This topic caught my eye as I've spent the better part of 2 hours today on the phone to PayPal, eBay and then more time down at 2 PO's.

From what I've been able to ascertain so far:

• Registered Post is gone for Parcel Post.


• Signature on Delivery is available for Parcel Post and Click and Send at a cost of $2.95/$1.00 (although the $1.00 may change come the 15th for Click and Send).


• PayPal had not a clue that Registered Post had been nuked and could not tell me how I could meet my obligations under Seller Protection aside from getting a bucket load of cash, an ABN and a FedEx, TNT or eParcel account. 


• PayPal said they would investigate the change (I read this to be more 'oh holy bleep what do we do now?!' so I made them note on my account that there was no way I'd be having reversals when the service they say I must use no longer exists!).


• 2 PO's, the AusPost website and their brochures confirmed that Registered Post is only available for letters, not Parcel Post. 


• The PO's confirmed that I would not be provided with 'proof of lodgement' like Registered Post and that the tracking is exactly as it's always been - lack lustre at best.


• They could not confirm for me how I could see who, how, when etc a person signed for an item or get a copy of it (I'm assuming in my AusPost History but I'm still not sure what exactly it'll show me).


• PayPal could also not account for instances whereby they allow a reversal to happen up to 45 days after the fact yet AusPost deletes (not archives) tracking after 60 days. While it seems like enough time, when you factor in the initial shipping period and their investigation time, it may not be enough. Registered Post didn't have this problem. If it's now going to be solely online, I want to know how to avoid this.

PayPal said they could go on a 'case by case' basis and a receipt *may* be good enough. Sorry, but a policy with holes in it isn't good enough for me!

What annoys me is that AusPost didn't inform anyone clearly enough ahead of time of the dropping of Registered Post from the offering. I spent hours reading their new rates and while it is mentioned, it doesn't say 'oh sorry, by the way, it's no longer available on parcels'. The assumption is that you'll just take and be happy with Signature on Delivery.

So, here I am, with auctions being processed, charging people $3.20 for something that no longer exists from today. When I went to the PO, even they didn't have a clue! I'm calling and heading back in tomorrow to the PO just to double check before I start having to refund people for the difference and I still don't know if I'll be covered for anything with PayPal!

*sigh*