Australia Post, USPS and Royalmail are killing the Golden Goose

[timakempton]

The recent rise in international parcel post charges by killing international trade by making it too expensive to sell internationally. Is this a case of them killing the Golden Goose by trying to cash in on the increased parcel traffic or is it an intentional strategy by the respective Governments to prop up the local retailers profits by making it to expensive to buy from other western countries?? Don't they realise that by doing this they just encourage more trade with China and other countries in Asia that provide cheap delivery and low prices??

I just don't get it!

A 2kg parcel from the UK is now a minimum of £33 ($48) and a medium size Priority Flat Rate Box from the US is US$59.95!! So much for buying from the US and the UK......

[the_hawk*]

I received an item from the US last week (not ebay) and found the postage was reasonable considering the size and arrived in 7 days from order. 

470mm x 260mm x  270mm weighing 1KG $35 postage

total cost around 30% of buying the item local

[purple.cow]

Sorry to have to tell you that you're wrong on several counts mate.

The US government forbid USPS to rasie their prices for for more than 2 years which is why the USPS were struggling to maintain decent services while costs were still going up.

I'll leave the express and priority part of things aside for the moment and only look at the standard international mailing costs ...

The 2kg parcel example you use costing $48 gets swollowed up pretty fast when you start breaking things down into smaller sections.

First of all that 2kg weight has to be transported between the receiving post office and the international airport. Someone wants to be paid wages for the time carrying it there, plus fuel and maintenence for the truck etc.

Then airport baggage handlers etc. want to be paid to load it aboard the aircraft and other airport personel need their wages to get that aircraft safely onto, and off of the ground etc.

Then flight staff need to be paid as well as fuel and maintenence costs of the aircraft, plus airport taxes etc.

Then more baggage handlers and other airport staff want to be paid this end for getting it off the aircraft.

Then Aus Customs staff want to be paid.

Then the AusPost sorting staff want to be paid wages.

Then the truck drivers etc. want wages, plus fuel and maintenence to cover their costs to get your parcel from the airport to your local PO..

Then your postie wants to be paid wages.

Okay, it might sound as though I'm going over the top here for one little 2kg parcel when there's thousands traveling the same route at the same time, but your 2kg parcel is still taking up space and weight allowances all the way.

Chances are that I missed out on a few wage earns along the route but that doesn't matter really because none of them are going to be prepared to work for $25.00 per day as many Chinese do.

Would you?

Even then Chinese mail services are not cheap because they have to share the money with other country's mail services so they can get your parcel to you.

On top of all the costs every business HAS to make a profit no martter how small that profit may be, so that has to go on top, just as maintaining PO buildings costs etc. do.

So at the end of the day there really isn't a lot of profit being made out of your lousy $48 and you still expect it in your hand within a reasonable time frame don't you.

You pay more for priority/express because they get put ahead of the standard mail and they require a bit more handling along the way, even if it's only your local postie waiting for you to get your fat bum up and moving to sign for them when they are delivered lol.

There's a lot more than that involved though as they have to be logged every step of the journey so they're tracable to you.

I've over simplified the whole mailing process here but you should be able to get the message anyway, and that is that you are paying a reasonable cost and no government has got it in for you by interfering with anything.

[peternt2001]

Yes moorna i do think you are over simplifying things a little too much.

When you work out that with the thousands if not millions of parcels that move around the world at any given time the postal services and freight carriers work in quantity ( bulk ) for all of the steps that you listed you will more than likely find out that each step along the line equates to a few cents each time.

if freight and parcel delivery was so expensive and cost ineffective , companies like FEDEX would not have their own fleet of 747 jumbo jets and airports just to carry a parcel that they may loose money on.

going by your logic, every 50 cent letter that is posted, Australia post looses $10 on as the difference between a 50 cent letter and a parcel sent in Australia is minimal in handling proceedures.

[purple.cow]

I think you missed the point in what I was trying to say mate, and that was to tell the OP that governments haven't got it in for them or trying to interfere with things.

I used to own a frieght company (43 B doubles plus other smaller trucks & 2 aircraft for remote area deliveries) and can tell you it ain't an easy task to make big profits out of it these days.

Most times the frieghter is working on cents per kilo profit margins to remain competitive.

I only ever made real money when I sold the business to retire.

[davewil1964]

As a seller I have no issue if dropshippers are no longer able to undercut my prices because their postage costs are lower than mine. When mine are domestic.

Bring it on, I say.

[pay-back!!!]

Buy from China, their cost to get the item to Australia is negligible and the onus for the second half of the delivery is on Australia Post and at their expense. And China pockets every cent. They will rule the world one day. The postal services, like everyone are offering less at a higher price. Minimal Australia Post stuff travels internally via Air anymore after the airlines revised their position on carrying it. An item to Perth or Darwin from Townsville is pushingwell  into the second week these days. It is all a case of local vs. overseas. If it is an item you can not get locally (like the WWII militaria I splurge on) then I really have no choice. For stuff that saves me less than $20 (including shipping) I will purchase locally. Anything over that (including shipping) it is a no brainer, as long as the US seller is not doing the new Global Shipping Program which is a crock...

[3415len]

thats fine mate . but when you reverse the rolls and the parcels come in Australia post free who pays the wages and all the other points you taken the time to list

in a nut shell we do,

 we subsidize the Chinese as Australia Post have a sweat heart deal with them

all sellers work for ebay and Australia post as we make the mega profits for both of them

[davewil1964]

We subsidise China Post and USPS and RM and every other postal service for parcels. Just as they do for us. It's just that we subsidise more. It's called the Universal Postal Obligation and it hardly a sweetheart deal. Look it up.

[pay-back!!!]

So they under sell the Aussie sellers AND we pay the Chinese Government (among others) for the priviledge? What a rort? At least I can get a Chinese made reproduction WWII Browning .30 Cal Machine Gun Tripod with Traverse and Elevation mechanism shipped priority for under AU$300. 🙂 When that train stops I will be truly offended...