savoirflair Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I sell a lot on eBay UK and hope to sell a few things whilst in France next month. Can anyone tell me, can you print out postage labels via the eBay France site and then just drop your parcels off at la Poste, like you can do with Royal Mail and the Post Office in the UK?I've looked at the eBay France site and can't see anything about it, but then my French is not that good at the moment.Thanks, Amanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinabee Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Yes you can. It's easy. When you have sold something you get the option to "affranchir" (I think I have remembered that correctly). You will then be asked what service you want e.g. colissimo or international. You will need to enter the weight in kilos (remembering that here a , is used instead of a . for example 0.25k has to be entered as 0,25) One of the differences between ebay France and UK is that in France only the postage costs are charged (generally) and NOT any allowance for packaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoirflair Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Thanks tinabee, that's great. Can you just tell me what happens when you go to la Poste - i.e. can you just hand everything over and walk away, or do they insist on checking everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinabee Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 When you print your colissimo slip it will be in 2 parts. Cut it down the line and stick the main part on your parcel, taking care not to cover any of the barcode with tape, and take the parcel and the second part to La Poste. They will weigh it to make sure you have entered the correct weight on the parcel (and paid the right tarif) and then they will stamp the second part (receipt bit) and give it you back. This proves you have posted the parcel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoirflair Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Tinabee - So do you think paying for and printing your postage label before you take it to la Poste actually save any time? our local la Poste sometimes has queues outside the door, and I was hoping that I might be able to get around this, or at least not add to the time spent by everyone else in the queue, by just handing over the items and getting out quick! Amanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User no longer member. Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I prefer to queue at the post office, I don't get embarased at the counter any more over the length of time I take - the locals in my town take ages to do their business, even buying a stamp entails a conversation that lasts at least 5 minutes... still, it helps to improve my French I suppose!Interestingly when I have used other post offices to post the same weight they have charged me different amounts - it is worth keeping your eye on it. I find that posting a parcel to UK or US is cheaper than posting it to an address in France! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinabee Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Like writersblock says, there really is no concept of saving time at La poste (or the bank or the chemist or . . . )[:D]It can save you a little time, since if you don't prepare the slip in advance you have to write out the colissimo slip at the counter. Also, printing the slip online saves 27 centimes (the cost of colissimo at the counter for a parcel under 500g is 5.50, whereas if you print your own it costs 5.23)Our post office has a chart on the wall which shows the quiet times and the busy times, so you can try to visit when they expect it to be quiet - but it's just one of those things you get used to . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoirflair Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Thanks for the all the advice, will give it a go!Cheers,Amanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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