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.

[thegaminggamer]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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. 

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Yes, that is yet another ridiculous scenario.

1x 25 gram international large letter = $3

1x 25 gram international large letter = $3

Total price = $6

1x 51 gram international large letter = suddenly it's $9

I repeat the question in my first post: what on Earth is the logic?

Also of note, and as you might remember, the thresholds back then used to be 1-50 grams, then 51-125g and then 126-250g. Not the 1-50g and then 51-250g that it is now. Much lower value.

[thegaminggamer]

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@seashadesaus wrote:

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 

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 How does the 1KG satchel compare with the BX1 box in terms of price and practicality?

The price of the a single BX1 box is a little less than $1.50 while the actual cost of postage is $7.55 so a full 1KG parcel to anywhere in Australia is about $9. Pretty good value and most importantly, predictable.

The disadvantage of the BX1 box is that the box itself weight about 100 grams and the size of the box may not be big enough if the item is not smallish and rectangular. If I remember correctly, the BX1 box used to have a 3KG limit which is helpful if the book you're posting is particularly heavy.

I also remember AusPost had some 1KG express post satchel for $10 promo a while back.

[thegaminggamer]

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@springyzone wrote:

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.

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Yep, I'd be willing to pay an extra $0.02 to the AusPost CEO just for the sake of helping my memorisation of parcel prices. The only international parcel price I remember is $15.85 (USA/Canada) and that's only because I post there so often.

But anyway, that's just my 2 cents (pardon the pun).

[thegaminggamer]

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@typhoon4u wrote:

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.

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I've noticed that there is a small minority of PO staff (probably mostly trainees or newbies) that are unaware of the existence of "parcels" and "large letters" so something that could've went for $2, instead go for $7.95 and don't even get me started on international letters/parcels.

There's still the misconception that "letters" imply it has to be paper and documents when the only thing that actually matters is width (i.e. 2cm or under).

[thegaminggamer]

Sorry again for the flurry of posts, I just think it's easier to separate each reply to separate posts.

One last thing that someone in a different thread brought up.

There is a 500 gram Australia Post satchel which you can use to post something for $8.15

But by what logic would you want to do so? If you used your own materials and packaging to post a 500 gram parcel, it would we $7.95 which is 20 cents cheaper. And most importantly, there is (mostly) no size limit of that self-packaged 500 gram parcel. In contrast with the satchel, in which you can only post something that can actually fit in said satchel. I guess the 20 cents is just for the satchel material.

[heihachi_73]

Spot on about the extra 20c, Australia Post (the privately-owned parcels division) makes a profit on absolutely everything wherever possible, right down to the toys and chocolates in the aisles.

The most ridiculous thing is, the government-owned (and taxpayer-funded) Australian Postal Corporation loses most of their money due to passing off large/bulky letters as parcels simply because they don't fit in the letter gauge. If they had a documents/media mail service for items under 500 grams, at least half of what went as 0-500 gram parcels would have 2-5 stamps on them rather than giving their money away to the parcels division. They might even become competitive, shock horror.

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

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@thegaminggamer wrote:

I've noticed that there is a small minority of PO staff (probably mostly trainees or newbies) that are unaware of the existence of "parcels" and "large letters" ...

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I had one (trainee) telling me that my Large Letter would be charged at the next rate up, as it was too wide to fit through their gauge. She was trying to fit the longest side through the gauge; I politely suggested that she try the shorter side instead. 

[davewil1964]

I use prepaid envelopes.

Often cheaper, and no arguments.

Except for once when they sent me a bill for unpaid postage. As I ONLY use prepaid envelopes for letter size postage, that was an interesting conversation.

[thegaminggamer]

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@heihachi_73 wrote:
Spot on about the extra 20c, Australia Post (the privately-owned parcels division) makes a profit on absolutely everything wherever possible, right down to the toys and chocolates in the aisles.

The most ridiculous thing is, the government-owned (and taxpayer-funded) Australian Postal Corporation loses most of their money due to passing off large/bulky letters as parcels simply because they don't fit in the letter gauge. If they had a documents/media mail service for items under 500 grams, at least half of what went as 0-500 gram parcels would have 2-5 stamps on them rather than giving their money away to the parcels division. They might even become competitive, shock horror.

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I don't know how the finance works in Australia Post, but are you saying that AusPost as a company, makes money from letters (both paper letters and merchandise large letters) while parcels is a separate thing? I assume this is where the "contractors" come in.

[lyndal1838]

Australia Post keeps saying they are losing money.....they are on letter post but they more than make up for it in the parcel section.

The profit on parcels more than covers any losses on letters to the extent that they mare aking very good overall profits.

The parcels are delivered by contractors who are paid per parcel (last time I asked it was $1.35 per parcel).  In order to save money the powers that be have decreed that your friendly neighbourhood postie has to deliver "small" parcels.  I am absolutely horrified at what they are now calling "small" parcels.....a 5 box set of DVDs is supposed to fit in our mail boxes now.

The AP couriers (StarTrack) are all self employed sub contractors.....some paid hourly hire rates, some paid per item delivered.