Need help to find re Aust Post delivering china parcels for free...

[catsnknots]

So, I happened to bump into my my new local candidate today for the first time and I was chatting to him and his team... I was on my way to deliver some C&S parcels and had vented about the price increase that we pay yet people from China can post for free... 

He was very interested and wants to know more... 

Can anyone please direct me to the right place to find the info on how Aust Post must deliver parcels from China and other countries even though the right postage amount has not been paid... 

Need this info asap and I am not sure where to look.. 

have searched through the threads here as there has been some great info but for the life of me I can't find the right threads... 

either a link to those threads or link to government sites would be fine... 

[digital*ghost]

Agreed, so why not at least start getting the ball rolling.

30% increases from AP - to do what - supplement the internal FREE international post at the cost of Australian sellers.

Where would you start digital*ghost ? and if it gets big enough, why can't a change be forced?

If the 30% increase was to off-set the cost of delivering international parcels then I'm a monkey's uncle. As I said previously in this thread, AP would not be able to triple their profits in 3 years if the loss from doing that was paid for by increasing postage prices and decreasing services.

I would start by examining the claim that it causes a $70 million dollar loss - I'd like to know exactly what those figures are based on, particularly as AP haven't exactly proven themselves to be all that forthright of late, and they are keen on red herrings.

That is not to suggest they don't spend money delivering OS parcels, but I'd like to know exactly how dire the situation really is before I could have any idea of the best solution. 

[oz_electronics_inc]

I spoke with Aus post a few months ago at a Powersellers seminar about this point. They told us that there is some sort of international agreement that they are bound by. They can control the price within Aust (to a point as they require Govt approval to set prices) - but can not do much about influencing international prices.

The only solution that the Aus Govt can suggest is to impose duty (% of declared value) on inbound post that all buyers would need to pay. Not going to sort our problem??

So with the latest postal price hike within Aus - who or what do we have to blame?

1. Aus Post for attempting to make a profit? (their services are about same price as other courier services - or we'd all be using FEDEX/DHL/UPS instead of Aus Post)

2. Our Govt for allowing the increase?

3. Fuel prices?

4. Wages pressure?

or other?

It's complex.......

[putney32]

The other thing you have know is China still has sea mail. Australia Post got rid of sea mail many years ago. Only air mail is available.

.

Australia post recently dropped Sea Mail to those Zones were there is no, or very limited, shipping from here.  China sells loads of stuff to Australia, so the shipping companies are happy to sell space to China Post

Australia sells very little to China by way of commodities, so there are no shipping companies for Aust Post to buy space from.

Australia Post still has SEA MAIL to zones 4 / 6,7,8 but not to those countries/areas NOT serviced by regular ships.

AustPost dont own any ships, they can only buy space on available vessels.

[fitzroy14]

If you say that China sells lots of goods to Australia, then many ships would make the journey. Of course they will have to back to China for another load. AP could great back loading rates.

[catsnknots]

I live in a fairly small community and jobs are scarce. We have 10% unemployment and our kids need to leave town to find jobs. My son has Aspergers and will take even longer for him to find a job and leave home. He will be dependent on me for a long time in comparison to other kids. 

If Ebay could be a more viable option or starting up his own web based business then there is a greater chance of him becoming independent faster. 

And many more people could also benefit... 

I don't know if we should have cheaper postage or make other countries pay more and if other major countries face the same problem them I think there could be a possibility of changes to be made. 

People will soon be adjusted to the price increase on our postage prices, that is not a problem. The problem is that people are more likely to be willing to buy from Asia and will consider the cheaper prices and the "free" or "cheap" postage. Buying from OS is no longer scary for most internet users. 

I think I want to know if countries are taking advantage of the situation and if so what can we do. I am sure there will have to be a new agreement to be signed upon at some stage and maybe things can change if enough countries agree.