advice

Shiply’s 5 Tips for Shipping Large or Oversized Items

Posted on by Louis Watton

Shipping big or oversized items can seem like a daunting task, especially when the post office is simply not an option, but fear not! With the right knowledge and preparation, you can breeze through the process without breaking a sweat. Whether you’re moving furniture, sending out a hefty vehicle, or shipping bulky equipment, these five tips will help you navigate the journey smoothly and ensure your items arrive in tip-top condition.

Secure Packaging:

When it comes to shipping big or oversized items, proper packaging is absolutely crucial to ensure the safety of your item. Start by dismantling any parts that can be easily taken apart and pack them separately. Use sturdy cardboard boxes or crates to shield delicate components and be sure to provide ample cushioning. Bubble wrap, foam, or packing peanuts work well to keep things snug and prevent any unwanted bumps during transit. Make sure to seal up the packaging with strong tape and clearly label each box with its contents and any special handling instructions. 

A top tip when using Shiply is that you can use our messaging system to ask transport providers who have quoted you if they are able to supply these materials, saving you the hassle of buying them yourself.

Choose the Right Transport Provider:

Picking the right carrier is key to a successful shipment. Take into account the size and weight of your item, as well as the destination and the level of service you require. Some carriers specialize in handling big or oversized items and have all the necessary gear and know-how to get things moving smoothly. Do a spot of research, compare their services and prices, and have a gander at customer reviews to make an informed decision. Using a shipping marketplace like Shiply can make the process even easier, as it offers multiple carrier options and competitive quotes all in one place.

Get Your Equipment Ready:

Shipping big or oversized items often calls for some special equipment and a helping hand or two. Before you ship, make sure your chosen transport provider knows exactly what is being shipped and what equipment is required to move it, as well as how many people will be needed. A trusty dolly, lifting straps, or maybe even a forklift will come in handy to load and unload your item safely, and almost all transport providers will be able to provide these when picking up your item.

Consider Part-Load or Groupage Shipping:

When dealing with particularly hefty items, it’s worth considering the option of part-load or groupage shipping. With this approach, your item shares space on a truck with other shipments heading in the same direction. This nifty trick means you only pay for the portion of the truck that your item occupies, saving you a pretty penny compared to booking a full truck. Lorry drivers experienced in transporting big or oversized items will have the right equipment to load and unload your precious cargo safely. Shiply offers part-load shipping options, where you can find carriers who specialize in handling the big stuff and get yourself some competitive rates.

Safety First, Always:

While we’re at it, let’s not forget about safety, shall we? When shipping your valuable and bulky items, it’s essential to ensure they’re well protected. Taking precautions goes a long way – take a few snaps of your item before shipping as visual documentation, just in case there are any claims to be made down the line.

Shipping big or oversized items needn’t be a frightful affair. By following these five tips, you’ll be well-equipped to send your prized possessions on their way without a hitch. Remember, to streamline your process for shipping bulky and oversized items, try using Shiply!

Cost Of Living Crisis: How To Save Money On Your Bills This Winter

Posted on by Louis Watton

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a significant increase in the cost of petrol, food and energy prices all throughout Europe over the last few months. The UK is no different, with the country experiencing its most significant cost of living crisis since the 1950s.

With Winter on the horizon, many of us are looking for ways to cut our energy consumption down in any way possible in an attempt to reduce the size of our bills. Here at Shiply, we thought we would put together a list of some of the best methods to reduce your energy bills and help you save money this Winter. We have tried to only include tips which don’t require a big investment as this slightly defeats the point of saving money!

Here are Shiply’s best energy-saving tips:

Turn Off Unused Appliances Including Standby

Let’s start with one of the most obvious tips – turn off unused electronics! More specifically, make sure they are actually turned off at the plug when not in use. TVs, TV boxes, speakers and computers all default to a standby mode when you turn them ‘off’, however, this mode is effectively a super low power mode, and these devices will still use small amounts of electricity when in this state. Turning them off at the plug, or even just unplugging them, avoids this issue. Additionally, phone and laptop chargers left plugged in when not in use can also sap small amounts of electricity and so you should do your best to unplug these when not using them too.

The savings from each of these will be small, but collectively, they can make a dent in your upcoming energy bill.

Conservative Use

Moving on from the ‘turn things off’ advice is the ‘turn things down’ advice. Simple! Whether it is your overall thermostat, shower temperature, or washing machine settings, using a lower temperature can accumulate to a decent saving over a year. Turn your washing machine to the 30 degrees setting and use a drying rack instead of a tumble dryer for extra savings! With thermostats, even a 1-degree reduction can result in big savings and so it is worth reconsidering the temperature you heat your house to when you do turn it on. Draught-proofing (more on this later) can offset heat loss and you may not even notice the change.

Only running things when they are full is another great way to reduce your energy consumption. For example, always ensure your washing machine and dishwasher are actually full before you turn them on. This reduces unnecessary cycles and ensures you are using them to their maximum efficiency. In contrast, only filling your kettle with the amount of water you actually need heated can shave off a few pounds in the long run as well.

Cut Down On Water Waste

Water waste is a big contributor to bills, especially water that has been heated up, as you will be using energy to do this. As such, cutting down on the rate at which you waste hot water can have a significant impact on your energy bills. Shorter showers at lower temperatures will help push you in this direction, however, there are a few more steps you can take to reduce water waste. One big one is not taking baths – they use up significantly more water than showers and keeping them few and far between will help keep your usage down. Another handy one is when washing the dishes, use a bowl of hot water rather than a constantly running tap.

Energy-Saving Lightbulbs

As the days get darker, light is not something we want to sacrifice in our homes. However, there are still ways to keep your bills down without living in darkness. Energy-saving lightbulbs are an absolute no-brainer – they use less energy than conventional lightbulbs, as well as lasting for much longer. We do still absolutely recommend turning lights off in rooms not in use, however.

Smart Meters

Now, this is a big one at the moment. The first benefit of smart meters right now is that they will help to give more accurate readings to your energy supplier of how much energy you are actually using. This can lead to bills that are much lower and closer to your actual usage as opposed to estimates which can often be sky high.

The benefits of a smart meter stretch much further than just readings – they are actually able to control almost all aspects of your central heating, from overall temperature (obviously) to individual room control and even automatic on and off times. The best thing about smart meters is that this is all accessible and controllable from your mobile phone, meaning not only can you pre-heat your house before you arrive, but you can also remotely turn the heating off to save money. The more control you have over your central heating, the more control you have over your energy bill.

Draught Proofing

There is no point in heating your house if the heat simply escapes, and this is where draft-proofing can come in handy to help save you money on your energy bills. If the heat stays in the house, you will be able to not only use lower temperatures on your thermostat but also use it for less time overall.

There are kits you can buy to help draft your house, which includes window and skirting board strips. Sealing cracks in floors can also help, as well as lining your letterbox and ensuring that any unused chimneys in your property are blocked (inflatable pillows are available for this last one). All of these, if left as they are, will leak heat out of your home and so we highly recommend draught-proofing to ensure you are getting maximum efficiency and value out of your heating.

Question Your Bills

The final piece of advice we have isn’t so much proactive as reactive, but it is still incredibly important that people know about it.

QUESTION YOUR BILLS!

As we stated earlier, a lot of energy bills are estimates, and these tend to be much higher than the actual figures you owe. Rather than just paying the bill, send a meter reading to your energy supplier and request another quote. This will almost always be lower than their initial estimates and can save you hundreds with just a simple check.

If you are really struggling with your bills, you can also reach out to your supplier and ask for a payment plan which can stretch the costs over a longer period of time, meaning big bills don’t hurt quite as much.

We hope these tips will help you throughout this cost of living crisis, and as always, if you need anything moved, try Shiply!

Eco-Tips: How To Be A More Eco-Conscious Shopper in 2021

Posted on by Louis Watton

Here at Shiply, one of our founding goals has always been to provide a framework for deliveries that benefits not only the customer and the drivers but also the environment.

As a company we take great pride in the amount of CO2 saved by our platform since 2008 (nearly 173 million KG!), but, we also acknowledge that there are so many other ways we as individuals can help the environment. We’d also like to think that our customers want to help out too!

We’ve put together a little list of things to try to help you become a more eco-conscious shopper this year.

Buy Less Plastic

The most obvious, but still one of the most important ways to be a more eco-conscious shopper is to try and cut down on how much plastic you buy. We all know how bad plastic is for the environment (very bad) so I won’t hammer the point home, but here are some great tips for cutting down on your usage:

  • Bring your own shopping bags to the supermarket
  • Buy a reusable water bottle
  • Buy a reusable coffee cup
  • Say no to plastic straws and cutlery (there are alternatives such as bamboo straws) – also, dine in more to cut down on takeaway packaging
  • Don’t buy fruit and veg sealed in plastic – get your own mesh bag

There are many more ways to save plastic not covered in this list, so I do encourage you to do further research. Also, I will add an obligatory reminder to RECYCLE to the end of this. Really, it’s so important.

Rows of plastic water bottles

Cut Down On ‘Fast’ Industries

I’ve owned many jackets in my lifetime. I’ve also owned many bedside tables and foldable desk chairs. No, I’m not trying to create the most boring list of facts about myself that has ever existed, I am emphasising that items like these should not be bought as often as they typically are. Sure, a new Winter coat every few years is fine, but if you find you are in need of replacing one every year, you should think about buying something that may be a bit more expensive but will definitely last longer.

The same goes for furniture. Whilst certain brands offer an extremely appealing price point, you have to remember that they are able to offer this price for a reason, and that reason is that the quality is likely significantly worse and you will need to replace the item in the not-so-distant future.

So many of these types of ‘fast’ products end up in landfills either 6 months after purchase, or sometimes just as a mountain of unsold stock, that cutting down on demand for them would prove to be a big step towards cutting down excess waste in general.

Whilst the option of buying more expensively is obviously not readily available to everyone, the consideration of quality is, and this is something you can question with every single purchase you make – ‘how long will this last?’.

Vintage clothing store

Buy More Items Second-Hand

New isn’t always better! Following on from cutting down on the ‘fast’ fashion and furniture industries, you can go all-out and instead decide to simply buy something second-hand! This can be especially handy when the price of higher quality items is simply too much for you but you still want to avoid ‘fast’ industry companies.

For clothing, this can actually be a lot of fun. Throwback vintage looks have been in style for a few years now, and you may actually find that often the quality and fit can be preferable to newer designs. For example, I personally buy Levi’s jeans second hand as not only is it cheaper but the quality and fit are both superior to what you can buy nowadays in my opinion.

In the same vein, antique or second-hand furniture can often bear designs and quality that you wouldn’t find in your high street furniture store. Plus, upcycling can be really good fun if you know what you are doing and the item requires it.

One downside you may be thinking is that, especially during the national lockdown, it is much more difficult to look for second-hand items that would usually be found in brick and mortar stores. However, there are so many second-hand auction sites to browse (and so much time on our hands at the moment) that you are sure to find something you like, and if you need help getting it to you, you can always use us!

vintage piece of furniture

Cut Down On Meat And Consider Meat Alternatives

Ok, so this one really isn’t for everyone, but if you’re like me then you have watched enough documentaries featuring a sad David Attenborough that you are willing to give anything a go. I’m not saying you have to become vegetarian, but even just trying to not buy and eat meat for one day a week would be hugely beneficial to the environment, and you may find some added benefits to your health too. Win-win!

You can have fun discovering new foods and learning new recipes to cook, all whilst knowing you are making Attenborough smile (and helping the environment of course). If you really can’t bear the thought of an all-out veggie meal, why not try some meat alternatives? You can really get everything from chicken nuggets to mince these days – it’s definitely worth a try.

Selection of fresh vegetables

I hope you have found this list useful, and remember, if you do need something shipped for up to 75% less than usual rates (and want to consider the environment when doing so), use Shiply!

How Can Shiply Help This Christmas?

Posted on by Louis Watton
Shiply Christmas Logo

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we won’t all be able to spend our time with family over the festive period anymore. With the country now split into varying tiers with different restrictions, many of us are trying to work out how to celebrate Christmas in lockdown.

At Shiply, we still want to be able to help you have a great Christmas and so have put together some suggestions for how we can help this December.

Moving Presents

If you were planning to take your presents back to your family yourself and no longer can due to the new restrictions then Shiply can help. For as little as £23 you could transport all of your gifts to where they need to be so at least you can see them opened on Zoom!

We may be close to the big day, however many are still shopping online where your purchasing options are opened up to second-hand sites and auctions too. If you have found the perfect gift on Ebay or Gumtree but need it delivered, we can help.

With up to 75% off of standard delivery rates, you can be sure that your bargain stays a bargain, even after shipping fees. Whether it is a new piece of furniture, a big new TV or perhaps even a sought after PS5 that requires an extra helping hand to get where it needs to be.

Moving Back After Christmas

If you managed to make it home from university or from where you live to be with your family, then you may need help returning after Christmas with all of your newly acquired gifts! Shiply can help with getting all of your possessions safely transported to where they need to be. You can even get assistance with packing and unpacking by specifying this in the listing. This can be ideal if your family are unable to travel to help you due to time constraints or COVID-19 restrictions.

Even if you are more local and are just heading back from your parents but have a mountain of presents and food from the big day, hiring a man and a van to shift your stuff to where it needs to be can make your life that much easier this Christmas.

We know it’s different this year, but we hope everyone is still able to enjoy a lovely festive period in whatever way they can.

Merry Christmas from the team at Shiply.

Coronavirus Statement from Shiply

Posted on by Louis Watton

We are now all feeling the impact of COVID-19 and here at Shiply we just wanted to assure our customers, the transport providers and our employees that your safety and wellbeing is, and always will be, our top priority. We have created this short guide to answer some of your most frequent questions about our service during this time.

Is it still safe to carry out and receive deliveries?

Following the Government’s recent announcements, the service we provide has been classed as essential and advice from Public Health England is that deliveries are still safe as the virus cannot survive for long on non-metallic surfaces. For these reasons we have made the decision to stay open as usual in this trying period.

We know that many people rely on our services both to find work and to have their items moved around the country. We feel that with the right precautions taken we can still help facilitate safe transport and delivery around the UK at a time when many need it more than ever.

You can read the official Government guidance page here.

How can risk be minimised when carrying out and receiving deliveries?

Whilst the virus itself cannot be carried by the items being delivered, there are still precautions and measures to consider when carrying out or receiving a delivery:

Request ‘no contact’ where possible. Whilst we acknowledge that many items delivered through our site are not possible to deliver with no contact, we do ask that if the goods are small enough to allow for this that you and the delivery driver arrange this through our messaging system.

Wash your hands before and after the delivery. You should be washing your hands before and after carrying out a delivery. If the item does require two people to move it, try and keep your distance as much as possible.

Do not carry out or receive any deliveries if you are a risk. If you or anyone you live with is displaying symptoms or has been in direct contact with someone who has Coronavirus then you must not carry out deliveries until your two-week isolation period is over. You should also not receive deliveries unless they are ABSOLUTELY essential (e.g. food and water). This is when we are most at risk of spreading and you should be minimising all forms of physical contact if you are self-isolating.

You can read the full NHS advice guidelines (including advice on how to properly wash your hands after deliveries) here.

What are Shiply doing to help?

We have been following the advice of the Government and as such our entire office has been working from home since 16/3/2020. You can rest assured however that we are all hard at work keeping the service running and support lines will still be operating from 9am-6pm Monday to Friday should you have any queries or concerns. Details to contact us can be found at https://www.shiply.com/contact.

We are also taking part in the ‘Help NHS Heroes’ scheme and are waiving fees on these deliveries for NHS purposes so that food and supplies can be delivered to those helping in the hospitals who need it most.

Please note that we are following all Government advice and guidelines closely and will update this page as soon as any new developments occur.

Stay safe, from all of us here at Shiply.

Why Second-Hand Furniture Is The Future

Posted on by Louis Watton
Heart shaped bench
Source: Google Images

Buying new furniture is exciting. It often means you have moved into a new space and need to decorate, giving you a chance to redesign your surroundings and the feeling of a fresh start. For a large majority of the population, it also means that you get to go to Ikea and eat as many meatballs as physically possible in one afternoon.

Whilst it is undeniably tempting to go and get yourself an entirely new setup, it is also a fact that buying brand new furniture every time you need something for your home or office has an impact on the environment due to the energy and materials used to make them. There are a number of really good second-hand furniture options for sale both in-store and online, and often you’ll find that they can give your space a much more unique feel. 

Ikea storefront
Source: Google Images

The one strong selling point of Ikea is that they seem to always have exactly the thing you need, whereas buying second-hand makes it harder to find what you want. However, this is not an excuse to not try. Think about how much time you spend looking online for the best deal on whatever your next purchase is, or if you are someone who buys second-hand clothes, think about how much time you spend trying to find the perfect jacket. This is time that you could spend looking for that perfect piece of furniture for your new place.

second-hand furniture
Source: Google Images

All you need to do is make a quick Google search for your local second-hand store and take a look, or if you don’t feel like leaving your seat you can browse sites like eBay, Gumtree, Etsy and Freecycle just to name a few. If you do find something online, you can use Shiply as an eco-friendly shipping option as the drivers are typically filling their vans on journeys they are already making (and it’s also up to 75% cheaper than standard rates!).

Even Ikea themselves are now testing schemes where you can hand in old furniture so that they can find it a new home. With all the emphasis on social responsibility at the moment it feels like the times are changing on fast flatpack furniture, so next time you need a new sofa, think about the environment and take a look at second-hand options before going straight to the meatballs!

11 Tips For ‘Cut Your Energy Costs Day’ 2020

Posted on by Louis Watton

Another year, another set of New Years Resolutions! Whether it’s cutting out the cigarettes, joining a gym or going vegetarian it is always nice to invest time into bettering yourself, but what if there was another resolution which could not only help your wallet out but help the environment too?

Every year on January 10th the nation celebrates ‘cut your energy costs day’ (there’s a day for everything, I know…) and in light of this we are going to share our top tips on how to save money and reduce excessive energy waste at the same time. Whilst some may require an initial investment, they will ultimately bring down the cost of your energy bill.

Let’s start with the easy ones:

Check that you are getting the best deal with your energy supplier

The first thing you should do when looking into reducing your energy bills is check whether you are getting the best price in the first place. There are plenty of sites out there which are able to compare deals and work out the best one for you, and you will often find that switching suppliers can reward you with a lesser bill as prices get more and more competitive for new customers. 

If becoming more eco-friendly is your primary concern then there are companies out there who offer 100% green electricity. Often it can be just as cheap as standard suppliers, and your current supplier may even offer an alternative ‘green’ energy tariff, which could save you switching.

Another quick tip is to make sure that you aren’t being sent bills in the mail – not only is this a massive waste of paper in our digital-first age but suppliers often charge extra for paper bills!

Turn off appliances when not in use

You are probably (definitely) familiar with this one, but this isn’t just about turning the lights off when you leave a room. Appliances left in standby mode can still use energy, and although it is a minimal amount, having numerous devices on standby mode constantly can quickly add up. Further, even phone and laptop chargers can use minimal amounts of energy when left plugged in and so the best option is to simply turn the switch off at the socket to eliminate any risk of energy waste.

Consider getting energy-saving lightbulbs

Whilst turning lights off when a room is unoccupied is a sure-fire way to save on your energy bill and help out the environment, you can actually take a further step and save energy even when the lights are turned on. Energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) lightbulbs are widely available in stores for just a few pounds and are a much more economical option than standard lightbulbs due to the fact that they last longer and do not lose energy as heat. One more thing to consider is whether you are using a lightbulb relative to the size of the room.

Absolutely do not use portable heaters

This is just a quick one, but if your heating is not sufficient then it is far more economical in the long term to look at getting this fixed. Whilst portable heaters are a quick solution they are incredibly costly in terms of the amount of energy they use and your bill will quickly rack up.

Monitor heat in individual rooms

Keeping an eye on your heating is always recommended, making sure it is only switched on when it’s needed and ensuring it’s not set at an unnecessarily high level (always put a jumper on and see how you feel before resorting to bumping the heating up). However, if you want to go that extra mile to reduce your energy wastage you should check the individual levels set on radiators in each room and make sure they aren’t turned up high when they don’t need to be.

Invest in a smart meter

If you’re into your tech then buying a smart meter is a great excuse to get another gadget in your house which can save you money and help reduce unnecessary energy waste. Smart meters are becoming more and more advanced, offering the ability to control your heating from your smartphone, set heating routines based on your habits and even auto-adjusting themselves based on the weather, all of which is great for ensuring no energy is wasted.

Get a new boiler

Whilst the tips above relating to heating will absolutely help you save some money and reduce energy waste, the number one thing you can do to be more efficient with the energy you pay for in terms of heating is get a new boiler. A new boiler can be incredibly costly initially, but given that heating accounts for roughly half of the average annual energy bill, the savings over a few years will more than justify the investment. Newer boilers have advanced to the level that they can recycle waste heat and use it heat water!

Cut down on water waste 

Whilst you may pay for your water bill in full already, pumping that water out uses energy, and this is where you can reduce some energy waste. Energy-saving shower heads can save you money by implementing a more even spread of water in the shower which in turn reduces the amount of water needing to be pumped through. This can reduce the amount of water needed for your average shower by approximately 50% in some cases. Similar heads are available for taps, and as a bonus tip checking for leaks in pipes can further reduce wasted energy.

Get your house properly insulated

If your house isn’t properly insulated then you are essentially leaking money when using your heating. Heating can be lost through your loft, walls and windows and this can increase the average energy bill by up to £270 a year.

Whilst this is an expensive investment initially, again in the long-term it will drastically bring your energy bills down and reduce unnecessary waste. Single glazed windows can be switched out for double glazed ones which let out far less heat, and both cavity and solid wall insulation is available which will drastically reduce the amount of heat lost through them.

Energy-efficient appliances

We are definitely in the realm of expensive investments for long term gains regarding your energy bill now, but getting newer, energy-efficient appliances for your home is a surefire way to cut back on unnecessary energy waste.

To illustrate just how much money this can save you, an old washing machine can cost you up to £56 a year, whereas a newer, more energy-efficient model can cost as little as £15 a year. You can use the EU energy-efficiency rating to ascertain just how economical a new appliance is. The main offenders for energy-sucking appliances are washing machines, tumble dryers and fridge-freezers and so if any of these are outdated in your home this is definitely something to consider when replacing them. 

You can even sell off your old appliances to try and get a bit of money back, and if you do choose to go this route don’t forget you can always use Shiply to deliver your goods in an environmentally friendly (and cheap) way.

Solar Panels

Ok so admittedly if you can afford solar panels you probably aren’t too concerned with the cost of your energy bill, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still help the environment! Solar panels transform the sun’s rays into energy and it’s been estimated that it would take just 21,250 square miles (roughly 0.5% of the USA’s land) to power the entire country. They are dropping massively in cost as well, so if you are looking for a long-term solution to cheaper and more sustainable energy bills and a more eco-friendly source of power in your home then they are definitely something to consider.

So there you have it, a multitude of ways to cut down on your energy bill and help save the world in doing so, we hope this helps!

Shiply’s Recycling Tips for Christmas

Posted on by Louis Watton
Source: Google Images

Whether it was the very public demonstrations of Extinction Rebellion or the passionate appeals of Greta Thunberg, there is no doubt that climate change and the current ecological state of our planet has been a hot topic of 2019 (and so it should be).

With one of the most notoriously excessive holidays just around the corner, we wanted to share some of our best suggestions on how to combat unnecessary waste this Christmas and make sure that you can enjoy the festivities in planet-saving style:

Food Waste

When it comes to Christmas dinner our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs. No matter how tasty your roast is there are always inevitably leftovers, and to make sure you are getting the most out of your food you should do one of two things:

Save them for another meal – remember Ross’ Christmas sandwich from Friends? You could recreate your very own ‘moist maker’, and believe me they are as good as they sound! Keeping leftovers means you can get multiple meals out of your food and keep the unnecessary waste at bay.

Use Food waste bins – if there are not enough leftovers to make a meal of, make sure you are disposing of the food in food waste bins. When food is disposed of improperly and ends up in a landfill it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, whereas if it goes in the food waste bin it ends up as plant fertiliser!

Source: Google Images

Wrapping


Unwrapping presents can be one of the best parts of the day, but it certainly does leave behind a lot of rubbish. According to gov.uk, the amount of wrapping paper thrown away after Christmas would stretch to the moon! When all the gift-giving is finished, make sure you collect all the paper and cardboard up and put it in the recycling bin to ensure it is put to good use in the future.

Source: Google Images

Unwanted Presents

We all love receiving gifts at Christmas, but a lot of the time we receive things we don’t necessarily want. ‘Stocking fillers’ are the biggest culprit, and you may be wondering what to do with your seventh pack of Lynx Africa if you really don’t need it – here are some options:


Give them to charity – there are always people who need something more than you do and giving unwanted gifts to charity is an excellent way of guaranteeing the gift will be used and appreciated by someone in need.

Return it for something else, or even just for store credit – keep those receipts! Although it may ‘spoil’ the fun by revealing how much you have spent, supplying receipts with gifts means that they can always be returned for something else or for store credit rather than ending up unused or in the bin.

Sell them on – if you don’t have a receipt but don’t want to throw the gift away you can always sell it on sites like eBay and Gumtree, ensuring that it is still going to be used by someone and not put to waste. As an extra eco-bonus, use Shiply to deliver the sold items for up to 75% less than usual rates and to stop unnecessary traffic on the road by using someone who is already going there.

Merry Christmas from the team at Shiply!

Being Environmentally Aware on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Posted on by Louis Watton
Black Friday Electronic Cell PhoneWaste
Electronic Waste
Source: Flickr

Black Friday is the shopper’s favourite day of the year, but the consequences on the environment are significant. How can you join in on the fun whilst still thinking green?

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, consumers across the country are readying themselves for some of the best deals and discounts of the year. It’s no secret however that world’s favourite shopping weekend takes its toll on the environment; with over 174  million making purchases in America alone that’s a lot of orders to be delivered or plastic bags to be taken home!

If you want to shop over Black Friday but are concerned about the effects on the planet, here are a few things you can do:

Consider whether you actually need what you are buying

Before you go and splash out on that new wireless set of headphones or those trainers you’ve been eyeing up for the past month, take a moment and consider whether you actually NEED them. The fashion and tech industries are two of the biggest contributors to environmental damage due to the rapid developments they experience, and whilst it is certainly tempting to want the latest of everything the consequences for our planet are bad. If you do need a phone upgrade or some new clothes, just make sure to recycle or dispose of the old items responsibly!

Shop online and opt for slower delivery times

Research suggests that shopping in-store is actually worse for the environment on Black Friday weekend due to the number of individuals heading out in cars to get to the shops. It’s actually much better for the environment to shop online over the famous weekend, however, this comes with a caveat – choosing a fast delivery time will negate any positive effect that shopping online has had. By choosing faster delivery times we encourage companies to send out as many vehicles as possible to ensure deliveries are made on time, whereas slower delivery times allow for more organisation and efficiency.

Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a trend that emerged in 2012 as a result of the environmental damage that Black Friday and Cyber Monday cause. It encourages people to give back to the environment on the following Tuesday, whether that consists of going out and picking up some rubbish (and recycling it), volunteering or donating some money to charity. If you are feeling guilty about your Black Friday spending habits this is the perfect opportunity to give back.

And of course, if you do need any old items moved somewhere or some new purchases picked up, be sure to use Shiply for cheap quotes and shipping that will have a minimal impact on the environment!

Avoid Protest Road Closures With Shiply

Posted on by Louis Watton
Road Closures in London
Source: Google Maps

Protests erupted yesterday with thousands around the world taking to the streets, asking that governments take action against climate change.

The overarching tactic of the protesters appears to be to use peaceful methods to close roads and bring the issue to the attention of people in power, with brave tactics ranging from cementing themselves under lorries with glue to one man who parked his car in the middle of a street and locked himself to the steering wheel with a bike chain.

The protests are expected to last two weeks and will cause severe delays in the major cities of London, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and Sydney among others, with road users experiencing the most disruption.

We understand that, despite the importance of these protests, people still need to move things through cities, and that’s where Shiply can help. 

We pride ourselves on being an eco-friendly company, utilising the empty return journeys that transport providers often make to save unnecessary miles on the road and provide customers with a cheaper option for transporting goods.

With an estimated 324,551,037 miles saved through our service (that’s just over 13,000 times around the world) you can still move your things, whether it’s a whole house move or an eBay listing, without feeling like you are contributing to the undeniable issue that is global warming.

Why not take the headache out of the road closures and use Shiply to find someone who is going there anyway.