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How to Book a Parcel Collection in the UK
A parcel collection means the carrier’s driver comes to you, so you don’t have to travel to a Post Office, a ParcelShop, or a depot.
How you book one depends on the carrier. With Royal Mail, Parcelforce, and Evri, the collection is booked when you buy your label. With UPS and DHL Express, you book it separately. Some services, including DPD and GlobalPost through ShipStation, are drop-off only. This guide covers each one.
Four ways a parcel gets from you to the carrier
Booked with your label. Royal Mail, Parcelforce, and Evri. You choose a collection service when you buy the label, and the booking is sent for you.
Booked from ShipStation. UPS from ShipStation and DHL Express. You book from the Carrier Pickups page once your labels are created.
Booked with the carrier. Anything ShipStation can’t book for you, such as a standalone UPS account. You can arrange these with the carrier directly.
Drop-off only. DPD and GlobalPost services bought through ShipStation. There’s no collection to book.
Royal Mail and Parcelforce: choose Parcel Collect
Royal Mail and Parcelforce sell their collection services as a version of the service you’re buying. In ShipStation, most services come in a Drop off version and a Parcel Collect version. A few, such as Parcelforce Express48 Large, are collection only. Choose Parcel Collect when you buy the label, and the collection is booked for you.
Parcel Collect comes in two forms. With Print at Home, you print the label before the collection. With Bring My Label, the driver brings the label when they collect.
ShipStation books the first available collection slot, within the next five working days. Same-day collection isn’t available, and neither are Sunday collections. Royal Mail collections run Monday to Saturday. The time slot you see is an estimate or an hour range, because Royal Mail doesn’t guarantee exact collection times. If you void the label, the collection is cancelled with it.
Parcelforce has two additional rules. Set the ship date to a future date, because it doesn’t offer same-day collection. And its domestic services are only available to specified postcodes.
Evri: choose a Courier Collection service
Evri has two Courier Collection services in ShipStation, one for standard parcels and one for Postable parcels, which means letterbox-sized. Evri’s ParcelShop services are drop-off, so choose a Courier Collection service if you want the driver to come to you.
Create the label, and ShipStation automatically sends a collection request to Evri for the next working day. The collection cost is included in the label price. To change or cancel a collection, contact ShipStation support.
UPS and DHL Express: book from Carrier Pickups
You can book UPS from ShipStation and DHL Express without leaving ShipStation.
- Go to the Shipments page and choose Carrier Pickups at the bottom of the left-hand menu.
- Pick your carrier from the Schedule a Pickup dropdown. Only the carriers you’ve set up in ShipStation appear.
- Enter the pickup window, the pickup location, and the date. ShipStation defaults to the next working day.
- Click Schedule Pickup.
Some carriers charge for scheduled collections, depending on the type and how often you book. If you use a carrier from ShipStation, any fee is deducted from your balance after the shipment. If you use your own account, the carrier bills you as usual.
Booking UPS directly. If you have a standalone UPS account, book with UPS, online or by phone. UPS collects all your parcels on a single request and charges one collection fee per request. If you ship regularly, UPS also offers daily and day-specific collections. For international air shipments collected from a home address, the driver will ask whoever hands over the parcels for valid government-issued photo ID.
Booking DHL Express directly. DHL Express UK takes collection bookings online or by phone, from your home or office. Booking online, you can choose today or up to five days ahead. Same-day collection is available if you book early, and you don’t need a DHL account.
DHL eCommerce UK is a different network. It’s separate from DHL Express. With a business account, its drivers collect from your premises, either on a regular schedule or when you book.
DPD and GlobalPost: drop-off only
DPD and GlobalPost services bought through ShipStation are drop-off services. If you look at DPD labels, they can be printed at home or at the shop. GlobalPost parcels must be taken to a drop-off point. If you want DPD to collect from you, speak to DPD about arranging collections on your own account.
Collection or drop-off?
Collection suits steady volume and busy days, when a trip to a drop-off point would cost you time. Drop-off suits small or last-minute volumes, because Royal Mail, Parcelforce, and Evri collections can’t be booked for the same day. Plenty of sellers use both.
How ShipStation helps
ShipStation allows you to buy labels from Royal Mail, Parcelforce, Evri, DPD, UPS, and GlobalPost in one place, choose collection or drop-off for each service, and book UPS and DHL Express collections from Carrier Pickups.
DHL Express is a bring-your-own-account carrier for UK accounts. UK accounts pay a per-shipment fee on labels created with your own carrier accounts rather than the included ones, invoiced monthly and varying by plan.
Put Your Collections in the Same Place as Your Labels
Choose collection or drop-off as you buy each label, and book UPS and DHL Express collections from the same place.
Start a Free TrialCommon Questions
Can I book a same-day collection?
Not with Royal Mail, Parcelforce, or Evri through ShipStation. Royal Mail and Parcelforce don’t offer same-day collection, and Evri collections are booked for the next working day. UPS and DHL Express both offer same-day collections when you book with them directly, though DHL asks you to book early.
Can I get a Sunday collection?
Not with Royal Mail or Parcelforce through ShipStation. Neither supports Sunday collections.
Will the driver arrive at a set time?
Not with Royal Mail. It shows an estimated time slot and doesn’t guarantee collection times. With UPS and DHL Express from Carrier Pickups, you enter the pickup window yourself.
What if I void a label?
With Royal Mail and Parcelforce, voiding the label cancels the collection. For Evri, contact ShipStation support to change or cancel a collection.
Do collections cost extra?
It depends on the carrier and the service. Evri’s collection cost is included in the label price. UPS charges one fee per collection request, however many parcels it covers. Carriers can also add pick-up surcharges after you’ve created a label, and those are deducted from your ShipStation balance. Check each carrier’s current terms before you rely on a cost.
Can I book collections for my own carrier accounts?
It depends on the carrier. DHL Express accounts connected to ShipStation appear in Carrier Pickups. For a standalone UPS account, book with UPS directly. For anything else, book with the carrier.
