Problems with Australia Post and consequently PayPal

[tack-o-rama]

I live in a suburb in a street in a house with a number and Australia Post deliver to me whenever they feel like getting round to it. (I thought I'd clarify my living situation because when I complained to Australia Post, they said, "Perhaps you live in a country area or in a high rise apartment?" Erm....perhaps I DON'T!) I bought nine books from the UK over a month ago and they're just starting to come through now. A letter from California took two weeks, and a parcel from NSW (to Adelaide) took over a week. Other letters have just never arrived at all.

Coincidentally, I was chatting to a random stranger yesterday who mentioned that he was a manager at the GPO, so I told him what was going on with my mail delivery and he said that with all the e-commerce these days, Australia Post are swamped and can't keep up with all the parcels. Too bad, so sad for Australia Post - figure it out - I want my stuff! But my thing is, I'm waiting on an item from the UK that I purchased on eBay over a month ago and so now I'm at a point where I'm thinking do I prepare to lodge an "item not received" with PayPal? I mean, maybe the seller sent it, maybe they didn't. Maybe the parcel is gathering cobwebs at Australia Post, maybe it isn't. PayPal give more than enough time for an item to arrive (even from China, with a mail service akin to the Pony Express) but Australia Post in all its efficient glory have blown that out of the water.

I mean, essentially, I will lodge a not received, but if Australia Post don't lift their f---ing game, this is going to be a real headache for sellers, and eBay Australia in general. Already there are international sellers who don't want to sell to Australia and if I can't get what I want from eBay, I'll just go somewhere else. Awhile ago I ordered something from China that never arrived so I lodged a not received and got a refund. Some time later the item turned up and I repaid, but not everyone is going to do that. I think this is a concern that eBay/PayPal should be looking at.

[yellowmazda323]

IT was Kazumi that said there wasn't, not Tack-o-rama - I was simply re-assuring Tack-o-rama that GPOs still exist.

[patchoo78]

I was simply re-assuring Tack-o-rama that GPOs still exist.

Yeah I realised that after I posted lol.. Takes a while for things to register when it's late

[2106greencat]

As frustrating as 'slow' 'non' delivery is for all, I think in the grand scheme of things, considering the amount of items going through AP on a daily basis, they do pretty well.  Of course I don;t feel that way when it affects me lol

[teaktwentythree]

t's true that some of these delivery times aren't that bad, but it's unreasonable to accept them as good enough. USPS First Class international now has tracking/delivery confirmation & the longest I've seen a package take to be on a flight to AU is 5-7 days & usually released from customs within another week. So the bulk of delivery time is all on the Australia Post.

It's even worse now. I'm an eBay seller in America & I sell to Australia quite often. I sell an average of 400+ items a month, many are international orders & Australia is the largest portion of overseas orders. I have always had the occasional missing or retuned package (just got one back a week ago mailed in March, so it took 6 months to be returned & never delivered to the customer), but since August this year its gotten horrible. I think close to 95-100% of my Australian shipments have either gone missing or will eventually be returned (but may take half a year to get back to me?). I read on various other forums that if a person isn't home when they arrive with a package they will just return it to the post office & leave it there, no note, nothing letting the resident know they have a package waiting for them!!!

I highly urge everyone who purchases anything online to:

• First - contact their local postal carrier & tell them theyre mad as hell

• Second - contact an elected official if they have authority to investigate the issue, if not contact an AP manager or supervisor as high up the food chain to complain about this issue.

• Third - If possible or you can afford it request sellers to use UPS Global shipping or USPS Global Express Guaranteed in the USA or DHL or a similar carrier service from UK or EU. It's more expensive, but you'll get your package & it will guarnteed to be faster than standard First Class. These companies handle your package from the seller to your door 100% & usually have their own customs processing. Average base price for independent carriers is around $70-100, but if you have something you really need its better than having a package take 6 weeks or never arrive at all!

SPREAD THE WORD! AND SAVE INTERNATIONAL SALES!!!

Ebay Seller,

TEAKTWENTYTHREE

[harley_babes_hoard]

It is already a problem for sellers in australia. There are quite a few threads on Australia Posts lack of service. A letter I sent from nsw to nsw took 12 days. Australia post may be struggling to keep up but they only made a profit last year of 281 million they can't afford to put more staff on to handle the influx of parcels. Closer to christmas is goingto be a nightmare with "where's my parcel" enquiries.

[maranock]

I have found that a lot more parcels are being randomly checked at customs which can also add on a week for overseas parcels.

[lyndal1838]

teaktwentythree, as you have taken the trouble to come to the Australian boards it might be of interest to you have a good look at the threads about your Global Shipping Program and see how angry Australian buyers are about the prices.  Not only are the prices a problem but the time taken for items to be sent is just way too long.

Now we are seeing buyers coming to the boards complaining that Pitney Bowes are making their own decision on whether they will even send the items.

The general consensus here seems to be that if sellers are using the GSP then do not buy from them.

In the past I was buying from a very good jewellery seller who was charging just US$5.00 for a pair of earrings.  He has now joined the GSP and the postage on the same earrings is now US$65.00.  Guess who is no longer getting my business.

[putney32]

Global Shipping .. Pitney Bowes.... would not go NEAR a USA seller offering to use GSP.... no way, far too expensive and too much trouble and so so so unreliable.

[davewil1964]

I'm an Australian seller and I have no sympathy with or for you.

MY question, however, is why you felt it necessary to drag up a 15 month old thread in order to advertise.

[zanadoo_56]

Re parcels taking ages to be returned (to overseas sellers), a registered parcel from the UK never reached me because it was so badly addressed AP couldn't work out who it was for....so they sent it back to the seller.

According to the AP Customer Service person I spoke to they send them back by the cheapest means possible which in this case was by sea.  That may be the reason returned parcels are taking so long to reach the US as well.