What to do in a situation with a Parcel locker?

[dealuxe_store]

I sold an item to a customer and sent it to their address which was a parcel locker. I sent the item with my courier, and the parcel was subsequently rejected by the parcel locker as it is an Australia Post service and couriers need to pay an additional fee to lodge into the AP network. The parcel has been returned to me.

I had a look on the AP website and read that

"Other carriers / delivery providers can deliver items to a 24/7 Parcel Locker as long as they lodge the articles into our network and pay for this service.

StarTrack is a subsidiary of Australia Post, and parcels carried by StarTrack will be accepted for delivery into 24/7 Parcel Lockers.

Where possible, you should check with the sender or company you are buying from which delivery providers they use.

Delivery providers who do not wish to lodge your parcel into the Australia Post network for delivery to your parcel locker, should follow current standard procedure for carriers, which is to contact you or the sender to organise alternative delivery or pick-up options.".

After reading this, I believe it is up to the customer to check with the seller what service they use to ensure that the package will be accepted by their parcel locker. My listing had stated Courier delivery in the listing.

I sent the customer an invoice for redelivery fee but the customer now wants me to resend the package out of my own pocket to their home address.

Who would have thought that a "Parcel Locker" only accepts parcels from only AP?

Has anyone else had a similar experience and who is in the right here?

I feel like I am being held to ransom by the negative feedback system as even though I believe I am in the right, the customer will be able to leave me negative feedback and likely force a refund from my Paypal account.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks in advance.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

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@davewil1964 wrote:

I would have assumed an AP service would only be for AP posted items. But that's just me.

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24/7 Parcel Lockers   What types of mail items can't be sent to my 24/7 Parcel Locker?

See using your 24/7 Parcel Locker for complete details of items that can and can't be sent to Parcel Lockers, including:

• items not accepted to 24/7 Parcel Lockers
• items delivered by carriers other than Australia Post
• international items.

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You assume correctly, Dave - it's all there on the AP website.

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Direct from their website

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes, you posted that before. But Digi stated that they are open to their use by a courier, by this "

• parcels delivered by a courier that has chosen not to deliver to our parcel lockers"

 So I am going by that information, too.

It is in one of Digi's posts in this thread.

I am going to check with the courier I use, if in fact they can, or do. Then it is going in listings. Either way.

[digital*ghost]

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

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@davewil1964 wrote:

I would have assumed an AP service would only be for AP posted items. But that's just me.

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24/7 Parcel Lockers   What types of mail items can't be sent to my 24/7 Parcel Locker?

See using your 24/7 Parcel Locker for complete details of items that can and can't be sent to Parcel Lockers, including:

• items not accepted to 24/7 Parcel Lockers
• items delivered by carriers other than Australia Post
• international items.

..............

You assume correctly, Dave - it's all there on the AP website.

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Direct from their website

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Yes, but the bit in red has a disclaimer, also on their website, as I posted earlier:

"Please note: Australia Post will accept domestic and international parcels from other carriers into our Parcel Lockers, if those parcels have been lodged by the carriers as Australia Post articles addressed to the recipients' Parcel Lockers."

So while technically the final carrier is AP, the original carrier doesn't have to be.

[amber-eyed-girl]

It is like the GSP then, in that the parcel is sometimes delivered by AP. Although it is Fedex that manages it most of the way.

at least, I have had some delivered that way...Fedex tracking, then the normal delivery guy from AP, with a "Delivery by Australia Post" sticker on it.

thanks Digi, I knew it was in there somewhere.

[digital*ghost]

Quite a few of the international sellers I buy from operate in a similar way - there are some (as I mentioned in my first post) that upgrade to a courier like DHL or UPS for the entire journey, but others will ship from their country to a warehouse in Oz, then use AP eParcel for the domestic leg. Funnily enough, DHL has arranged for packages to be delivered to my PO box before (presumingly by paying AP to take it on), but the last time a seller switched postage methods on me and used DHL, they said it was undeliverable to a PO box and I had to rearrange delivery - could have just been because it was a smaller satchel, rather than my usual 2 boxes (so less revenue to spare for paying AP). 

[*crikey*mate*]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

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@davewil1964 wrote:

I would have assumed an AP service would only be for AP posted items. But that's just me.

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24/7 Parcel Lockers   What types of mail items can't be sent to my 24/7 Parcel Locker?

See using your 24/7 Parcel Locker for complete details of items that can and can't be sent to Parcel Lockers, including:

• items not accepted to 24/7 Parcel Lockers
• items delivered by carriers other than Australia Post
• international items.

..............

You assume correctly, Dave - it's all there on the AP website.

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Direct from their website

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Yes, but the bit in red has a disclaimer, also on their website, as I posted earlier:

"Please note: Australia Post will accept domestic and international parcels from other carriers into our Parcel Lockers, if those parcels have been lodged by the carriers as Australia Post articles addressed to the recipients' Parcel Lockers."

So while technically the final carrier is AP, the original carrier doesn't have to be.

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ok - so the courier must hand over the parcel to Ap (presumedly at a cost) they can't just rock up and go - this is for Johhny Smith - chuck it in their locker, aye?

so the courier has to contract AP to take over delivery in which case AP are the carriers and the courier is the customer paying to use the AP service - which fits in with that good guys scenario back there somewhere

\oo/

got it

[amber-eyed-girl]

OK

so, it's AP's locker

couriers can hand the item to AP for the final delivery (but courier handles that bit)

goes to the locker

think I have it too now 🙂

yay!

well, this has all helped me out, thanks Digi and Crikey.

[digital*ghost]

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

so the courier has to contract AP to take over delivery in which case AP are the carriers and the courier is the customer paying to use the AP service - which fits in with that good guys scenario back there somewhere

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Not really. The two circumstances are completely different.

One - buyer arranges parcel locker, uses it as an address for any packages that are deliverable to said parcel locker, i.e. buyer has the address before they even start shopping.

AP go on to mention, hey, we actually make it even easier by allowing online stores to arrange the parcel locker on your behalf, which means once you tell them where the best place to collect your parcel is, the seller will tell YOU the address (or rather, the locker number and combo, or what have you) - there's no mention of third party delivery carriers in that scenario.

The point of my post was to clarify that couriers can opt to hand over packages so that they can ultimately be delivered to a parcel locker. If the Good Guys (or anyone else) use a courier by default, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for them to be providing customers with the parcel locker option for deliveries, unless they are using AP from the start (or unless they want their services to cost more, I guess).

[amber-eyed-girl]

OK...what I said just now, that's right, yep?

buyer pays seller

seller pays courier

courier pays AP to do the last step to the locker

so seller lists " will be shipped by xxxxxxx courier, can be delivered to an AP parcel locker"

if that particular courier will do that.

because that is what I am thinking, for eBay stuff.

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

OK...what I said just now, that's right, yep?

buyer pays seller

seller pays courier

courier pays AP to do the last step to the locker

so seller lists " will be shipped by xxxxxxx courier, can be delivered to an AP parcel locker"

if that particular courier will do that.

because that is what I am thinking, for eBay stuff.

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Yes, that's all correct.