I sell many books under 500g and Australia post does not give a tracking number for these light weig

[crokat53]

I sell many books under 500g and Australia post does not give a tracking number for these light weight item.  I put the appropriate stamps on them and post directly into the letter box on the day or the day after the item is purchased.  What am I to do about the back log of post parcels because of covid.  Sincerely Kathy

[sandypebbles]

I have not sold in a while, so best someone else give you advice

When I used to sell items like books they most certainly got tracking numbers as they were too wide to go as 'large letters'

I also only ever posted them over the counter

If this is how you are posting, you know of the delays and that there are certain buyers who *will* jump on this as a golden opportunity 

[davewil1964]

Approximately half my books go as large letters. Depending on value, I might use tracked envelopes, but that is the exception rather than the norm.

I have only ever had a handful of INRs out of many thousands I've sent that way, so I wouldn't worry about online shoplifters. Book buyers seem to have ethics.

As far as backlogs go, I haven't noticed an increase in enquiries about untracked letters since COVID hit. There are reports that letter post is not as affected as parcels. Probably due to the lower volumes.

[south.coffee]

Letter mail is being delivered much faster than parcels at present as the sorting process is entirely different. Mechanical letter sort machinery can move articles up to 20mm in thickness at lightning speed and with a huge decrease in letter mail, has become a preferred and faster mail service.

Despite Australia Post moving to odd and even letter delivery, they are out pacing parcel delivery times by miles. I would not be too worried about paying for tracking, bearing in mind the letter post cost is well below parcel rates and you will cover any loss quite quickly.

Only an unscrupulous buyer might pick up on the lack of tracking and take advantage of that for a freebie. (We stick a lookalike tracking sticker on the front with a null barcode and no number as 'cover').

[curraone]

My only suggestion would be for the items that are between 250g and 500g that you can send as a large letter.

As the price for an Australia Post large  tracked envelope works about at abour $5.40 (if you buy 50 at a time) and you would have paid $5.50 plus the cost of an envelope,  if using stamps, I think it is worth it to change to this kind of tracking.

For the smaller lighter items, you just take your chances. 

[davewil1964]

C5s are $4.70 in 10 packs. They can also take 500g.

[oz-e-seller]

My post office won't let you post books in the domestic envelopes with tracking, they reckon they're for letters only. I've not tried the next closest PO because it's a hassle for parking. But yeah just be aware some places won't take them with stuff in.

[curraone]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

C5s are $4.70 in 10 packs. They can also take 500g.

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I know, but I kinda like the large ones because they are made of cardboard. 

[curraone]

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@oz-e-seller wrote:

My post office won't let you post books in the domestic envelopes with tracking, they reckon they're for letters only. I've not tried the next closest PO because it's a hassle for parking. But yeah just be aware some places won't take them with stuff in.

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I have heard this about some Post Offices and it just makes me mad.     There is no restriction on what you can put in the envelopes.  The only qualification written on the envelopes is that they should be not used to send items with a total value exceeding $100.

Why don't you report them?  That particular Post Office I mean.    Or at least complain on Aust Post many contact options.

You could also just put the tracking envelopes straight into the red box - after removing the tear-off piece on the back.     I have done this several times, and it still works, it just gets tracked at the sorting centre.

[south.coffee]

As mentioned there is no restriction on letter contents any more, you can stick whatever you like. Open a case with Australia Post on their website but that could take months to resolve.

I had similar issue but I always stand my ground, take a copy of the Letter Lodgement regulations with you and ask the staff member to point out the restriction. There isn't one.

We send metal parts in envelopes every day and 19mm in width.