In case nobody has noticed many of the Chinese sellers now list their item location as being in Au. Some are now even going as low as displaying the Australian flag in their listings to reinforce the deception & influence search results (easily spotted). This one really raises a RED flag for me.
The item is being shipped from China. Startrack has set up a distribution center in China & is bringing parcels in directly themselves. From what I hear 2 other courier companies are also doing the same thing. The postage from China (avg. 5 days) is much faster than the China Post average of 21->30 days. What amazes me is how a parcel can travel via Startrack (AP) from China & pass through customs quicker than it can go between 2 states here. Maybe that is why the local parcel system is so troublesome over the last 12 months as they are putting all their effort into the China market.
Going from the listings I have viewed it sounds very much like Startrack has actually led the Chinese sellers into believing that Aussies would be none the wiser as it was being delivered by AP with a AP label. Another part of the deception is also an Australian return address. I have challenged a few sellers over the postage location & they swear black & blue that item is located in Oz even after being cought out with the evidence of tracking information.
When your item arrives it will have a AP label on it which make it look very much like it has been posted in Oz, however you will also notice that it will have SYD printed on the label. This is the subtle giveaway that the item has passed through the international terminal at Sydney. The postage paid also has one of those square images with the blocky graphics (Q code) which is always crossed out to stop people being able to read it. It would be interesting to know what is in the Q code.
If a seller is based in China & list with Au stock there is a 99.9% chance that they are actually shipping from China using this service as they could not get a distribution center located in Aus. for the prices they are selling for due to the cost of wages here. To be honest, looking at the number of small items ($1.00 ->) $2.00) I do not understand how AP expect to make this venture profitable, even considering the large volume of freight. Regardless of the international flight costs even the local delivery cost would still make it a veeeeery small profit service. Most of these parcels are delivered via the usual post delivery person rather than via parcel post. I recently receive a number of parcels from China via this system which measured 9.5cm X 4.5cm x 13cm (weight 248g) delivered by the regular postie. This is well above our large letter size locally but obviously at a much lower posttage rate. Another giveaway on items like the one just mentioned is that it will also have 'untracked' on the package. All domestic AP parcels have tracking as standard now.
Another point of this service I do not understand is why the deception if they really want to build up the reputation of Chinese sellers. The delivery times are generally close to domestic times so why not just be open & honest about it? A successful business & business growth is acheived by service & trust. Deception regarding shipping only reinforces the thought that international trade cannot be trusted and it certainly does nothing in my faith for AP.
