When Does a Letter Become a Parcel?

[ajarnjenny]

A small, thin book which fits in a C5 envelope and is 20mm high, costs $6.95 on the Aus Post calculator?

[curraone]

ps:  If it is the book THE GREEN HAT, the listing says it is 375g so you will need $3.00 worth of stamps, sorry.

[harley_babes_hoard]

if it is still under 20mm x 260 x 360mm it will be $3.00

[curraone]

Or if you are going to the Post Office on Monday - you can buy a prepaid C5 envelope for $1.40 !!!!

[digital*ghost]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

  It must also be written material ( book, photocopied sheets etc. ) not some other item such as clothing, wood, plastic or metal objects, such as place mats, computer mat etc. Many people send these items as large letters, and some pist office staff oblige, but these items do not meet the actual criteria for a large letter and can be refused letter status ( and price ) by post office staff..

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Sorry, but if PO staff refuse a large letter based on contents when it meets all other criteria, they are the ones in the wrong. 😉

Some letters (large or small) must only contain documents - domestic express letters and some OS letter services, for example - but AP actually define a document as anything that contains reproducible data, and include compact discs, SD cards, memory sticks etc.

Small letters must contain flexible items and meet the size / weight / dimension restrictions.

Large letters can contain anything (rigid or flexible) as long as they meet the size / weight / dimension restrictions.

[davewil1964]

Prepaid envelopes are the go. No weight limits up to 500g. I've sent heaps of books over 300g in a C5, $1.40 prepaid.

The 2 main avenues for postage I use are prepaid envelopes and Click and Send eBay satchels or boxes. Lower costs or maximum protection. Sometimes both with the satchels, and always both with the boxes.

Please look into the avenues you have to reduce your costs, people. Working with the system is generally more productive than banging your heads against walls. And getting hammered on postage cost because your competition DOES utilise the cheaper rates available.

[ajarnjenny]

I was kind of hoping that you would chime in. Do I buy the prepaid $1.40 envelope over the counter at Aus Post and then post it in the red box outside?

I know that we are talking small money, but, I have a whole spare bedroom chocked up of books that I want to sell. I don't care if I make $4, but if I am going to expend energy on listing and posting, I really can't give them away.

I could give them away and not cost me anything.

[chameleon54]

My message was just based on the advice I have recieved from three different post offices. One refused to send my mail as letters untill I opened one at random and showed him the contents where printed matter. ( perhaps he was the Pist office worker my typo reffered too ) It was an accident true !!!

[ajarnjenny]

Lol! Years ago everyone who worked at the post office was a pist office worker, but, I find that they are more friendly and helpful than they used to be. Maybe it is because they are not behind those really high, highly polished counters in early nineteenth century buildings anymore,

[chameleon54]

That explains it then. The officer who asked me to open a letter WAS in an old nineteenth century, country post office BEHIND one of those huge old counters. Perhaps the world had changed around him, but he was still there. I have checked out the AP website and it appears the advice I was given by the PO workers was incorrect. The confusion probably comes about as some large letters ( express post and International ) are only for documents, where as regular large letters appear to be able to contain anything as other posters have mentioned. Another example of AP staff needing better training.

[curraone]

in reply to davewil1964

an hour ago

I was kind of hoping that you would chime in. Do I buy the prepaid $1.40 envelope over the counter at Aus Po

What a pity we did not realise you wanted a reply from davewil - the rest of us could have saved the time.

yes you can buy a prepaid $1.40 over the counter and post it in the red box outside.