Royal Mail recently increased the first-class stamp by two pence (three cents), and the second-class stamp by three pence (five cents). For small businesses, this can add up.
Ned Corbett-Winder, 29, owner of the London-based company stated, “The latest price increase will cost my business around £2,500 ($4,182) over the course of a year, which for a small business is a huge amount of money.”
Corbett-Winder’s business specializes in sending specialty gifts through the mail. You can either subscribe for yourself or a friend, and each month a surprise gift shows up in the post. In addition to the subscription, you can purchase a one-off gift from their list ofunique products, with prices ranging from £3.00 to £63.00 ($5.00 to $105.00).
With his entire service relying on shipping, Corbett-Winder wasn’t exaggerating when talking about the impact the price increase could have.
Rather than shrugging his shoulders and going along with the new rates, or throwing his hands up in the air out of frustration, Corbett-Winder took matters into his own hands.
Well, to be exact, he left it for the birds.
Corbett-Winder says he thought to himself, “People always joke that if their parcel is late it would have been quicker sending it by carrier pigeon. Well, I’m testing the theory out.”
He’s hired a flock of carrier pigeons to fly from London to Oxford, and the packages are picked up at the coop location. The pigeons are trained to fly a set route, with a small package looped around their neck. The pigeon can make the route in approximately an hour, when ground delivery would typically take a day.
NotAnotherBill.com still uses more traditional delivery methods, recognizing that not everyone lives in London or Oxford and not everything would fit in a pouch. But it is a unique venture.
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