Uertitt attributes the initial freight-price rise to lost passenger-flight cargo capacity and booming e-commerce demand, which forced greater use of dedicated aircraft. He further claims logistics companies were reluctant to surrender the added surcharge revenue after passenger capacity returned. Send My Bag was still dealing with COVID-related surcharges into summer 2023.

Passenger aircraft normally provide cargo capacity alongside travellers
Reduced passenger schedules increased reliance on dedicated freight aircraft
E-commerce demand added further pressure on capacity and prices
Uertitt says some Australia lanes reached about A$6 per kilogram in surcharges
A 30-kilogram bag could therefore attract roughly A$180 in additional cost

“the lack of air passenger flights that took place during 2020 and 2021. one that really forced up freight prices”
Adam Uertitt · 36:30

“we were still dealing with sir charges to do with COVID through to the summer of 2023”
Adam Uertitt · 38:00

#freight#pricing#covid

Story· 4

Story01:30

A £50 Excess-Baggage Charge Sparked Send My Bag

After being charged £50 for a few excess kilos on a flight from England to Northern Ireland, Adam Uertitt noticed that other passengers were equally frustrated. His prior experience shipping musical instruments showed him that existing freight networks could move luggage more cheaply, so he wrote down the Send My Bag idea on the flight home and built a basic website for about £100.

The initial problem was a £50 charge for a small amount of excess weight
Uertitt had already learned international shipping through a music business
An online search suggested there was no equivalent consumer service
The first website cost about £100 and was built without prior coding skills

“I just couldn't help thinking there had to be another way that this could be done”
Adam Uertitt · 02:00

“I actually wrote down on the plane on the way home send myag.com”
Adam Uertitt · 02:30

#origin story#luggage#bootstrapping

Story27:00

The Overnight Rescue of a Warehouse Full of Stock

In Uertitt's earlier music business, a warehouse operator warned that liquidators would arrive the next day and might seize all stored stock. He flew to England, secured a replacement fulfilment partner, and made the new contract conditional on vehicles arriving at 6 a.m. to remove the inventory before the site was locked.

A supplier bankruptcy threatened inventory Uertitt says could have collapsed the business
He travelled immediately rather than waiting for the legal process
The replacement warehouse had to supply the rescue vehicles
The stock was moved before access could be blocked

“Oh, this is gonna collapse my entire business”
Adam Uertitt · 27:30

“we got all our stock moved there and we lived to fight another day”
Adam Uertitt · 28:00

#crisis management#inventory#negotiation

Story28:00

Brexit Cost Send My Bag 40,000 Annual Shipments

Uertitt says post-Brexit customs processes between Great Britain and Europe removed about 40,000 shipments a year from a strong holiday-luggage business. He presents the shock as a major external setback, while also stating that revenue elsewhere allowed the company to remain profitable and record at least fractional annual growth.

The affected trade was primarily Great Britain to European holiday destinations
Changed customs processes sharply reduced the viability of those routes
Uertitt reports a loss of 40,000 shipments per year
He says growth in other countries offset the decline

“we lost 40,000 shipments a year”
Adam Uertitt · 28:30

“we have grown even if only fractionally every single year”
Adam Uertitt · 31:00

#brexit#resilience#logistics

Story29:00

COVID Travel Disruption Created Repatriation Demand

Send My Bag became quiet for roughly four to six weeks after the initial rush around lockdown announcements. Uertitt then saw demand from people who had returned home without all their belongings, and the company created campaigns focused on getting those items back. He also describes helping Cirque du Soleil repatriate the belongings of about 500 performers through regional consolidation points.

The first lockdown produced a brief rush followed by a quiet period
The company targeted people separated from belongings left abroad
Lower competition for travel advertising improved campaign reach
Cirque du Soleil belongings were consolidated in Sydney, Antwerp, and Las Vegas

“we helped them repatriate 29 30 the belongings of something like 500 of their performers”
Adam Uertitt · 29:00

“it just felt like there might be an opportunity to help people get some of the stuff that they've left behind”
Adam Uertitt · 34:00

#covid#repatriation#demand shift

Takeaway· 4

Takeaway18:00

Startups Can Negotiate Premium Media Inventory

Uertitt says media owners often have unsold inventory and may negotiate with a smaller company, even when their published pricing targets multinational advertisers. His practice is to meet sellers in person and demonstrate that a low offer comes from a serious buyer who can complete the deal.

Media owners may discount inventory rather than leave it unsold
In-person engagement can signal that a low offer is credible
Send My Bag bought placements across television, airlines, and airports
The guest says the company did not pay the rates charged to the largest advertisers

“these media owners have a lot of media to sell and they will work with you”
Adam Uertitt · 18:00

“I will go to the airport, meet the people who are selling the media”
Adam Uertitt · 19:30

#advertising#negotiation#media buying

Takeaway36:00

Multiple Markets Let the Business Follow Reopenings

Countries reopened on different schedules after COVID restrictions. Because Send My Bag had already established customers across multiple countries, Uertitt says it could shift attention toward each market as movement resumed instead of depending on a single national recovery.

National reopening schedules varied materially
An existing customer base made each market easier to reactivate
The company leaned into the United States and United Kingdom as they reopened
Geographic breadth reduced dependence on one travel market

“we could lean into different countries at different times”
Adam Uertitt · 36:00

“once America announced it was opening we could say to America right you can send stuff again”
Adam Uertitt · 36:00

#diversification#international#covid

Takeaway39:00

Thin Margins Protected Repeat and Referral Economics

During the freight-cost spike, Send My Bag passed surcharges through at cost, absorbed part of them, and accepted very slim margins where necessary. Uertitt justified that choice with company figures he reports: 42% of the next day's customers had used the service within the previous five years, while 85% said a customer referral brought them to the company.

The company says it did not mark up the emergency surcharges
Some costs were absorbed to keep shipments moving
Uertitt reports a 42% returning-customer figure for the next day's demand
He reports that 85% of customers attributed discovery to a referral
The policy prioritised the future customer relationship over immediate margin

“We also know that 85% of our customers tell us that they've came to us through a referral from another customer”
Adam Uertitt · 39:30

“We're happy to go down to very slim margins where we needed to”
Adam Uertitt · 39:00

#retention#referrals#unit economics

Takeaway45:30

Past Experience Made the Luggage Opportunity Executable

Uertitt argues that failures and operating experience accumulate into a base of knowledge that improves later execution. In his case, the airline charge exposed the opportunity, but his experience sending violins through freight systems is what allowed him to recognise that luggage could use the same infrastructure.

The triggering event alone did not supply the solution
Prior logistics experience made the new model legible
Uertitt treats both minor and major failures as reusable learning
Repeated execution increases readiness when a suitable opportunity appears

“minor failure or major failure It's all a learning experience”
Adam Uertitt · 45:30

“when you see the opportunity you have the the 47 30 ability now to execute on it”
Adam Uertitt · 47:00

#experience#opportunity#entrepreneurship

Frameworks in this episode

Global Ceiling Focus Rule

Low-Cost Attention Flywheel

Manual First, Automate Second

Messy Freight Wrapper

Insights & moments

✶Explainer· 1

Why COVID Freight Surcharges Outlasted Lockdowns

❝Story· 4