First of all, Happy New Year to everyone that is celebrating! Parcel Pete is certainly getting into the spirit of things with £5 off parcel delivery to China. It’s a huge time of year for many across the globe, so here’s a bit more of a lowdown.

History:

Chinese New Year started out of fear, centuries old legends have it that stems from a mythical monster that preyed on villagers. The lion-like monster’s name was ‘Nian’ which is also the Chinese word for “year”.

To ward off the monster villagers used to bang loud drums, let off fire crackers and hand red scrolls across their doors as Nian was scared of the colour red.

Lunar Calendar:

Chinese New Year is based on the Lunar Calendar which is centred on the moon’s orbit around the earth and has 12 animals, one to represent each year of the lunisolar cycle. The 12 animals also interact with the five elements of wood, metal, fire, water, 2014 is the year of the wood horse.

Year of the Horse:

If you’re born in the year of the horse, you are known to be cheerful, skilful with money, perceptive and witty.

Gift:

It’s a tradition to gift money in red envelopes for Chinese New Year… so here’s our gift to you, check out our Vine video!

The month of January is famous for its sales; it really is the best time to pick up a few bargains! With all this talk of sales it’s only right for ipostparcels.com to have one too.

January Sale

For the month of January we’re giving you 12% off every single service! Whether you’re sending parcels within the UK or internationally…you’ve got 12% off this month, saving you heaps of money!

Top Up account Incentive

You can save even more money by setting up a top up account and it’s so easy to do so…

• - Simply log in and go to your account
• - Click on the pre-paid account tab
• - Click on Add/Withdraw funds and choose the amount you want add
• - Enter your card details and you’re good to go

For this month only we’re doubling the credit you get when you top up!

• - Top up £50 and get a voucher for £2 £4 off your next purchase
• - Top up £100 and get a voucher for £5 £10 off your next purchase
• - Top up £150 and get a voucher for £8 £16 off your next purchase
• - Top up £250 and get a voucher for £15 £30 off your next purchase
• - Top up £500 and get a voucher for £35 £70 off your next purchase

So if you’ve got some parcels to send or you’re hosting your own January Sale on ebay, then make sure you take advantage of our special offers!

Get on over to Twitter or Facebook to find out more but hurry, there’s only a few weeks left.

A few years ago the mention of ‘January Sales’ would have you thinking of long snaking queues,  customers running into stores and fighting over the discounted designer hand bag, however, is that really the case anymore? We, at ipostparcels.com, have been hot on the January sales and seeing lots of advancements from the latter years.

Early Start:

These days you no longer have to wait till January for the sales to begin, most retailers start their sales online at the stroke of midnight on Boxing Day. Some retailers go one step further and start as early as Christmas Eve!

Sales Everywhere:

It’s not just the clothing and home furniture retailers taking part in the January sale but these days everyone’s in! From cinema tickets, to holidays, January certainly is a good time for picking up some great bargains!

New Home:

Over the Christmas period many families make the decision to sell up and move on, estates agents see a high rise in homes going onto the market. It’s the best time to start looking if you’re looking for a new move.

Ebay Sales:

It not just the big high street retailers offering out the big discounts, you can find some great buys on ebay too. Many ebayers are palming off their unwanted Christmas gifts as well as some unnecessary purchases made in the January sale.  Can’t find what you’re looking for in store? Pop on over to the likes of ebay….

Sale Time:

All this talk of sale is making us feel like we need to do one too…keep an eye out on our Twitter and Facebook pages!

Join myself (Fahmeda) and the main man himself Parcel Pete for our first ever LIVE event on YouTube!

We will be announcing the iPad Mini winner from our Christmas Facebook competition that we’re currently running on Facebook & Twitter. We’ll even be making a few shout outs  to the daily prize winners and showing you all some of Parcel Pete’s favourite Christmas pictures that you’ve all been sending in.

YouTube:

Want to get in on all the fun and be entered into the iPad mini draw? All you have to do is subscribe to our YouTube Channel and let us know you’re attending on our Facebook events page.

Live Event:

Make sure you tune in at 4pm on Friday 20th December to see if you’ve won!

Our Parcel Pete’s International Video competition is now in full swing. A Panasonic HD camcorder worth £300 could be yours, ideal for capturing those Christmas moments!

Competition:

Back in September we asked you on our Facebook poll, what you would like Parcel Pete’s next video to be about. A staggering 52% of you voted for Parcel Pete’s International video and we of course made it happen!

To be in with a chance of winning, either:

- Like & Share our video posts on Facebook

- Retweet our video posts on Twitter

- Answer our ‘Guess the movie location’ quiz on Facebook- there’s 3 up there so far!

- Use voucher code  INTL329for 10% off your international delivery

Closing Date:

Only 1 winner, so hurry and get entering, competition closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 1st December.

Good luck and don’t forget to keep a look out on Twitter and Facebook!

You create, we print, we post.

ipostparcels is part of the UK Mail Group,  one of the leading parcels, mail and logistics company in the UK.  Joining us in the group is our sister brand, imail, a unique desktop to doormat mail delivery solution. 

imail history:

Launched in 2008 by UK Mail as the only alternative to the first class postal service and enables users to send letters and postcards with just a click of the mouse from as late as 3pm for next-day or 6pm for two-day delivery. imail has fast become the UKs leading print and mail solution.

imail services:

imail’s revolutionary service allows users to send letters and postcards from their desktop, avoiding, printing and stuffing envelopes,  trips to the post off office, cost of stamps and the long queues!

Here’s what you can do with imail:

Letters- send bulk letters such as invoices and appointment reminders or just the one letter.

Marketing postcards- bring your marketing campaigns to life with HD, glossy, marketing postcards sent directly to your customers.

imail data- Improve your marketing with targeted mailing lists and in turn increase your business. Buy data that’s tailored specifically to your marketing campaigns to help drive sales.

Postcards from Pete:

Good old Parcel Pete is also helping out the family buy delivering postcards for imail’s new app, ‘Postcards from Pete’. Send personalised postcards direct from your phone or tablet to anywhere in the world! You can download the app today for FREE, it’s the perfect holiday companion.

Keep an eye out on our blog for more info on the new Postcards from Pete app!

Here at ipostparcels.com we’ve been going Halloween crazy on Facebook and Twitter with various posts on costume ideas, party food as well as some spooky urban legends to send a chill down your spine!

Halloween Costume:

So Parcel Pete has decided he’s sticking with Casper the friendly ghost for his costume. Check out some other celebs and their crazy Halloween costumes:

Kelly Osbourne as Dame Edna Everage

Heidi Klum loves a fancy dress or two…

Halloween Safety:

As fun as Halloween is it’s also important to stay safe this time of year.  Here are a few tips to make sure it’s an enjoyable time for all:

Pay close attention when driving:

It’s getting darker a lot earlier now so there may be a lot of Halloween activity and trick- or treaters walking the streets on Thursday evening. Eliminate any distractions whilst driving and pay close attention to the roads and surroundings, especially down residential roads.

Trick or Treaters:

If you’re out trick or treating with young children, remember to have some sort of reflective clothing on or a flashing light of some sort on your costumes. It’s always wise not to approach houses with no lights on as there are potential accident risks.

Treats:

Always inspect treats received once you’re home before eating them.

Quite night:

If you’re staying in on Halloween night and would prefer not to be disturbed, a simple sign in the window to politely state no trick or treaters will ensure you have a quite night in.

Fire safety:

Teach children to ‘stop, drop and roll’ if they catch fire and insure they have flame resisitant costumes on. If lighting candles as part of your decorations- don’t leave them unattended.

Parcel Pete on Halloween

We all hope you have a spookily fun and safe Halloween! If you see Parcel Pete around, give him a wave.

Apple have unveiled their latest, much anticipated iPad models and as most expected they’ve reinvented the iWheel yet have managed to make the familiar features we know and expect, desirable.  Here at ipostparcels.com we’ve got a low down of the key features for both iPads:

iPad Air

The new iPad air goes on release on 1st November and is a lot lighter, thinner and faster than its predecessor.  It has the same 9.7 inch retina display as the iPad 4 but the screen is bigger due to the bezels which are 43% thinner than the iPad 4.

Powered by the super a7 chip processor, iPad Air runs 72 times faster than the original iPad!

iPad 4 owners may be slightly disgruntled as their iPad hasn’t been on the market long but for those looking for  a new iPad, this one is definitely the way to go.

Missing: Fingerprint recognition is nowhere to be seen.

iPad mini

The second generation iPad mini has had a major boost in comparison to the first iPad mini. With its a7 chip processor, retina display and cheaper price point, the new iPad mini is a serious contender on the tablet battleground when it goes on sales late November.

Missing: Comes in various colours; white, black and space grey but not the gold we have come to know and love from the iPhone 5s.

Concluding Thoughts

No shocks here from Apple, however it’s clear to see they’re sticking by their conservative approach knowing not to disrupt their winning strategy and with Christmas around the corner, they’re sure to do well.

Remember, if you’re purchasing high value items such as iPad’s and are looking to send them on to a loved one, pack appropriately for delivery and ensure the correct level of cover is applied. Parcel Pete is a huge fan of these gadgets and wouldn’t want anything going wrong with yours.

Parcel Pete is currently visiting our American cousins in the US of A since ipostparcels.com has lowered its shipping price to America. Not only is he delivering parcels in America but he’s also been mingling with some rather popular TV show celebs…

Just so we don’t feel left out and to get in on all the fun, we’re running a competition for you at the moment based all around AMERICA!

Competition:

We’re giving away a brand new Apple iPod Nano worth £129, excellent for a Christmas gift or to keep for yourself to bop away to. For a chance to win all you have to do is simply:

• Retweet our specific American tweets on twitter
• Share & Like our America post on Facebook
• Guess the 6 American TV programmes  Parcel Pete is starring in

Only 1 lucky winner will be drawn to win the iPod Nano.

Closing Date:

So hurry and get entering, competition closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 20th October.

Good luck and don’t forget to keep a look out on Twitter and Facebook!

ipostparcels.com is dedicated to bringing you the best  parcel delivery service possible at the right price and for this reason we’ve lowered our prices on some of the top international destinations.

If you’re planning on shipping some international parcels this weekend, you can now take advantage of our new unbeatably low prices on the following countries:

• USA from £14.40
• Canada from £14.40
• Mexico from £14.40
• Germany from £13
• France from £13
• Belgium from £13
• Netherlands from £13
• Luxembourg from £13
• Northern Ireland from £9.49

So if you have family, friends or business acquaintances in any of the above countries, send them a parcel in confidence knowing you’re benefiting from even lower prices than before as well as a reliable and experienced delivery company!