I know Mr Peters frequents this forum, so thought it might be the best place for him to answer some questions.
I run a small online business, mostly selling to the UK, but I often send orders to places as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and even the Falkland Islands.
Most of my packages are large letter size, some are larger and occasionally may be around 15kg. The only delivery service I use is Isle of Man Post, which feeds into Royal Mail. I tell my customers that their orders are being sent by 1st Class Post, UK customers expect their orders to arrive within a day or so. However now post no longer leaves the Island by plane, if I post something on a Monday the earliest it will it will get into the UK post system is around mid-day the following day (subject to ferry sailings).
Question: If I post an item on a Friday, when does it leave the Island, is it on the Friday evening ferry, over the weekend or not till the following Monday, which means it won't actually enter the UK post until Tuesday (five days since posting).
Question: How can Isle of Man Post promote a 1st Class Service when we are really getting a 2nd Class Service?
Question: Has Isle of Man Post investigated running an actual 2nd Class Post for large letters and small parcels, with such items only leaving the Island say twice a week on known days, so sellers like me, know when things will be leaving the Island and plan accordingly?
For small businesses the cost of postage is a large expense and competing with UK businesses that have the benefit of faster post and a 2nd Class post system, is difficult.