Auspost is ripping up Ebay sellers and customers!

[ga-540169]

In my other account I sent items in a C5 envelope, in the back clearly state up to 500g and 200mm

My orders are FLAT, 250g and 100mm

Since last week I start receiving email from customers that they were left a collection card and when they go to the post office they said they need to pay extra because was "not enough postage"

I tell my customers to pay and email me the receipt for refund

I'm paying a lot of $5.65, $7.65 $9.10 and so on

I'm losing money and dont know what to do.

Any ideas? anyone can help please?

[davewil1964]

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@danieh_6 wrote:
I don't use C5 envelopes nor use stamp mail. What ever you are sending in the red post box is underpaid. What ever you are sending simply can't be sent as "letter mail". Lodge it at a post office if you are concerned about underpaid mail they will tell you if its too big.

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So you have no actual experience. According to eBay, 35% of my sales go with untracked letters. On those numbers I have had ONE out of over two thousand where AP has claimed underpaid.

What does this mean? It means your contention is, at best, your personal experience. And advocating the OP pays $6.50 more to post as a parcel is unlikely to be a solution to their issue.

[jfmgray]

I received a payment notice today from Australia Post stating that 6 of my C5 envelopes shipped on the same day were underpaid postage as they were over 20mm. They charged me the difference between the C5 pre-paid cost and $8.95 parcel rate PLUS $1.50 admin fee per envelope.  Well I have been sending CDs in C5 envelopes for 10 years (average about 10 per day) and I have never received a single underpaid bill before. the items are all under 20mm and are lodged over the counter at our post office.  I am appealing the payment notice. 

[danieh_6]

I'd just be honest with OP as they haven't given us all the information as per usual here.

OP is stating multiple emails, it it was LODGED at a post office it would be pulled up to the post office or he could complain to the post office directly for incorrectly charged. While I agree with your issue Dave being an anomaly, OP can't have multiple without something being a miss do you agree?

Next envelope size: OP states C5 prepaid. I will assume this but could be wrong. https://auspost.com.au/shop/product/medium-c5-prepaid-envelope-up-to-500g-10-pack-42016

This letter envelope is only for documents or around them things that seem document worthy. In my experience I have noticed multiple other sellers using this envelope to send items. I have been slugged with underpaid twice on collection with return address. Both items were under 20mm. One was something for my dash on my car and the other was a camera part. Both sellers had lots of negs regarding underpaid.


I'm not advocating for anything its just the way things are with Australia Posts monopoly. I would be selling stuff in the letter mail/ stamp mail/small mail area but I don't agree with Australia post's pricing model.

[digital*ghost]

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@ga-540169 wrote:

My items are vacuum sealed and flat all equally

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I would test the sealing equipment, as there may be an issue there that is causing the contents to expand in transit. 

At least, if the packages are being sent all over Australia with the same result, it would suggest one of only a few possibilities - the contents are determined to be thicker, new and / or stricter Aus Post policies, or the incorrect application of policies, at random, but coincidentally on an unusual number of your items. Occam's razor suggest's the first as the most probable. 

Otherwise, if you lodge over the counter (and have them postmarked when you do), this shouldn't happen, as once accepted by the post office, they can not charge you (or the recipient) any extra. (They have been known to try, but it is in their TOS that they can not). 

[found-in-australia]

Just confirming the thickness of your items - you said they are 100 mm, and other people said you made a mistake, but you didn't confirm that.

The C5 prepaid envelope has a maximum of 500 grams and 20 mm. If you are sending 100 mm items and thought the maximum was 200 mm, that is what is going wrong. At 100 mm it will be deemed parcel post, and under 500 grams the basic postage will be $8.95 from memory.

I don't know if the Post Office still taxes the underpaid amount (it used to be double), or just charges the recipient the balance after the prepaid amount, but if they are 100 mm thick, that is where your problem lies - you have probably misread the envelope (or mistyped above, in which case I apologise for chasing up the wrong aspect).

https://auspost.com.au/shop/product/medium-c5-prepaid-envelope-up-to-500g-10-pack-42016

C5 postage paid envelopes hold up to:

• Maximum Weight: 500g
• Maximum Thickness: 20mm

[heihachi_73]

Australia Post ripping people off... In other news, water is wet, Melbourne is going to hit 40°C in the middle of summer and buses will replace trains on half the network.

It sounds like the post office staff not knowing the rules and forcing the $8.95 parcel rate on every single prepaid letter, it certainly isn't the first time. $5.65 underpaid would indicate a 3-stamp ($3.30) 125-250g item being pushed into the 500g parcel category. I can't explain $7.65 (maybe $7.85 for a mistaken 1-stamp letter?) or $9.10 (was the item over 500g?)

While DLs (which cost $1.35) have a 5mm rule like a small letter, C5s (which cost $2.80) are technically large letters which can be up to 20mm thick and weigh up to half a kilo (a pretty good deal, considering that the 500g letter rate is 5 stamps or $5.50). It wouldn't surprise me if staff don't know the difference between the prepaid envelopes and are giving out underpaid notices every time they find something inside a paper envelope that isn't a sheet of paper. There have been countless cases of people being charged parcel rates by their local post office just to send a DVD (which is roughly 100g, 14mm thick and therefore $2.20 at the counter).

If all else fails, buy up big on $1.10 stamps and blank envelopes (get the no-name eBay specials that are about 1c each in bulk, or the bubble-lined ones for a bit of protection, provided it doesn't go over the 20mm limit), and weigh everything to make sure it can't end up in the wrong price bracket. 1-125g = 2 stamps, 126-250g = 3 stamps, 251-500g = 5 stamps. Hint: If you don't have any suitable scales at home and the post office is closed because the time is the awfully-late near-midnight hour of... 6PM, use the digital scales at a supermarket if you want an accurate measurement.

[gsm-2020]

Sorry about the mistake I have a Auspost cut of the 20mm and I know the packs arrive intact as I see several photo from customers that need to pay the extra money

I put all my envelopes in a red box at night

[glenbankloel]

If your problem turns out to be the thickness of the item, you should try to get the parcel gauge from the PO.

I have had 2 over the years, and they are a great help, stiff cardboard, with cut out sections so that you can try to slide your item through to see if they meet the requirements.

Easy to store, I have mine under my desk, standing up next to the leg of the desk, handy and out of sight.

Free from the PO. Just ask at the counter

[curraone]

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@gsm-2020 wrote:
Sorry about the mistake I have a Auspost cut of the 20mm and I know the packs arrive intact as I see several photo from customers that need to pay the extra money

I put all my envelopes in a red box at night

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I think in that case your issue is with Aust Post.     How about taking your next items actually into the Post Office and passing them over the counter, as suggested.    Just to double check,

If they pass muster, I would contact Aust Post - their message system is very good.

[katistrophik]

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@found-in-australia wrote:

Just confirming the thickness of your items - you said they are 100 mm, and other people said you made a mistake, but you didn't confirm that.

The C5 prepaid envelope has a maximum of 500 grams and 20 mm. If you are sending 100 mm items and thought the maximum was 200 mm, that is what is going wrong. At 100 mm it will be deemed parcel post, and under 500 grams the basic postage will be $8.95 from memory.

I don't know if the Post Office still taxes the underpaid amount (it used to be double), or just charges the recipient the balance after the prepaid amount, but if they are 100 mm thick, that is where your problem lies - you have probably misread the envelope (or mistyped above, in which case I apologise for chasing up the wrong aspect).

https://auspost.com.au/shop/product/medium-c5-prepaid-envelope-up-to-500g-10-pack-42016

C5 postage paid envelopes hold up to:

• Maximum Weight: 500g
• Maximum Thickness: 20mm

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OP states -

In my other account I sent items in a C5 envelope, in the back clearly state up to 500g and 200mm

My orders are FLAT, 250g and 100mm

So definitely think user error is the problem as you suggested.