Does anyone go to the PO to get proof of lodgement?

[ty.erd]

Hi,

Do people go to the PO everyday just to get proof of lodgement?

Do customers even notice?

I've noticed some parcels that are just posted in street boxes don't get scanned even once they reach the delivery facilities.

Is there an alternative?

It's funny because I expect to see other ebay sellers waiting in line around 4pm but I never do! Is everyone just lodging in a street post box?

Thanks

[247newdeals]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

Everyone to their own I guess.

I just find when I have a lot to pack, writing by hand is quicker for me. As mentioned before, I run on the KISS principle, and cut out every un-needed operation and expense. I dont photograph anything ( wastes too much time ) , just write and go and writing the address with a pen certainly saves money. If you are just a casual seller, I imagine printing the address would give you an added sense of security, knowing the address is correct and the cost factor wouldnt be a biggy..

If you find the printing and sticking addresses on works better for you, go for it.

Everyone needs to find what works best for them.    

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Writing the labels is not an option for all of us my hand writing is shocking 😉 it only costs me about $0.025-0.03 a label 2 per letter and about $0.17 to print a label for a parcel I can get over 100 labels printed from an ink cartridge and about 200 letters before I need to change the roll for my label printer for me a lot safer and has to be kinder to the postie.

My hand writting is bad imho yes I could hand write the address and did when I sold before but for me the extra work and the risk of an address being unreadable makes printing a better option. As you say each to their own find what works for you 

[davewil1964]

I use eBay satchels for 500g aznd 3kg satchels. No sticky tape required.

And cost is $7.30 and $11.91 which more than covers the ink, compared to C&S or even own packaging.

I use B1 boxes for up to 1kg which does require tape for the label, but is significantly cheaper than any 1kg AP service.

The tracking numbers are automatically uploaded to the item when I purchase the label, the postage goes on my bill, so it all comes out of Paypal at the end of the month.

Simple, easy to keep on top of, time-saving...

[scubadiver00]

Every single parcel of mine is handed over the counter at the post office and proof of lodgement is given. Definite proof that the parcel is posted out.  maybe inconcenient but worth it in the long run. 

[lane-ends]

never used to and over years of not doing so doubt I ever got scammed by a buyer, evenb the partial tracking provided was far better than previous no tracking, or even using letter rate. It meant everything went in teh post almost immediately as street box close to home or at least passed them all the time.

Now I lodge as many as possible at PO when I am at the local mall, this means items dont go as aquick and may be held until next day. It is simply not time effective to justify margin in one or two parcels. The only reason I do it now is to reduce the exposure to being falsely acused of late shipping by Ebay. ie protection against Ebay rather than shonky buyers.

Some do get delivered without final scans, but it is only a minority and odds of those coinciding with shonky buyers is small enough to warrent the risk

Some still go in the street box as my time is still valuable. If its a remote destination or particularly expensive item I make a point of doing counter lodgement.

Many people just can't get to post offices during the day and have to post after hours. So just dont have the option.

Not sure what AP think about these ebay sellers turning up to get their items scanned after investing so much in prepaid online posting to keep queues down. Kind of counter productive.

Some outlets are happy to have you drop on counter and go without queing, others not so. As long as its scanned the actual receipt is only further back up. If post offices had drop boxes that were scanned as they were emptied that would make it easier

[black*poppy]

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@lane-ends wrote:

Not sure what AP think about these ebay sellers turning up to get their items scanned after investing so much in prepaid online posting to keep queues down. Kind of counter productive.

Some outlets are happy to have you drop on counter and go without queing, others not so. As long as its scanned the actual receipt is only further back up. If post offices had drop boxes that were scanned as they were emptied that would make it easier

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Totally agree about all the work AP did to get people out of the PO by using the street box.  I remember a few years ago when I was in Tassie, my little LPO kicked up a big stink to AP about scanning parcels that had been paid online because they didn't get any funds for handling them (because we all know that lifting the scanner thingy and pretending to be nice to customers is SUCH hard work, it seriously was for them, I'm not joking). 

I've always generally lodged over the counter but could be a bit lazy and use the street box if the line was really long or I had kids in the car or whatever.  Either way I have to drive to get to any box or PO because my two red boxes within walking distance only take letters (I've never seen these before and I am sure they are the only 2 in the whole of Gippsland, right at my door.  What a jib). Now I religiously lodge at the PO, kids and all, because of the ebay delayed delivery defect, but it's a proper PO outlet and they are all lovely.

I was in Pakenham yesterday and was interested to see the new self-service terminals.  I thought YES! self-lodgement!  But of course no, they can't accept a tracking number more than 12 characters so back in the line I went.

Julia - I'm talking about the red 500g prepaid satchels, which cost $8.25 at the PO.  Business customer rates is probably out of reach for most small sellers.  

Chameleon - the ebay postage bags come with a window to push the label in, then sticks down.  It's all so easy.  Print, fold, stick.  My laser cartridges cost about $24 and print 1000 pages minimum, and the paper is about 5 cents a sheet.  All tax deductable.  But totally agree each to their own!

[casbit33]

Every single item I post goes to the post office to get scanned. It's the only way to get proof of posting.  My local post office is fantastic. They even put their stamp on a sheet of paper that i print up with the date, my account name, item purchased, buyers user name and buyers name and address. This is my proof for posting letters.

[egglesdtp]

Wow - you must sell a lot.

[egglesdtp]

Sorry - didn't realise it would be so many posts later that my reply would appear. My comment was in reply to chameleon54's comment "I use a large suitcase on wheels to take my mail into the PO". I'm lucky if I have more than two parcels to post on any day.