Australia Post... - What is correct?

[valdoe]

I am confused.. reading the notice from the PO as from 8 April.. unless I missed the very fine print.. it states that the new postal charges will now be one price, you then have to look at their chart and see what zone you sending it to eg n1, s2 etc. and you will see a new charge of what it cost per KG extra you have to add.

using http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/april-8th-2013-parcel-post.pdf

eg sending a parcel to Vic zone 2 that weights 3 kg will now cost

Standard charge will be = $11.45

Zone v2 = $2.55/kg x 3  =  $7.65

Total cost                     = $19.10

No where do I see that they will still cubing parcels

By reading their chart .. there is no mentioning of cubing a parcel any more..

yet if you use their postage calculator

if you select Satchel the cost correct if you do not cubic it.

if you select Parcel and add the size if the item the cost jumps to $28.80 and increase of nearly $10. 

It gets worse if you were to send the item to WA,SA or TAS.

How are we suppose to work out our shipping costs to charge the buyers?

[davewil1964]

They have always cubed parcels. So the CORRECT calculation is the weight or the cubed weight, whichever is the higher.

How are we suppose to work out our shipping costs to charge the buyers?

Use the eBay postage calculator and buyers will see the correct postage to their postcode.

[model.trains]

Dear Davewill,

Unluckily, if past experience is anything to go by, Ebay's postage calculator will take a few weeks (if we are lucky) to implement Australia Posts new pricing. So it is not recomended to rely on it at all, or a seller might turn up at an Aust post Office and find that they have to pay lots more than the Ebay calculator has stated. All you can guarantee is that the post Office staff  won't give a toss what the Ebay postage calculator says and the Buyer won't give a toss what Australia Post says, so us sellers will be stuck in the middle as usual.

So there will be a lot more agro and teeth nashing from everyone, sellers, buyers and even Aust Post staff who will have to spend so much time cubing every parcel. 

Considering the massive price hike some large but light weight items will incur, once cubing & the new prices are enforced, many of us seller will have to get in and adjust every listing to cover ourselves.

There could be a big market for vacum packaging equipment & materials so everyone can shrink their parcels down to a minimum before posting.!!!! 

I post via a small country town Post office, most of my items are under 500gms, so I use Stamps for most items and pre paid trackable satchels for the rest.  I have tried Aust post contracts before but I can buy stamps cheaper than any discount Aust Post contract offers and I don't have to fill out any complicated paperwork. I just drop my Aust Post box off and pick up an empty one. It will be interesting to see if he will have to start cubing each box, by hand as he isn't going to buy some expensive mass scanning machine, I would think he would get a bit annoyed with all the extra work.

Any other helpful suggestions out there???

[davewil1964]

if past experience is anything to go by, Ebay's postage calculator will take a few weeks (if we are lucky) to implement Australia Posts new pricing.

I realise that, but from the OP valdoe doesn't appear to ever have used it, so I don't understand how they are showing their postage. Unless it's freight, it has to be shown on a listing and that can't happen unless you're using flat pricing or the calculator.

[suitcase_of_memories]

The HONEYMOON with Ecommerce is coming crashing down.........everyone in the MIDDLE has gotten too greedy !

We will all be back to markets & B&M next year if they all keep 'grabbing with their grubby hands' !!!

[go-tazz]

It could be a government incentive to slow down online buying so that people go back to shopping at their local stores,?:|

Or for AP to try and stop/slow down the posting of larger items as they take up the most room.

This could be a boon for couriers as the larger light weight parcels still need to be posted at a more reasonable price then the cubed rate AP will be charging.

So either scenario could create more jobs but will/might increase the cost for buyers,?:|

[valdoe]

The more I look at it.. the more it looks worse...

For me to send a parcel from Qld to SA WA or TAS.. that weight 1.5 kg 47x32x7 looks like it going to cost me just a little over $21 compared to now which was only $16.35..

Well it looks like they are restricting me to only sell to Qld, NSW and or maybe Vic as long they live close to the capital cities.. 

I as a buyer would not like to by an item selling for $45 and having to pay another $21 in postage.

Looks like my range will have to be reduced to about 50% so will be able to send through pre-paid C/S..

ALL my other items that have to go into my own satchels will have to drop out of range.

Yes I know some couriers maybe cheaper but have found.. 1 must buy a $100 or more of coupons.. and not all couriers service in most areas of Australia. So you must buy more coupons from other carriers to get coverage.  I just dont have the money just tied up i coupons.

[davewil1964]

Try Temando. They give deals for eBay and QS members and I don't believe you have to pay anything upfront.

[donnashuggy]

The more I look at it.. the more it looks worse...

For me to send a parcel from Qld to SA WA or TAS.. that weight 1.5 kg 47x32x7 looks like it going to cost me just a little over $21 compared to now which was only $16.35..

Well it looks like they are restricting me to only sell to Qld, NSW and or maybe Vic as long they live close to the capital cities.. 

I as a buyer would not like to by an item selling for $45 and having to pay another $21 in postage.

Looks like my range will have to be reduced to about 50% so will be able to send through pre-paid C/S..

ALL my other items that have to go into my own satchels will have to drop out of range.

Yes I know some couriers maybe cheaper but have found.. 1 must buy a $100 or more of coupons.. and not all couriers service in most areas of Australia. So you must buy more coupons from other carriers to get coverage.  I just dont have the money just tied up i coupons.

I used to use the extra large 3 kilo express satchels, not sure if they still have them but they were around $14 and about an A2 size, would that work?

[thesoulyearns]

They have always cubed parcels. So the CORRECT calculation is the weight or the cubed weight, whichever is the higher.

How are we suppose to work out our shipping costs to charge the buyers?

Use the eBay postage calculator and buyers will see the correct postage to their postcode.

I'm a bit of a dummy when it comes to the Postage Calculator in listings, for most things anyway. I have no idea what to categorise things as, or their dimensions or things like that... I wish they'd make it a bit more dummy friendly. For things over 500g, sometimes I go by what others are selling as their postage price because I can't work out the calculator.