Anyone here done any courier work? How can I setup?

[snowkit]

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking about becoming a courier. I hear you can earn around £350 cash a day. You can do it freelance, make about £1 per mile minimum and depending on type of courier as much as up to £2.50 per mile. This sounds awesome. They say there is more than enough work to go around. So there is no shortage of courier jobs available. You can start by using your own car or motorbike then upgrade to a van if you haven't got one already. Van rentals these days are quite affordable. Rent them on a daily basis or save more by renting them for weeks at a time. I think this would be great to get into. But 1 thing, do you know if there is any type of courier service where you actually know what your delivering?

For instance, can you be a courier that delivers crates of soft drinks to shops?

Or a courier that only delivers important letters that are needed to be delivered from a to b on the same day?

Anyone got any experience in this line of work, would really like to hear your views on this.

 

[weetsie]

i wanted to be a courier but my dad was a courier in london and said i would get myself killed (on a bike)

might look into it again if what you say is right about work being avalible.

 

[Shady]

How you describe the money, the amount of work going around and your choice of vehicle sounds, if you don't mind me saying, a little naive.

Yes, somebody has to get products into the shops, but don't think setting up on your own is a licence to print money. Any reputable company wanting to use you will want to see evidence of comprehensive insurance, a well maintained vehicle etc. And lets not forget the amount of local and national couriers already after the same business.

If you are going this alone - cash in hand is going to attract a certain type of business, not the Corporate accounts which will 'guarantee' work (ish), and you will need to be on top of accounts, invoicing and what about your return loads ?

Perhaps best to contact one of the National couriers / Express Parcels businesses and get on their books. They would then take care of all this for you leaving you to concentrate on driving.

 

[lead]

Paid per mile? All the self-employed couriers I knew (going back a few years) were paid per drop/collection and we're talking pennys here, certainly not pounds per mile.

They had to work their socks off to get a basic wage.

 

[sparkie1984]

my mrs brother in law works for city link. hes employed by them but they have "owner drivers"

now your required to supply your own kit and van and its to be painted in their livery. and no its not that well paid.

id recommend being employed by them personally.

 

[imightbewrong]

When you say 'courier' I imagine someone on a bike (pedal or motor) taking urgent shipments between companies - say within London - guaranteeing immediate delivery. I think there was a program on about these guys semi-recently, and they did make decent money - they really have to put the miles in, and it's not exactly risk-free work

 

[NoMansLand]

I looked into this a few years back, and the general consensus was that the market is saturated with couriers and earning decent money was extremely hard.

 

[PoochJD]

Hi Snowkit,

I have been thinking about becoming a courier.

Hang around Heathrow, in a dodgy wig and moustache, and see if anyone has any "Columbian" or "Jamaican" that needs transporting "cross-border"! Tell them, you can supply the teddy bears, if they need it!

But in all seriousness, if you really want to do courier work, you'd be better off doing courier work for airlines, who need someone to take an important item/person/document from A to B, but needs it to be accompanied. You'd be best off contacting the airlines directly, and seeing what they have to say. From what I know, the flights are paid for, and you do get a wage of some sort - set depending on what it is you're couriering, and where too - but it may be your best option, as theirs minimal outlay for you. All you need to do, is be willing to travel to destinations around the globe, at short notice, and be close to an airport, or at least be able to get to/from the major airports.


Pooch

 

[everett_psycho]

Hi Snowkit,

But in all seriousness, if you really want to do courier work, you'd be better off doing courier work for airlines, who need someone to take an important item/person/document from A to B, but needs it to be accompanied. You'd be best off contacting the airlines directly, and seeing what they have to say. From what I know, the flights are paid for, and you do get a wage of some sort - set depending on what it is you're couriering, and where too - but it may be your best option, as theirs minimal outlay for you. All you need to do, is be willing to travel to destinations around the globe, at short notice, and be close to an airport, or at least be able to get to/from the major airports.


Pooch

now £1 a mile on that sort of job sounds like good work

 

[awlfc]

i have been doing it for about 6 years if you sub of the likes of tnt you get 50p per loaded mile for a small van and 75p a mile for a big van this is for same day work. If you do multi drop i think you get paid per parcell collected and deliverd, but multi drop is a night mare in my opinion. I would not bother doing it im trying to find somthing else because once you take out fuel costs van costs insurance your not left with much and you will be on the road stuck in traffic for between 12 and 15 hours a day