Australia Post Pricing Logic

[thegaminggamer]

I'm sure if you're a long time seller, you've come across this before. I don't usually send heavy parcels (most items are under 500 grams) so when I needed to send a 1KG parcel to the United States, I thought to myself, well I already know a parcel 500 grams or under is $15.85, so I imagine the next threshold would be a little bit less than twice the first threshold. $15.85 x 2 is $31.70 so I guessed $28, or $29, maybe even $30.

Then I got a nasty surprise: a single 1 KG parcel to USA is $33.38 but if you post two 500 gram parcels, it is $31.70 which is cheaper. I had to double check with the Post Office worker because that didn't make sense to me. My question to you is, where is the logic? It takes more time and labour to deliver 2 parcels than 1 parcel and the prices should reflect as such.

I'm sure it wasn't always like this. Back when parcel posting prices used to only end in $xx.x0 or $xx.x5s, the threshold prices made more sense. I think the prices only became illogical when Australia Post started using nonsensical numbers like $33.38 (why not $33.35? why not $33.40?)

Here's another case of nonsensical Australia Post price logic: let's say you're sending a thin book that weighs 300 grams to USA again. This thin book is 2cm thick so it qualifies for "cheaper" large letter pricing so we can post it for $18. Wait a minute. Posting this as a standard parcel (with no size limitation) is $15.85 so why on earth would I post as a large letter when it is more expensive AND I don't have room to add protection like bubble wrap?

I think I know what the inherent problem is: Australia Post changes prices and changes services and changes rules and changes other stuff far too frequently. There's no cohesive logic that brings Australia Post's prices and services together as a whole. It's like watching a 2 hour horror movie that has 20 straight minutes of comedy (with no horror). It doesn't make sense. Or cooking a vegetarian dish for your vegan friend, and this dish has bits of meat in sprinkled in one corner. It doesn't make sense.

There are countries that have the same parcel post prices for years and years. Ours change every 6 months. Just when we've memorised all the prices (local and international), it changes again. I'm not saying that Australia Post has to run at a loss and keep the prices the same for a decade. All I'm asking for is a bit of logic when it comes to prices. More lenient thresholds would be fine too.

[seashadesaus]

I have the same problem...when sending a magazine within Oz under 500g it is $5, usually weighs in the bracket 250-500g...if I send 2 of them together, the weight is over 500g, so the next best option is a 3kg satchel $13.80...so costs $10 to send them separately, twice the trouble and more work for the postie...when sending to the States under 500g it is cheaper to send as a parcel as you say, until recently the printout used to read ' letter division' across the bottom...

[kopenhagen5]

For both of these scenarios, isn't the breakdown as follows ? - 

up to 500g

500g - 1 kg

1kg - 3 kg

Meaning there is another price option in between the 2 ?

[wide-world-of-stamps]

Not sure about overseas postage, but for satchels the 1kg is only available if you buy a pack of 10, not individually. For the number of times we need one, it's not really worth it.

[digital*ghost]

Letter postage really ticks me off, lol

A lot of my items are individually under 50g so can be posted for max. $3 to an international destination. As soon as the letter weighs 51g (up to 250g), it's $9. That's ok if I'm posting 10 items together, obviously, but I can hardly charge $3 P&H for one item and $6 for a second item.  In the shop where I offer international postage, unless I start postage prices at $9 (which I don't want to, for numerous reasons), I have to take into consideration how much I can offer so that on most occasions 2-3 items still comes under 50g, ultimately resulting in worse value for money than I could otherwise provide on item costs. 

One of the reasons I don't get it, is that it would increase the number of individual packages being sent overseas, and aside from the sheer waste of resources that causes, the terminal dues Australia Post receive is in direct relation to the difference in volume of packages between two countries, so their pricing not only actively works to reduce the postage people are paying by sending smaller, individual packages, it also decreases the money they could get via the UPU agreement. 

[brerrabbit585]

I don't know whether it's still the case but for a long time it was the case in the US that parcels to Australia were cheaper than letters so sellers had to pad envelopes to make them too fat to go as letters. We're not the only illogical country!

[seashadesaus]

Where I live, no there isn't, the next option is the 3kg satchel although having said that, the 1kg satchel can be used now (if I buy them in packs of 10) which I have recently done...those in between weights, up to 1 kg for example are cheaper if I am sending within Qld, but anything interstate over 500g I have had to use a 3kg satchel 

[springyzone]

I see your point, especially about the strange costings. Really, $33.38? Why not just round it up to $33.40. The cheaper price is only going to make a difference if you are posting multiple parcels that size.

But the scenarios you described are not recent. About 25-30 years back i recall taking a little parcel to post to US & the man behind the counter said to me-it is just a tad over the weigth limit, go away & break it into 2 parcels & I'll be able to do it for you for cheaper.

I didn't take him up on it as I didn't want to go home, rewrap etc. more trouble than it was worth. But I didn't think it made a lot of sense either.

[typhoon4u]

I quoted an express box once. It was super expensive at about 7 kg.

I broke it down into a 5kg and 3 kg express satchels and saved over half the original "boxed" quote.

There are definately ways and means to get better deals.

Nothing anoys me more while standing in line than listening to PO staff give "wrong" advise to customers to get the most expensive option used.

[thegaminggamer]

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@seashadesaus wrote:

I have the same problem...when sending a magazine within Oz under 500g it is $5, usually weighs in the bracket 250-500g...if I send 2 of them together, the weight is over 500g, so the next best option is a 3kg satchel $13.80...so costs $10 to send them separately, twice the trouble and more work for the postie...when sending to the States under 500g it is cheaper to send as a parcel as you say, until recently the printout used to read ' letter division' across the bottom...

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Indeed, sometimes you have to get creative in your cost-cutting. As your example shows, it is cheaper to send two large letters to the same person than to send one parcel to that same person. That's the problem with unforgiving pricing thresholds.