topic Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates? in Selling

Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

nextparty — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 12:56:56 GMT

Hi guys,

I send around 20-30 parcels per week. That's over 1000 parcels per year. I thought I was qualified to sign up eParcel service.

But after calling up Australia Post eParcel customer service, they suggested I stick with MyPost Business. They also suggested I probably can only get a better rate than current if I send 20+ parcels per day.

Is anyone currently using eParcel service? Are they telling the truth about "sending 20+ parcels per day"?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

digital*ghost — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 10:39:28 GMT

This is anecdotal, as likewise, I use My Post Business - I know sellers on eParcel contracts that still buy 500g satchels in bulk because it's cheaper than their eParcel rates, so I am not surprised by what you've been told by Aus Post.

They get good rates on international postage, and if their contract is for dead weight only (rather than cubed for larger parcels), it is generally pretty good for the larger ones, but I've seen more than a few say that overall the value for money isn't really there (especially when you consider they can lose 'privileges' in exchange for lower prices, like access to compensation).

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

green_butterfly — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 22:16:57 GMT

like here too. Mypost Business is cheaper and better because you have some benifits of the service like tracking and free redirection from the reciver if they requested and more. make sure just sent 20+ parcel per week . Where e-parcel, my trick is ask for the fixed dead weight contract and null the cubic per parcel. I know one company they told me they are paying only less than 5 per express parcel under 500 grams. If you can do it good luck!

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

djavusydney — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 05:57:14 GMT

What auspost required is $50 worth of parcels thus if you have $7 parcel, you need around 7 parcels minimum.they also need yearly parcels pickup of 1000 parcels, on weekly it's around 20 parcels.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

eol-products — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 23:00:36 GMT

Do you know of anyone that gets better rates with eparcel than mypost and how many parcels they needed to qualify to get it.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

everything_id — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 10:13:34 GMT

@eol-products wrote:
Do you know of anyone that gets better rates with eparcel than mypost and how many parcels they needed to qualify to get it.

I'm also interested to know this?

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

digital*ghost — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 11:01:59 GMT

Sorry for the late reply - I never saw this post until now

Unfortunately the answer is both yes and no.

Contracts and rates are very seller specific, T&Cs that apply to one will not apply to another, and whether you get a better deal than My Post is really going to depend on the weight / volume of your average package, as well as how many packages you send to what Aus Post consider "rural" areas.

Some sellers on eParcel have contracts where they are charged on dead weight only, while others will always be charged the higher of the two between dead weight and cubed. Other sellers I know use pre-paid satchels for a lot of their packages, and only use eParcel for large / heavy shipments.

Some sellers don't have extra cover as standard with their parcel rates, and return post (if the package is RTS for any reason) is more expensive than a regular parcel of that size / weight.

I can tell you only one (possibly helpful) anecdote, which is that one seller I know was advised by Aus Post not to even bother asking about eParcel unless / until they are sending at least 1000 parcels a year (20+ per week), otherwise My Post was their best option.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

eol-products — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 11:23:29 GMT

They took 4 weeks to get back to me on a price.

Some rates where better than mypost best rate but many rural ones where much higher.

Same state is cheaper than interstate so added an extra discount ontop of the 3 mypost offer.

I think the prices I had where for 2000/year.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

biltong2go — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 04:51:51 GMT

Yes it's true that eParcel is based on volume,

we send approximately 7,000 parcels per year,
so 1,000 parcels per years is not that much, but probably just enough to qualify for eParcel.

For us, eParcel was good for:

all parcels <= 500g, and
almost all parcels within the same state.

But we had these disadvantages:

No Express Post Guarantee
No included compensation, even if Australia Post loses a parcel or admits that they delivered it to the incorrect address.
(you can pay extra for insurance)
There is a 'fuel surcharge', and now
Since 1st March 2020, there is a "Security Management Fee" of 3.85%!
They did not inform us of this fee, but simply added it to our invoice, and I wish I could talk to a lawyer because for the last 4 months we have been paying this secret fee without realising.

We also use MailPlus (Toll courier) and even buy some Express Post Satchels.

For any parcel, we have a complicated decision tree to calculate which is the best method to use.

We send almost all parcels Express because our products are perishable.

However, in late 2019, they increased the prices, and now eParcel is not that great,

we are seeing some better rates with MyPost, but we still use plenty of eParcel for parcels <= 500g.

The short answer is everything depends on:

How many parcels
where they go to
how many are 'regular' and how many 'express'
cubic weight: are the parcels bigger than they are heavy (high cubic weight, low dead weight), or smaller than they are heavy (low cubic weight, high dead weight)

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

davewil1964 — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 06:15:04 GMT

There's a further Band (5) coming in on Saturday with MyPost. That might swing things further that way. I don't know as I got the notification but haven't been able to find the new rates. Like most things AP, it probably won't be available until it's live.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

jfmgray — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 07:37:35 GMT

I received an email from AP with a link to the new rates. I can post the link if that is allowed??

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

eol-products — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 11:02:03 GMT

For most parcels a further 1% discount with no further discount for rural or international.

Compared to Sendle which I do not use they had a flat rate offer of $4.95 per parcel up to 5kg for your first 100 parcels for one month. I was tempted as 100 x $3-$4 average saving was substantial. Then starting in July a discount for those who send 160 per 8 weeks.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

davewil1964 — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 12:01:01 GMT

I am unlikely to qualify for Band 3, much less the higher ones.

I use prepaid satchels for rural and MyPost for metro.

Works for me. I don't and won't use couriers. It is a pita for me and, with lockdowns easing in most of the country, even more so for the buyer.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

curraone — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 19:40:04 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
There's a further Band (5) coming in on Saturday with MyPost. That might swing things further that way. I don't know as I got the notification but haven't been able to find the new rates.

Click on the Here part at the bottom of this extract:

• We're introducing the new Band 5. This will allow businesses who send more than 320 qualifying parcels in an 8-week period, or 2,000 parcels in a year to access higher savings.

• We're also introducing Band 0, which will be the starting band, and will be based on retail rates.

• Band 1 will now allow access to savings for businesses who send 8 or more qualifying parcels in an 8-week period, or between 50 and 249 in 12 months.

What it means for you:

• If you're currently on Band 4 and sending more than 320 qualifying parcels per 8-week period, or have sent 2,000+ parcels in the 12 months prior to 27 June 2020, you will now be moved to the new Band 5, and will save more.

• If you're currently on Band 4 and sending 160 – 319 qualifying parcels per 8-week period, or have sent between 1000 – 1999 parcels in 12 months prior to 27 June 2020, there will no impact to you.

• If you're currently on Band 1 and sending 8 – 39 qualifying parcels per 8-week period, or have sent between 50 – 249 parcels in the 12 months prior to 27 June 2020, you will remain on Band 1. You'll now have access to the new savings on Band 1.

• If you're currently on Band 1 and sending less than 8 qualifying parcels per 8-week period, or have sent less than 50 parcels in the 12 months prior to 27 June 2020, you will now be moved to Band 0. There will be no impact on your pricing.

• If you're currently on Bands 2 or 3 there's no immediate impact to you. Depending on your future qualifying sending, your band will be assigned based on new volumes and eligible savings will apply.

See the full MyPost Business postage rates guide here.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

south.coffee — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 01:32:47 GMT

There is a little loophole in MyPost which several sellers have discovered... team up together using the Team Member facility and share the discounts around.

We are currently on Band 4 and aiming for Band 5, if anyone else is interested, message me.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

eol-products — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 03:32:05 GMT

I received an email yesterday from Mypost saying I have gone up to Band 5 but am slightly dissapointed with the tiny 1% increase for the majority of parcels that I send.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

south.coffee — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 01:14:39 GMT

Yes, the extra discount for a few cents off is not worth the effort when you double your output. There should be more incentive than a lousy 1% !

We would save $1.80 a week which is not even 2 stamps !

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

eol-products — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 02:59:58 GMT

The 1% would have been nice if it was added to rural and 2-3% for next city. But I would have passed up on the extra saving if the system worked 99% of the time with only one outage per week.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 21:32:06 GMT

We have been an ebay seller for many years. We have used eParcel on and off over that time. The minimum requirement for eParcel qualification is 2000 parcels per year. If you only process 1999 in a year, (one short of your 2000) they will terminate your eParcel contract WITHOUT notification. PLUS the rates they quote (in our experience) on eparcel are usually HIGHER than what you would pay by just going to a post office, which is damn stupid. So in other words, My Business Post is the best option for you at the moment, that's what we use and we send about 60 items per week.

Re: Auspost eParcel contract and rates?

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 21:33:33 GMT

Don't waste your time with eParcel, it is generally MORE expensive that retail prices. We know this becuse we have been selling for nearly 20 years and everytime we ask for a eParcel account, the rates quoted are more expensive that retail.