Over the last few years delivering shotgun cartridges has become increasingly difficult! Household couriers will not carry them, which has left very few options for third party delivery. In recent years we have been using a more specialised dangerous goods carrier, but given their weight and classification as dangerous goods, prices are high. We have always tried to subsidise delivery costs where possible, and in recent years have expanded the reach of our own delivery routes to try and provide a competitively priced, reliable delivery service.
Last year we absorbed a significant price increase from our courier, unfortunately they have just hit us with a very large increase (in the region of 100-200% or more in some places!) effective immediately, which we are simply not able to absorb and so must increase the costs of our third-party delivery option. This increase is significant in places, and we fully recognise that in the worst affected areas it is not economically viable.
The solution
So, the bad news is that third party courier costs are increasing… The good news is we are expanding our own delivery routes to service as much of the UK as we feasibly can.
Many of you have been using our own delivery routes for years now, hopefully what you have received is reliable delivery on the agreed date, with up-to-date live tracking at a reasonable price. We successfully added several routes last season, and we are now expanding further to cover more of the UK. We now cover all areas excluding those in red, if everyone were to use one of our own routes, we estimate we can service 97% of our orders.
The downside to using our delivery service is that we may not be in your area very frequently, the cost of putting vehicles on the road is significant and as a result we must batch our deliveries to make the route as economical as possible. This may mean it is harder for us to provide an economical delivery option for a last-minute order, but for those ordering in advance we have a good option available. Of course, if the volume of orders permits it, we will run routes more frequently. For example, in peak season we are in London 4 days a week, but in less busy areas we may only be there once a week.
JC Own Delivery
Third Party Courier
The delivery we can offer is superior to that offered by the third party, not only on price but also service level. We aim to continue to effectively service the cartridge requirements of as many of our customers as possible. The Amazon effect is something we’ve all become accustomed to but is less easily fulfilled given the products we transport. Bringing more of the process in-house is no bad thing, offering more control from start to finish will hopefully give you a better ordering experience. As we hopefully continue to grow our aim will be to increase frequency of our own deliveries where possible, providing more delivery options and greater levels of convenience.
Very sensible. good luck.
Used your own delivery service many times. I must say it’s been far better than a courier, as it’s always on time and the driver is friendly and helpful. I always order in advance and it works well.
I have been lucky to get deliveries from your in house team. They are always excellent and the live time tracking is brilliant.
At least your looking at an alternative to keep costs down for customers. Bravo and good luck
I’m a fairly new customer and I have only placed a couple of orders – so far. The in-house delivery is very impressive. All you have to do is use a bit of forward planning.
Good luck with expanding your delivery service. I agree with Nick in that I also think this is a very sensible decision.
Hope it all works out 🤞
I live in the NE of Scotland in an area not covered by you, so how will that now affect my orders?
Hi Hamish,
At the moment the only option available for your area is our third-party courier service, which has unfortunately become more expensive due to recent price increases. Our own delivery network currently runs as far north as Aberdeen.
Leave this with me and I’ll come back to you tomorrow with another potential solution.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
According to the map your courier will deliver to me (I’m near Aberystwyth), but when the delivery is calculated, the only option is 3rd party courier at £105! Obviously that isn’t economic which is a shame as I’ve been a customer for many years. Sadly on this occasion I shall have to buy my cartridges elsewhere and hope you can get the courier service resolved.
Hi Bryn,
I’ve checked your address and you’re very close to the edge of our delivery area. I’ve now added your postcode to our network, so going forward you’ll be able to use our own delivery service at a much more affordable price.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
Josh you are a star! Thanks so much.
I rarely need an urgent delivery so delivery within the month is usually OK.
I live at TR20 9NF, can you confirm this is outside your delivery range please.
Hi Tim,
Unfortunately, the furthest we deliver in Cornwall is Falmouth. If you work in or around the Falmouth area, or further north, we would be able to cover that as an option.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
Do you deliver to the Isle of Wight?
Hi Tim,
We can only deliver to the Isle of Wight using a pallet service, as the courier hub does not accept shotgun cartridges. Unfortunately, this means the flat-rate pallet cost applies. The good news is that this cost remains the same no matter how many cartridges you load onto it, so if you have any friends who also need cartridges, you can combine orders at no extra carriage charge.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
I think it’s a great idea and appreciate the investment it might require. Ordering cartridges should rarely be a last minute thing!
It’s really good to see someone just not giving up these days.
I understand that it is an additional burden that you may not have foreseen when you started,
but thank you for doing this.
Hi Guys,
There appears to be a bit of a concerning ‘Brown spot’ on the Welsh border.
Please, tell me this is not LD8 2EG.
Hi Steve,
We cover LD8 from our Tamworth depot, usually on a Thursday. Being a small map, it’s not the most accurate!
Josh @ Just Cartridges
Good to see an alternative is being provided. Good luck
Good Morning
It appears that West shropshire and montgomeryshire is out,is that correct
Hi David,
We still deliver to your area with our own delivery network. Apologies, the map is a bit small to make it super accurate.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
(Another Dave Roberts )
This all sounds great to me here in the West Midlands. Thanks for your continued support to the shooter of the UK 🇬🇧
Hi, can deliveries to FK21 be covered by your service? Sorry, difficult to see from the map! Thanks!
Hi Angus,
We don’t usually deliver to your area, but as you’re close to our threshold I’ve added your postcode so you can now take advantage of our reduced delivery.
Josh @ Just Cartridges
Keep up the good work
Good luck and keep up the great service all of you
I have just checked delivery prices for AB53 with the minimum order of 5 slabs coming out at £145 ,sorry guys this makes no economical sense to me. I might not get the cartridge i want but it will give me 4 boxes per slab more
Hi Andy,
We’ve removed the minimum order requirement of 1,250 cartridges. However, the delivery charge you’re seeing is the cost passed on by our third-party couriers. While we do operate our own delivery network around the Aberdeen area, AB53 unfortunately falls outside of our coverage.
Josh @ Just Cartridges