Services Act 2011, which means that the Royal Mail may soon be privatised by up to 90%. Perhaps now is the time to let old habits and loyalty die fast.

So the message is clear; whether you’re organising UK or Europe parcel delivery, spend 1 minute gaining a comparison quote online rather than 10 minutes walking to join the queue at your local post office. It will save you money, time, the risk of rain-soaked parcels, and perhaps the odd bad back.