How to Post DVDs and Games in DVD boxes?

[leisurellama]

Hey everyone,

I've been trying to find this out all night without any luck.

I'm wanting to send DVDs and console games in the 220x145x35mm postage box but am unsure of the cheapest way to go about it.

I can buy 100 of them on ebay for $29.50 which puts me at about 30c a box. However I cannot figure out how to purchase cheap postage for this.

I've looked on the forums and apparently for one of these DVD boxes it's only a few dollars for shipping. However, when I try to print a label on Aus Post or get a quote, it's charging me $7.95 to send this box which is impossible to make work for me.

How do I get the cheap postage without having to wait in line at the Aus Post outlet?

Also is there a way to add tracking without going the full hog of $7.95?

Please let me know if you have any experience with this. Australia Post is not helpful and Google seems to be a bit outdated.

Thanks,

Amanda

[transport-posters]

I think the eBay label printing is for full parcels with tracking only. You can send DVD case-sized items as what Australia Post calls a "large letter" for $2. As long as it's within 2 cm height. I have been doing it for many years.

Only downside is the no tracking. If you want tracking then you need to go full parcel price or find another option. AP no longer offer the 250g weight bracket for parcels.

[heihachi_73 · Accepted solution]

A 35mm box will force you to pay Parcel Post costs unfortunately, as it is over the 20mm limit Australia Post has put on regular mail. I gather these boxes are similar to the VHS video boxes that both Australia Post and Officeworks sell. Buy some 160x230mm bubble mailers (padded bags) on eBay instead, they are much cheaper than the cardboard boxes. I recently bought 200 of them for under $30 with free postage. I have sold close to 1000 games (although hardly anyone leaves feedback these days so my feedback of 514 doesn't show it) and am yet to receive a single complaint about an item damaged in transit.

A standard sized DVD case in a bubble mailer fits through as a large letter at 19mm. Anything thicker than a DVD case will most likely be considered a parcel and it will be $7.95 and come with tracking automatically.

DVDs (and games without manuals) usually need 2 stamps while games with manuals usually need 3 stamps. Blu-Ray cases (and PSP, Xbox One, 3DS etc.) are lighter and usually only need 2 stamps but it's best to weigh everything. 0-125g is $2, 126g-250g is $3, 251g-500g is $5.

Tracking isn't very cheap unfortunately, Registered Post is only about $1 or $2 cheaper than Parcel Post these days as they made sure to push up the price of the RP stickers to almost match parcels (and then put up the parcels another 35c anyway!). The cheapest you will get is $6 on a DVD, which might be worth more than the disc itself!

A game with $3 worth of stamps plus a $4 Registered Post sticker becomes $7. Add another 50 cents if you are also sending it as priority mail and it becomes $7.50.

I also put a small amount of bubble wrap inside the DVD case to protect the disc. I cut 5x10cm or 5x15cm strips and fold the long side two or three times to make a cushion with the bubbles on the outside. If the disc still moves with the case closed, fold the bubble wrap again until everything feels solid.

And yes, you cannot print letter rates via eBay, you have to post them the old fashioned way using stamps. Australia Post hasn't offered a 250 gram parcel rate for close to a decade.

Speaking of 250 grams, do not ever send a 250g large letter (5 stamps) as Registered Post, that would cost almost as much as a 3kg satchel!

[dazzledayz]

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@leisurellama wrote:

Hey everyone,

I've been trying to find this out all night without any luck.

I'm wanting to send DVDs and console games in the 220x145x35mm postage box but am unsure of the cheapest way to go about it.

I can buy 100 of them on ebay for $29.50 which puts me at about 30c a box. However I cannot figure out how to purchase cheap postage for this.

I've looked on the forums and apparently for one of these DVD boxes it's only a few dollars for shipping. However, when I try to print a label on Aus Post or get a quote, it's charging me $7.95 to send this box which is impossible to make work for me.

How do I get the cheap postage without having to wait in line at the Aus Post outlet?

Also is there a way to add tracking without going the full hog of $7.95?

Please let me know if you have any experience with this. Australia Post is not helpful and Google seems to be a bit outdated.

Thanks,

Amanda

---

I believe what you are looking for is the BX1 label via eBay.

AP charge about the same as a 500g satchel but eBay offer a significant discount via their own postage labels.

I'm unsure of the exact charge but it's not hard to check out via the "print a postage label" function.

It does offer tracking but is still a bit dearer than a small letter.

[leisurellama]

Yeah the b1 label through ebay is $7.40 which to me is too high. I see a lot of people selling $7 games with free shipping... are they making a loss, sending it in an envelope or have they found a cheap way to send a dvd box? $7.40 doesn't seem like it would be the cheapest option as a game is only like 80g

[leisurellama]

Thank you haihachi!

[heihachi_73]

Some people also send games using the AP prepaid paper envelopes. I had a sealed Mortal Kombat Armageddon (PS2) arrive damaged due to only being in an envelope without any protection. I also had Final Fantasy VIII (which has a thick double CD style case but with 4 discs) arrive with the case smashed into 100 pieces inside a tough bag, the only thing which survived relatively unscathed was the manual, the back cover and one disc (the others were all scratched due to coming loose and mixing around with the bits of plastic that went everywhere, while the front cover was also bent). The tough bag itself really was tough, it was still in good condition despite its contents being obliterated! Save envelopes and tough bags for paper only.

[epicbuy]

Just buy large letter bubble envelopes and post via $2 large letter (if under 125g)
There is no tracking, but I find it's much cheaper to do it that way

The bubble envolpes are size 1 or 160x230mm and I think I paid around $30 for 200. Case offers enough protection and the envelopes are strong

An example is below

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200-01-Bubble-Envelope-160x230mm-Padded-Bag-Mailer-SIZE-01-White-Printed-...

[heihachi_73]

Also note, the medium sized PB2 padded bags which Australia Post sell are too narrow to fit both DVDs or Blu-Ray discs. Recently they shrunk the PB2 bags from 151x229mm to 146x223mm, but both sizes of PB2 bags are too narrow.

If you need to send two DVDs or games to someone, it is cheaper to use a larger padded bag but make sure to put the cases side by side. It should cost either 3 or 5 stamps ($3 or $5 as of 2017) depending on weight (Australia Post does not have a 4-stamp letter category for some odd reason, although logically it would have been in the 251-375g bracket). If you put a DVD case on top of another it will be considered a parcel. Just remember (again) that 500g Parcel Post is cheaper than 500g Registered Post, so if you need tracking for heavier large letters send them as a parcel.

The following items will not fit in the letter gauge after putting in a padded bag:
PlayStation 1 games (in the regular fat cases or double CD cases; standard sized CD cases are fine)
Sega Saturn and Dreamcast Games
Super Nintendo (SNES) and Nintendo 64 cartridges
Nintendo DS clear cases (usually European-made games have these e.g. Ubisoft; the normal black cases are the same thickness as a DVD case)
Game cartridges e.g. Nintendo, Sega, Atari
Anything else which uses a case thicker than a standard DVD case

Note that Sega Master System and Mega Drive games were designed to be the exact dimensions of an audio cassette case. It may be possible to barely squeeze a game through the gauge for 2 stamps but I don't recommend trying. I have never sold tapes on eBay so I don't know if they fit. A tape without a case should be fine though.

Of course, any game which has its original cardboard box (or plastic VHS style boxes in the case of Sega) will automatically be Parcel Post.

[kingdom_6633]

So sending a dvd in a
large letter bubble envelopes 160x230mm will cost me 3 dollers with no tracking