Safety matches are classed as dangerous goods, so they can't go through every standard parcel service. FlipShip gets you set up to send them properly: checked, approved and supported.
WHY IT CATCHES RETAILERS OUT
Being able to create a label doesn't mean the courier can carry it.
A standard parcel account will often let you print a label for a box of matches, even when that service isn't approved to carry them. Nothing stops you, so it's easy to assume it's fine.
When goods go through the wrong service, parcels can be stopped, refused or returned, and courier accounts can be restricted. FlipShip checks everything first, so that doesn't happen to you.
Matches of any kind, including safety matches, are prohibited in the Royal Mail network.
Prohibited items can be held, returned or destroyed. Sending dangerous articles by post can also be a criminal offence under the Postal Services Act 2000, with penalties including fines and, in serious cases, up to 12 months in prison.
Sources: Royal Mail prohibited items list; Postal Services Act 2000, section 85.
What we can help with
Every product is reviewed individually. What we can support depends on the product, packaging and quantity.
Standard and square retail matchboxes, branded or unbranded.
Fireplace, candle and cook’s matches.
Oversized display and gift matches.
Candles, diffusers or cards sold with matches.
If a gift set contains matches, we'll review the whole set and how it needs to be shipped, not just the box of matches.
Who it's for
Every approved retailer gets their own packing card, so anyone on the team can pack matches right first time.
Product details, how you pack them, and an SDS and photos if you have them. It takes about three minutes.
We review your matches, ask for a sample of your packing (we send you the label and marking for it), suggest any changes and take care of getting you approved.
Ship through your warehouse system or your own login. You get a packing card for your team, and members get a welcome pack with their first box markings too.
Pack as approved and send. Members also get a monthly check-in.
Questions
Yes, but because they’re classed as dangerous goods they need to be packed correctly and sent through a service that’s approved to carry them. FlipShip sets that up for you.
No. Royal Mail lists matches of any kind, including safety matches, as prohibited items, so they can’t go through the postal network. Prohibited items can be held, returned or destroyed, and sending dangerous articles by post can be an offence under the Postal Services Act 2000.
Your account may let you print a label, but that doesn’t mean the service is approved for matches. Parcels can be stopped, refused or returned, and accounts can be restricted.
Your packing team needs short awareness training for their role, but no qualifications or courses to book. We include it: a 20-minute online course and a packing card for your exact products.
Often, yes. Gift sets are reviewed as a whole, so tell us everything that’s in the box and we’ll confirm.
We can review them. Send us the details and photos, and we’ll confirm whether we can support them and how they need to be packed.
It helps, but you don’t need one to start a review. Send what you have and we’ll let you know if anything else is needed.
£8.95 + VAT per parcel on Membership, or £12.95 + VAT on Pay As You Go. The courier cost is included.
Anywhere on the UK mainland. We don’t currently deliver to Northern Ireland, the islands or outside the UK.