Starting a Parcels Service.
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The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3744] Sir,—Being a reader of your valuable journal for a good number of years, I would like your advice. I am 29 years of age, single and a motor mechanic. I have had five years business experience canvassing, collecting, etc., and have about £200 in cash. I recently missed, by accident, purchasing a small
carrying business in Brighton. The owner has a small Commer saloon van, resembling a car, and seems to make a good living by calling on local shopkeepers in the district to a radius of six miles or so, carrying parcels from one village to another and charging reasonable rates. , I would like to commence a similar concern, can you advise me the best way to go about It, the charges for parcels and insurance, the best type of converted car,
eta,? PARCELS. Brighton.
[You are the best judge of the prospects for work of the kind you have in view in Brighton and its neighbourhood, and there is no better way of ascertaining them with any degree of accuracy than by personal investigation on the spot, which I advise you to make. '
We will assume that you have made full investigations and that your parcels service is started.
When your parcels-delivery service is in working order
should imagine that you will make at least two trips per day, each trip taking, on the average, three hours. If you use a 1-ton van you will need to make a revenue of about 36s. per day, or 18s. per trip. What you will have to charge per parcel in order to make this cannot be determined until you have some approximate idea as to the size and number of parcels. In any case, your charges will have to be determined more by what you can get, and I suggest that you try the following scale. A minimum of 2d. per parcel, that to apply to anything up to 3 lb. weight. For parcels between 3 lb. and 5 lb., charge 3d.; up to 7 lb., 4d.; 10 lb. r5d. ' • 14 lb., 6d.; 20 lb., 7d.; 28 lb., 8d.; 42 lb. is.; 56 lb., 1s. 4d.
Experience has shown that to be a reasonable scale. It is more than likely that you will be some two or three months building up your business and until that time has elapsed you will not make much in the way of net profit. '
Insurance of the load will not cost you much, being based on a percentage of the probable total value of your