topic Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question in Selling

Australia Post and 20mm thick question

zulu_99 — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 22:58:54 GMT

I took a small padded envelope weighing 220g to the post office and got charged $7.60 standard postage.
When I checked later on the website, I saw that postage upto 20mm was $3 and over 20mm was parcel rate.
I recreated the package with the same item and when I measured it it was JUST over 20mm (like 20.1mm) the postmaster didn't even measure it.
I was wondering what would happen if I just put 3 stamps on it and posted it in a post box? Would it get returned to me or would the recipient get charged extra?
Cheers

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

stickerswa — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 23:04:45 GMT

Get your self a measure or make one . If it does not go through the sorting machine then they will deliver the package to the person you sent it too and then deliver to you a bill extra postage PLUS a fine for insuficient postage. Ends up costing more than parcel rate.

Sometimes they will go through but if they dont - expect a fine.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

springyzone — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 23:24:17 GMT

@zulu_99 wrote:
I took a small padded envelope weighing 220g to the post office and got charged $7.60 standard postage.
When I checked later on the website, I saw that postage upto 20mm was $3 and over 20mm was parcel rate.
I recreated the package with the same item and when I measured it it was JUST over 20mm (like 20.1mm) the postmaster didn't even measure it.
I was wondering what would happen if I just put 3 stamps on it and posted it in a post box? Would it get returned to me or would the recipient get charged extra?
Cheers

Just over is still over, unfortunately.

You remind me a bit of a friend of ours who planned to save money. She turned up at the airport with carry on luggage only but it was a bit over the limit. She and her husband both had to pay $20 extra. For that she could have taken a suitcase as well!

She was very upset with jetstar I think it was, said she had often gone qantas in the past & they never worried about a tiny bit over, never usually weighed her carry on.

But her experiences will be similar to yours with the parcel. Sometimes a parcel that is just on the very edge of the limit might get through at the cheaper rate. But you can't count on it at all. Sometimes it will get weighed and if it is slightly over, you will be penalised.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

zulu_99 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 01:47:21 GMT

Fair enough. Up go my prices to cover it then

Thanks

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

clarry100 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 02:47:51 GMT

20.1 is just over. But over nonetheless.
But at my local po they would likely allow that to go on. If it touches the sides of the guage but drops thru under it's own weight they should allow it. I would think it's a bit tough that they rejected it for being 0.1mm over.
I put ours all thru the red street box and I'm sure some are a millimetre or so over especially if the contents move around, but we've never had one rejected for oversize going that way.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 06:01:50 GMT

I took an item into my PO late last year, they weighed it and the scale said 501gr

I did'nt say anything about anything but the woman on the counter immediately started up about how it would cost x amount and they would NOT be putting it through at the '500gr' weight but that was for items UP TO (yells she) 500gr. 501gr is over the limit

As luck would have it, I had to go to another town that day anyway so I just thanked her, took it and left

the other PO weighed it (still 501gr lol) so I sighed and said about how I'd missed the limit by *that* much. The woman there just gave me an odd look and said they were'nt going to quibble over 1gr

So def seems it 'depends'

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

davewil1964 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 07:40:09 GMT

Interesting. Both my local PO's scales use 5g increments. 502 will read 500 on them. Which I have successfully tested.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

digital*ghost — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 08:54:29 GMT

Aus Post's letter gauges tend to average 1.8cm wide, sometimes a little more if they're older and had frequent use, as the cardboard edges get a little worn. So if something is 1.9cm thick, it generally won't go through and you'll be charged parcel rates.

You can challenge them if something doesn't quite slide through easily, get out some calipers or summat 😄 because the letter gauges are generally designed to test for max thickness for a letter to pass through their sorting machines safely, and rigid mailers / padded bags do not go through their sorting machines, ergo the 2cm limit should apply regardless on those articles.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

phorum_junkie* — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 09:27:32 GMT

Ask your PO for a guage then you can know for sure if they will go through. I sell clothes and not many will go as large letters but if it is close I put them under my cushion and sit on them until I go to the PO, they sure as hell go through then lol.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

davewil1964 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 10:14:15 GMT

@zulu_99 wrote:
I took a small padded envelope weighing 220g to the post office and got charged $7.60 standard postage.
When I checked later on the website, I saw that postage upto 20mm was $3 and over 20mm was parcel rate.
I recreated the package with the same item and when I measured it it was JUST over 20mm (like 20.1mm) the postmaster didn't even measure it.
I was wondering what would happen if I just put 3 stamps on it and posted it in a post box? Would it get returned to me or would the recipient get charged extra?
Cheers

Given you wanted it to go as a letter, unless you pay for registered, which pretty much makes the price the same as a parcel, just chuck it in the box. Standard letters don't have tracking, so you are ineligible for seller protection anyway.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

brerrabbit585 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 12:15:42 GMT

I checked my gauge a while back and I thought it was about 21mm, but I just checked it now and it's a smidgen over 20 - same all the way along with no sign of rubbing, and if it was going to wear it'd be in the middle. I used to ask the PO to check the iffy ones and they always slid through theirs easier than with mine. They haven't checked them in a long time because they know I always ask if there's any doubt.

I was told a couple of years ago that they always put bulky letters in a separate bag to the DL size and really flat ones, and that the bigger ones don't go through the sorting machinery, but perhaps that's changed.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

digital*ghost — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 13:14:18 GMT

@brerrabbit585 wrote:
I checked my gauge a while back and I thought it was about 21mm, but I just checked it now and it's a smidgen over 20 - same all the way along with no sign of rubbing, and if it was going to wear it'd be in the middle. I used to ask the PO to check the iffy ones and they always slid through theirs easier than with mine. They haven't checked them in a long time because they know I always ask if there's any doubt.

I was told a couple of years ago that they always put bulky letters in a separate bag to the DL size and really flat ones, and that the bigger ones don't go through the sorting machinery, but perhaps that's changed.

Good to know re: the gauges, a lot of members here tested theirs a while back and there wasn't a single one that was bigger than 1.9cm, even allowing for a small margin of error, it was surprising that they all measured below the max allowable thickness. Realistically, they should be a touch over 2cm if 2cm is the max thickness of the letter, since something that's 2cm will never slide through a slot that's also 2cm (unless it compresses while going through).

As far as I know, anything in paper envelopes will go through the sorting machines, as long as they meet either small or large letter specs, I'm not sure if AP's tough bags are considered flexible enough, but padded bags and rigid mailers are supposed to be off the list. Anything that's normal paper, yellow craft envelopes and the like, will supposedly go through the machine- content isn't checked, so if it contains rigid items, clothing etc, that's where problems usually occur.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

glenbankloel — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 23:01:39 GMT

Your local PO should be able to give you a letter gauge free if you request. Quite large item, but it stands upright on the floor, slides in next to my desk. We find it invaluable.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

jfmgray — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 03:36:02 GMT

Just measured my AP letter guage - yep 19mm.

I would estimate about 5% of my large letters are slightly over the 20mm mark, including international large letters.. My local post office staff always let them through but occasionally warn me that the sorting centres may pick up the oversized items and bill me. This has never happened so I can only assume that they go through the sorting machines OK

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

heihachi_73 — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 06:26:47 GMT

19mm, otherwise known as 3/4 of an inch. The same size as the USPS allows coincidentally. Australia Post would never consider allowing the full inch that Royal Mail does, imagine the profits lost on all those 80 gram items!

I made my own letter gauge two years ago, also using 19mm, so I could see what would fit and what wouldn't. Anything thicker than a regular DVD case in a bubble mailer/padded bag will most likely go as a parcel.

Some staff are also more strict than others, some won't even bother using a letter gauge if it resembles a large letter and will put 2-3 stamps on it even if it was 23mm thick, some will push an item all the way (or even part way) through the gauge and as long as it somewhat fits they will pass it as a large letter, others will halfheartedly push an item through the gauge and if it ever so slightly brushes the sides (even if it was just the flap snagging the edge) they will try to say it's a parcel. I think most of the clueless staff have finally found another job - I can't remember the last time someone has tried to say that large letters are for paper documents only.

What I've noticed when using bubble mailers, at least with the Officeworks (PPS brand) 260x360mm ones (cheaper than AP, especially when complete boxes are on special) and the 160x230mm DVD-compatible ones bought on eBay:

CD, DVD and Blu-Ray cases (and their identically-sized video game equivalents) fit through the gauge with no problems
Old video game cartridges don't e.g. Atari, Sega, Nintendo (nope, not even Nintendo 64 games)
PlayStation 1 games with their original thicker-than-normal CD cases usually don't, although I have had one or two pass as a large letter (I don't recommend it as AP just loves to smash jewel cases, padded or not)
Thick Nintendo DS cases don't (these cases are usually clear instead of black and the games are almost always from European companies like Ubisoft)
Audio cassette cases are 50/50, they are about 21mm thick (loose tapes fit, but I wouldn't try my luck with Australia Post, I could just imagine them being broken and tape going everywhere)
VHS videos, not a chance (AP still sells video-compatible boxes, although IIRC they don't fit the larger style cases that came with older 80s videos or ex-rentals)
Double CD (2CD) cases are miles too thick (use a box anyway, as with PS1 games the case will most likely be smashed to pieces too)
I have never sent records, so I don't have a clue if they count as a large letter or not, especially LPs/33s given their size.

Re: Australia Post and 20mm thick question

bluebudgies — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 11:55:13 GMT

@digital*ghost wrote:
@brerrabbit585 wrote:
I checked my gauge a while back and I thought it was about 21mm, but I just checked it now and it's a smidgen over 20 - same all the way along with no sign of rubbing, and if it was going to wear it'd be in the middle. I used to ask the PO to check the iffy ones and they always slid through theirs easier than with mine. They haven't checked them in a long time because they know I always ask if there's any doubt.

I was told a couple of years ago that they always put bulky letters in a separate bag to the DL size and really flat ones, and that the bigger ones don't go through the sorting machinery, but perhaps that's changed.
Good to know re: the gauges, a lot of members here tested theirs a while back and there wasn't a single one that was bigger than 1.9cm, even allowing for a small margin of error, it was surprising that they all measured below the max allowable thickness. Realistically, they should be a touch over 2cm if 2cm is the max thickness of the letter, since something that's 2cm will never slide through a slot that's also 2cm (unless it compresses while going through).

As far as I know, anything in paper envelopes will go through the sorting machines, as long as they meet either small or large letter specs, I'm not sure if AP's tough bags are considered flexible enough, but padded bags and rigid mailers are supposed to be off the list. Anything that's normal paper, yellow craft envelopes and the like, will supposedly go through the machine- content isn't checked, so if it contains rigid items, clothing etc, that's where problems usually occur.

If anyone has one that's under 2 cms it sounds like a good idea to try a different post office to see if they have a slightly bigger one. I'd imagine they'd be made in fairly large batches so it wouldn't pay to ask too often.

I send a lot of C5 letters that are anything from 10 mm to pushing the 20 mm limit and they're the ones the PO told me they put in a separate bag. "Anything bulky" in letters is what they said. They really know their stuff because there's only the two staff (husband and wife).