Selling for 4.95 with free postage, but postage alone is $7.20!!!!

[aussie.grazing.boards]

Can someone please answer this, because I must be missing something.

I've been a seller since 2006, but have only just returned after travelling Asia for 5 years. Anyway, I've been selling off my Antique 1980's Table Top games (Pacman, Space Invaders)  to cash up and buy GoPro accessories in bulk from China, to start selling again.

For these vintage electronic games I've been using 500gm & 3kg Red Aus Post satchels  $8.20/ $13.00 ish and am totally out of touch with todays postage price on fiddly stuff (until now)

Anyway, while I was at the post office the other day I thought I would get a quote on postage of an orange float (about the size of a Zippo lighter, but a bit thicker) which sticks to the back of a GoPro. I'm thinking it would be about a $1.80 - $2.20 and I almost hit the floor when he told me $7.20 I politely asked for a senior staffer who confirmed, anything thicker that 15 pages or so of folded A4 paper is classed as a parcel, and their start rate is $7.20  (yes, I've even gone to their website price calculator and triple checked)

How the hell could my opposition sell this for $4.95? Including postage

$1.50 Listing fee/final value

$7.20 Postage

$0.50 Padded envelope

$1.00 Wholesale price of product

$10.20  Actual cost

That's a total loss of $5.25

How can sellers sell stuff under $8.00 including shipping, yet still make a profit?  If you can shed light on this I would love to hear from you

Regards

David

[colic2bullsgirlore]

all items that as sent at letter rate need to be flexible as per AP's posting guidelines

To be considered as a letter the contents must be flexible

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/size-and-weight-guidelines.html

Does your item qualify as a letter?

To be considered a letter, your item must:

• weigh less than 500g
• contain flexible items
• have a rectangular shape
• be no larger than a B4 envelope (260mm x 360mm x 20mm)
• be no thicker than 20mm

Is your item bigger than this? We would classify this as a small or large parcel.

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/domestic-letters.html

Letters should not contain stiff objects such as bottle tops, pens, items enclosed in a hard case, and so on.

High-speed letter sorting equipment could damage such objects, or the objects could damage other articles.

[digital*ghost]

---

@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

all items that as sent at letter rate need to be flexible as per AP's posting guidelines

To be considered as a letter the contents must be flexible

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/size-and-weight-guidelines.html

Does your item qualify as a letter?

To be considered a letter, your item must:

• weigh less than 500g
• contain flexible items
• have a rectangular shape
• be no larger than a B4 envelope (260mm x 360mm x 20mm)
• be no thicker than 20mm

Is your item bigger than this? We would classify this as a small or large parcel.

---

In the full letter guide, they specifically apply that requirement only to small letters, not large letters. (Note, also, that it says contents should be flexible, so technically, you can put flexible contents in a rigid envelope...).

Some quotes from the full letter post guide (published 2013, still listed as the current guide):

L2.6.1 – Contents of a Small letter
Small letters must be reasonably flexible to ensure that they can be
processed through high speed mail sorting equipment. Examples of items
that could get damaged include pencils, pens and items enclosed in a hard
case. Refer to Section L8.1.1 – Introduction. 

There is no section for contents of a large letter, excepting a list of dangerous and prohibited goods, which applies to all articles.

Express letters must also meet the size etc requirements, with one further restriction that they contain documents only:

"The Express Post letter service is for letters and documents only. Documents
include items containing reproducible information, such as computer disks or
CDs."

CDs are not flexible.

http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/letters-products-services-guide-may13.pdf

[mbselections00]

---

@digital*ghost wrote:

---

@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

all items that as sent at letter rate need to be flexible as per AP's posting guidelines

To be considered as a letter the contents must be flexible

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/size-and-weight-guidelines.html

Does your item qualify as a letter?

To be considered a letter, your item must:

• weigh less than 500g
• contain flexible items
• have a rectangular shape
• be no larger than a B4 envelope (260mm x 360mm x 20mm)
• be no thicker than 20mm

Is your item bigger than this? We would classify this as a small or large parcel.

---

In the full letter guide, they specifically apply that requirement only to small letters, not large letters. (Note, also, that it says contents should be flexible, so technically, you can put flexible contents in a rigid envelope...).

Some quotes from the full letter post guide (published 2013, still listed as the current guide):

L2.6.1 – Contents of a Small letter
Small letters must be reasonably flexible to ensure that they can be
processed through high speed mail sorting equipment. Examples of items
that could get damaged include pencils, pens and items enclosed in a hard
case. Refer to Section L8.1.1 – Introduction. 

There is no section for contents of a large letter, excepting a list of dangerous and prohibited goods, which applies to all articles.

Express letters must also meet the size etc requirements, with one further restriction that they contain documents only:

"The Express Post letter service is for letters and documents only. Documents
include items containing reproducible information, such as computer disks or
CDs."

CDs are not flexible.

http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/letters-products-services-guide-may13.pdf

---

Obviously I'm not disputing the guide, but interestingly, and I think it may must depend largely on PO staff, twice when I have been prepared to buy Express Satchels for my Large Letters, I've been told I can send my normal bubble / padded envelopes as Express - they wrap Express tape around one end of the envelope - of course they meet the 20mm thickness rule, but certainly I wouldn't consider they would pass as documents (or discs).  Although if they are charms (as opposed to made up bracelets) they are quite thin.  Maybe it's just because I'm there everyday & they are 'the best' - they really are wonderful staff at my LPO !

Does make it hard though to comment sometimes, as I feel a bit 'lucky'

[thecatspjs]

The hard copy post guide means little more than the web site published conditions.  It is a moment in time interpretation of the terms and conditions, with APs policy of the day (2013) weaved in,  which can make it quite inconsistent to T&C - or silent on areas where there is no policy. 

[digital*ghost]

I know it's quite inconsistent, as is the way letters etc are handled at various POs - it's been a while since I had to calculate domestic postage via AP's site, but quite a while ago they made you select between "I'm sending documents" and "I'm sending a parcel", giving the distinct impression that everything other than documents was a parcel, so what is true and where they try to lead people sometimes can be quite different, and/or contradictory.

The guide also provides information on the kinds of letter contents that should be registered, some examples of which are not paper or considered documents (or particularly flexible, for that matter), but if nothing else, every single time I have been told by an AP staff member I can only send paper as a letter, I have pointed to that guide and they've conceded they don't have anything in there that dictates the contents of large letters. 

Flexibility is a different matter I suppose, lots of things that aren't documents are flexible, but they still sell rigid mailers themselves and process as large letters, so I would have no qualms pointing that out to any staff member who insisted a large letter be flexible. 

[digital*ghost]

---

@mbselections00 wrote:

Does make it hard though to comment sometimes, as I feel a bit 'lucky'

---

One of the staff at my local PO commented the other day that I'm one of the few regulars whose name she remembers, which was nice. 🙂 (As long as it isn't because I'm a PITA, anyway  ).

They don't let me get away with much, though 😄  - not that I try to get away with much of anything , I actually point out all errors, whether they're in my favour or not, but we did let one thing slip through yesterday...  (A large letter that weighed 251 grams on their scale - I didn't ask to be let off, or anything, was fully expecting to pay the above-250gm price, but I didn't argue when she said she'll process as a 250gm letter). 

[kangaroochi]

I lived in the Peoples Republic of China in 1992 and 1993.  During that time my children were doing schooling via Distance Education in Australia.  It cost my husband and I an arm and a leg to send our childrens school books and work back to Australia for marking each fortnight.  We were living on Chinese wages at the time.

The Chinese and other Asian nations now have their postage heavily subsidized  by the more well off western and european nations.

We, the Australian taxpayer are paying for them to send their items to Australia and thereby cutting out the Australian retailers opportunity to effectively compete on an even playing field.

It is time for us to go to our local MP's and collectively do something about it,rather than just sit and take it. If we all banded together and partitioned the government maybe something would be done about this disgusting situation.  We live in our society, we are a peaceful

nation, not harming anyone and yet if we stand together something might get done.  I am not sure just how "far" the Australian government is locked into this arrangement, but its time we all banded together and got something done about it.  If you make enough noise sooner or later someone has to listen.