why you should consider pick-ups

[joethenuts]

if you can  and are available for pick-ups  then you should do it  it gives the buyer an extra service and a discounted $15 postage fee off there total price, also its a better guarentee that the buyer gets there goods , it stops buyers complaining they did not get there goods, but one of the main reasons is 99 % of my sales are pick ups and a lot of buyers picking up there orders leave my driveway with more stock than they ordered it is not unusual that a buyer is picking up one product for $25 and leaving after they spent another $100,  the best % of a buyer was one day a pick up worth $10   left my driveway spending another $525

you will find what ever you have listed on ebay the buyer would also be interested in your other items..

the other day i ordered some labels from a seller he agreed on pick up it ws not that far from were i live the amount was $20  i left there spending another $50 on tape wrapping and bits and pieces   and yes the seller did not have to pay any fees on that $50...

[i-love-my-sheep]

I have never lost one in the post ever. I've had things take longer than they should, but everything has arrived.

[joethenuts]

you must be a lucky one   how many letters do aus post loose a week   you only have to read the paper when people get letters 6 months old    and its faster to send a letter from england to melbourne than some mail from here to the same suburb 

here is another queation if aus post had a feedback system like ebay how would it look like  lets say 1000 articles

[cq_tech]

Funny you should mention, sheep. I'm in exactly the same position as you. In all my time on eBay (10 years) I too have never once had a posted item go missing in transit. Not ever, and even though I clearly put my name and address on the backs of everything I send, I've never even had one returned as being undeliverable.

Using AP's own figures, it would seem that they lose or misplace (or have stolen) around 1 item for every 1000 posted (or 0.1%) and if you've ever been to an Australia Post uncollected mail auction, you only have to look at the way most of those items have been misaddressed or packed to understand why they were undeliverable and unreturnable to their senders.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I'm only up to 500 and something, so I've still got 400 and something to go before one gets lost then!! I always put a return address and like you, have never had one returned. I use a fair bit of tape on parcels, and as tempting as it is to just write on it with permanent marker, I write on paper, then tape over the whole thing. Even if the parcel gets wet, the address should be safe.

I did have one a few weeks ago that was weighing on my kitchen scales as 495g (they seem to match my PO's scales) and I hadn't put the address paper or associated tape on it. To play it safe, I just wrote on the tape. When I handed it over the counter the lady started scratching it with her nail and pointed out that even permanent marker will rub off. I explained why I did it and she reached into her drawer and pulled out an address label, addressed it and stuck it on. It weighed in at 497g. 

She said I should have taped over it but I didn't want to push it over the limit by 1 or 2 g. I hate to think what may have happened if she hadn't pulled me up on it, especially as there were 8 items in there! I think it helps being a regular and always being pleasant to them.

[cq_tech]

Yes, the problem with permanent marker is that quite often, it isn't, particularly when used on tape. Taping over it is the least likely method of exceeding your weight limit, especially when you consider that a single A4 sheet of copy paper weighs in at an amazing 5 to 6 grams!

I have a set of calibration weights which I regularly use to check (and adjust if necessary) my postal scales, so if a DVD in a number 1 padded envelope weighs in at 125g, I know that I only need to put 2 stamps on it because the scales at my LPO will read exactly the same.

I had to pull them up once when their scales didn't agree with mine (only by 2g) but I was confident enough to tell them that their scales were incorrect, and when they weighed my item on a different set of scales, it showed that the first set was indeed out by 2g. Turned out that somebody had moved them and failed to readjust the levelling screws, and once done they were once again spot on.

It probably helped that I'm a regular and know them quite well, but they were actually very grateful that I'd pointed it out, as they could have got into a lot of trouble had it not been noticed. These days though, they no longer check my large letters or parcels as they know that the weights and dimensions (for cubing) that I write in pencil on the front is always 100% accurate.

[davewil1964]

I have had one lost and three RTS (all due to incorrect delivery address) from a few over 2200, so 0.045%.

 Oops, is my experience showing?

[cq_tech]

Well you can't attribute RTS mail to Australia Post, and how can you be 100% certain that the other was lost, as opposed to being a false claim by a dodgy buyer? On that basis, your loss equates to either 0.045% or 0%, which either way is pretty damn good in my book.

[davewil1964]

My point exactly.

And the lost one WAS a letter. So 0% for parcels.

[casbit33]

I only mark something as "pick up only" if it is really big and heavy - like furniture.

I did sell an encyclopedia set once that i had marked as "local pickup". In the listing, however, i did write that i would get a courier quote if anyone wanted it delivered. Someone did want it delivered and were happy to pay the $60 delivery.

99% of my stuff is posted and i don't usually have any problems with that.

If i had a B&M shop, pick up would be great.

[raffta1]

Yes pick up's will work well for me considering I live in Rural Victoria and most of my buyers are Queensland.

The real issue is Astralia Post and the contracteors. They are a bunch of theveies, and until Auspost is held accountable for "missing" items, nothing will change. Anything with a tracking number can be tracked if the procedure is followed (normal letters are harder to track with out a tracking number), and not just ones that you pay "extra" for. I have a few friends who work of Aus post and they will tell you just how much stuff  "can and does" go missing and how easy it is.

At the moment Auspost will only refund the postage cost with proof (yes that I agree to), but not the lose of the item unless you pay "extra" insurance and this is not that cheap. This is a scam by Auspost as "ALL" tracked items are tracked the same way (signature delivery is a litlle different). All it takes is for a postal worker or delivery driver not to scan the item and then its "lost"

Now Auspost knows were and who was in possession of the item last. They need to enforce and penalise the worker, office or contractor who was to lazy to follow procedure. Or the delivery dirver who "failed" to deliver the item and cannot show were its gone.

If they were to start making All Auspost workers and contractors more accountable and made to coff up the $$$ to the sender (this includes allcost, postage, the item, fees is aplicable), the ammount of items being lost would decrease quite signifactly.