Australia Post Price Rise - 70c per stamp

Moots on 26/12/2013 - 23:49

Australia Post are in talks to raise the price of a standard stamp to 70c. This is after the sneaky international price rise of $1.00 that was posted here on OzBargain to England.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-26/australia-post-asks-fo…

When this goes through, as it will 100% go through, it will mean postage for items will be increased especially for smaller items that require single stamps as postage. The average is about 2-3 stamps per parcel. That's an extra 20c - 30c per item.

The thing I really don't like about how Australia Post is trying to make it seem like it should be accepted by Australians because of the loss of business due to e-mail, they failed to say they recently acquired Startrack Express due to the high volumes of parcels, and profits from those parcels with 70%+ from Online Sales. The are currently seeing an influx of 10% per year of the amount of parcels going through the Postal System.

However, the company says it has not made a formal request for an increase in the stamp price.

This is usually what happens when they create noise for feedback, without making it seem formal. Once it all dies down, the request will go through and a price rise will be inevitable.

General Discussion

Related Stores

Australia Post
Australia Post

Comments

  • silverrat23 on 27/12/2013 - 00:25

    *Insert mandatory rant on us paying more, yada yada yada…

    • Moots on 27/12/2013 - 00:32
      +1

      If that's what you feel you'd like to do. It's more to do with price hikes.

  • retiredfeline on 27/12/2013 - 00:42

    So is the average increase of postage over the years more than the average inflation? Inflation makes everything more expensive. Stamps are not exempt from this hard fact of life. Deal with it.

    • Daabido on 27/12/2013 - 02:01
      -3

      Like the inflation in TV and computer prices over the past thirty years for example? I understand what you are trying to say, but it is a little more complicated than saying "inflation" did it. Only a monopoly could deal with falling volumes of sales by increasing prices and that is the "hard fact of life" in Australia, being at the mercy of monopolies or duopolies in market and price manipulation. And lets not get started on the level of real inflation compared with the official figures. Time to go to bed. The conspiracy theories are escaping the tin foil.

      • retiredfeline on 27/12/2013 - 02:36
        +17

        TVs and computers are bad examples, those fall due to improvements in technology. Sometimes I think people who have these things around all the time forget how unique the electronics industry is in providing more value every year (Moore's Law).

        A postal service is effort intensive and people get more expensive every year. If you think the postal service is not justified in increasing prices at least at the rate of inflation why aren't you complaining about other services like council rates, traffic violation tickets, etc. going up. Those are also "monopolies". And what about all the other non-monopolies increasing prices like the price of your bread and coffees. What is special about Auspost that they should be able to resist the general rise of cost of everything?

        • tonyjzx on 30/12/2013 - 00:02
          -1

          strange comparison as bread is as cheap as its ever been and coffees have always been about $3

          dat competition

          really i dont care about aust post, dont send letters, couldnt give a shit

          you would think that with all the services aust post now do they could control costs

          10 yrs ago they didnt have general insurance… with a wider pool of potential revenue…

        • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 30/12/2013 - 00:25
          -1

          Bread is a poor example - it would be $4/5 a loaf if not for the artificial suppression of prices by Coles and Woolies.

          Coffee is indeed cheap because of competition, but it's also been reported that a lot of cafe and restaurant staff are now underpaid.

          Show me a postal service in the developed world which has absorbed inflation through technology, despite a plummet in mail volumes.

  • tf323 on 27/12/2013 - 07:03
    +3

    They should be able to raise their prices like every other business can. The price of a stamp should at least be linked to CPI.

  • kabigon on 27/12/2013 - 07:35
    +9

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Post#Basic_domestic

    Price rises used to be a few cents every year or two until 1992, then there was no increase for 11 years from 1992-2003.

    45c in 1992 would be worth 76c in 2012 according to the RBA's inflation calc. Maybe there should be a move back to more gradual increases to ease people into them.

  • RockyRaccoon on 27/12/2013 - 10:08
    +5

    Its not the price of a letter which is going to be the issue! Most bills etc are already moving to online delivery.

    What price will they now charge for parcels. If this goes up the same percentage, thats got to be a worry for Australian internet retailers vs overseas suppliers.

    We are spending millions on the NBN to give us better communications, online commerce etc, so delivery on a daily basis isnt as essential as before.

    They may be better at looking at cutting costs. Maybe now is the time to look at alternative day deliveries. As much of the mail now isn't time sensitive, and some days we get no mail at all anyway.

    • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 28/12/2013 - 18:23
      +1

      Parcels will not move up too far, as they are subject to competition (and makes a decent profit). Regulated mail is not subject to competition (and makes a loss), therefore it can and will go up.

    • cwongtech on 30/12/2013 - 22:39
      +3

      We are spending millions on the NBN to give us better communications, online commerce etc, so delivery on a daily basis isnt as essential as before.

      Not anymore we aren't.

  • Roney on 27/12/2013 - 13:38
    +5

    My mails often get misplaced or lost; posties often don't show up on days close to weekends; domestic mails takes DAYS to reach me, etc. Now the Aust Post wants more $??? Their service needs to improve first, hey!

    • callum9999 on 28/12/2013 - 08:53
      +1

      That's not how the world works though… Just to maintain that service prices will need to increase year on year, to improve that service it will need to increase by even more.

      • quack28 on 29/12/2013 - 18:05
        -2

        wow. in other words your saying to dump more cash into a semi working system and hope for the best

        • MATTDAMON on 29/12/2013 - 18:15
          +1

          No different to any business really. You cant change the world overnight, its a slow progression, but compared to 10 years ago post is completely different, both what you see as a customer and behind the scenes (logistics, sorting, administration etc.

        • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 29/12/2013 - 18:24
          +3

          quack28: you've completed failed to comprehend his post.

  • easternculture on 27/12/2013 - 18:04
    -1

    time to stock up with stamps

    • _Bruce_ on 27/12/2013 - 18:46
      +1

      Generally this doesn't help, you will just need to buy small value stamps and add those on too to make up the difference.

      • easternculture on 27/12/2013 - 21:46
        +2

        oh ur right, then time to stock up on registered post labels and express post bags :p

        • modsec802 on 27/12/2013 - 22:23

          you can buy prepaid envelopes for 70c each for anywhere in OZ at the moment, probably best to stock up on these.

        • retiredfeline on 27/12/2013 - 22:45

          I think you still have to add small value stamps make up any difference when the postage rises. It's only a convenience combining the envelope and stamp.

        • easternculture on 27/12/2013 - 23:01
          +1

          incorrect, i have some envelopes left from a couple of years ago when they were 50 cents, Used a couple recently with no problems

        • modsec802 on 27/12/2013 - 23:13

          correct, it doesn't state the amount of postage, just that it's paid Australia wide

      • machej on 28/12/2013 - 20:48

        They usually don't care if there is a tiny difference in cents. I once sent an envelope as a test from Vic to NSW without a stamp and it got there fine. :P

        • johnno07 on 29/12/2013 - 11:41

          That's luck though. You're just as likely to get it returned to sender for insufficient postage.

        • Claggs on 29/12/2013 - 22:43

          Do it a couple of times and you'll get a fine in the mail. Just like if you were to have insufficient postage on several items.

        • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 29/12/2013 - 22:49

          So just don't put a return address on it.

        • machej on 29/12/2013 - 23:43
          +1

          How can they fine you if you don't have a return address? O.o Unless they do fingerprint reading.

        • tramperleo on 30/12/2013 - 19:59

          You were risk to receive a bill with postage needed plus an administration fee at least $1.50 extra.

        • Brick50 on 30/12/2013 - 20:26
          -1

          You don't get a "fine"
          They send you a letter requesting you to either pay at the post office or send it in the mail with the stamps on it.

          I've had probably 5 in the last year, about 3 in a couple of months.
          haven't paid them and never heard anything back.

          Thats why some companies don't put return address labels on them, If someone at Australia Post are having a really bad day they will make the receiver come collect it at the post office and pay the insuffieicent postage + admin fee. Although this won't happen if it has a return address

        • Geewhizz on 01/01/2014 - 06:30

          So then the recipient receives the penalty.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2013 - 21:41
    +3

    not many people post anymore, maybe ebayers?
    I'm more angry with public transport getting more expensive every year.

    • punk on 28/12/2013 - 09:17

      looking forward to the 1st jan :P

    • sm10 on 30/12/2013 - 10:13

      If I could give you a thousand + votes I would.

      I'm also more upset about increasing prices of public transport than a tiny increase in the price of stamps.

      Post have a network of increasing costs, their people, supplies, fleet of vehicles (trucks, bikes, vans) including maintenance, fuel etc etc which are all susceptible to inflation. They need to cope somehow

  • msmhw on 28/12/2013 - 04:30

    It's kind out of the topic but can I use stamps to post small boxes? Or it's only for envelopes?

    • modsec802 on 28/12/2013 - 07:48

      Yes, as long as it's equal or greater to the calculated postage required.

      • msmhw on 29/12/2013 - 05:30

        thanks for your help

    • Orgazmo on 28/12/2013 - 09:08
      +4

      I used $87 worth of stamps to send a whipper snipper to a friend in Texas. Covered most of one side of the parcel and they didn't mind.

      • msmhw on 29/12/2013 - 05:30
        -1

        thanks for your help

      • RockyRaccoon on 29/12/2013 - 10:15
        +7

        The mind boggles with all these thoughts

        1. $87 to send a whipper Snipper. Hell that's the price of the whipper snipper!!

        2. Why not buy on line in the US and have it delivered for free

        3. If it was electric how can it work on 110v

        4. $900 more and you could have hand delivered it and bought up goods in the US to pay for half of your trip

        • Orgazmo on 09/01/2014 - 16:05

          1. Close, it cost $99 AUD

          2. Apparently the particual model he wanted was not available at all in the States or my friend couldn't find it online or instore at least. It's one of those Ryobi or Makita brand ones that runs on the same li-on rechargable batteries for multiple devices which my friend already had the batteries for.

          3. see above

          4. If only mate was that generous and/or I was planing a visit

          Personally, I'm happy with the $30 el cheapo I bought at bigw but I was happy to help as I can get stuffed mailed her cheaper or stuff that wouldn't normally get mailed her all. Eg, a small part I needed that was < 5c piece in size an ebay seller wanted $15 to ship it here. My friend mailed it to me for free as it only cost $1 to send in an envelope!

  • bargin424 on 28/12/2013 - 09:15
    -1

    Everything is going up:
    - eBay Fee
    - PayPal Fee
    - Now postage fee.. Even thought it did raise twice from memory this year.

    I also heard that we are now unable to import goods overseas without paying a percentage if its under $1,000

    • cookie2 on 30/12/2013 - 21:38

      completely agree.I only ever sell bits and pieces on ebay but with ebay, paypal and most of all australia posts cut, it isnt worth it for me a lot of the time. In saying that, my local op shops get a larger percentage of my goods now because i work out what I'm gonna get and figure it isn't worth all the trouble. Considering going oldschool and selling things at my local trash and treasure one sunday morning. atleast then it's 1 flat rate for the day.

  • Brick50 on 28/12/2013 - 09:53
    +1

    Yep, Makes it even harder for people doing small time business to make money…

    Most of the things I sell are $2-$3 so now i'll make like 20 cents of each thing….

  • onlyletters on 28/12/2013 - 11:29

    Prices going up, jobs are decreasing, wage is decreasing, interest is decreasing, is there something I'm missing?

    • RockyRaccoon on 28/12/2013 - 14:56
      +6

      ..I'm missing?

      Money!!

  • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 11:30
    -1

    Its one of those things, postage stamp prices have to be approved by the ACCC since its a USO (universal Service Obligation) however international stamp prices come from the UPU (worldwide postal union) and parcels they can set whatever prices they want without approval (since thats not covered under any federal legislation)

    The only reason why they are upping the prices continually is to fatten the bottom line ready to sell part of or all of the company off.

    Its the reason why they are merging Auspost and Star Track together to form 1 logistics network to seperate it from the 'letters' portion of the company (which they cannot sell without federal approval)

  • onlyletters on 28/12/2013 - 11:31

    It costs us 70c to send a letter within Australia but it costs China ~35c to send to us here.

    • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 11:36
      +2

      Dont forget as part of the postal unions agreement is that we have to accept those parcels/letters from china/wherever and deliver them for free, which is costing Auspost hundreds of millions per year, so those 1 dollar items from ebay with free shipping does cost money.

      • RockyRaccoon on 28/12/2013 - 14:58
        +3

        Correct, but if thats an issue for Australia Post, slogging locals more will just drive more ecommerce to overseas suppliers, the problem is going to get worse.

      • cannedhams on 28/12/2013 - 18:45
        +1

        I am honestly starting to come round to Gerry Harvey's point of view. Not only to overseas suppliers sell goods GST free, but they get subsidised postage as well. Bloody hard for even ecommerce businesses in Australia to compete.

        • Third_Gear on 29/12/2013 - 11:57
          +2

          Uhm no it isn't. I compete with overseas guys every day.

          If you can't run a profitable business in Today's economy close up shop I say.

  • Turd on 28/12/2013 - 12:00
    +1

    "It says its letter business has lost more than $400 million over the past three years"

    What about the retail domestic and international postage of locals? That has increased 100000%.
    Australia Post are the most profitable part of the Government

    • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 12:24

      They are only profitable because they have managed to diversify enough to make it so, they make more from retail transactions then from the entire parcel network once you factor in inbound international articles.

      Its where they are primarily looking at expanding their business, is in retail since its one of the easier methods of increasing profits (by expanding identity services etc) parcels whilst the volume increases every year, the actual number of articles is decreasing, since as parcels are getting larger and larger. This year it wasnt anywhere near as busy as the previous years numbers wise.

  • No ONE on 28/12/2013 - 12:13

    What happens to the old 60c stamps if you have. Do u need another 60c stamps to post one letter?

    • modsec802 on 28/12/2013 - 12:22

      They sell 10c stamps to supplement them

  • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 12:29

    Not sure if someone has mentioned it already, if so sorry. For those selling on Ebay/sending letters fairly seriously, I suggest you look into buying old postage stamps.

    I purchased $100 of stamps of mixed currencies (5 cents to 60 cents) for $60 and use them whenever I send letters or ebay packages. I just plaster the letter/package with enough stamps.

    I don't sell alot on ebay or letters, but saves you $40 for every $100 of packages/letters you send.

    The only downside is you have to lick them/use a paper towel and alot of the stamps are small amounts (5 cents, 10 cents, 12 cents, 22 cents etc) but it works well for me.

    • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 13:26

      Thats only if they are selling them below face value, to which they are mad, because postage stamp face value is worth its cost back in cash.

      • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 13:32

        Yes they are, people have been doing it for a years. A guy I know buys $10,000 for $4,000 (40% value) and resells them at 60% value. I don't know exactly but I think they come from stamp collections, stamp shops etc.

        There are 100s of listings on Ebay selling old stamps below face, for example:

        http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mixed-Australian-Unfranked-Decima…

        $60 of stamps for $40 (66% of face).

        You can probably find cheaper if you look.

        • Moots on 28/12/2013 - 17:19
          -2

          This method is illegal, and is a federal offense. They are just reusing stamps that's already gone through the postal system. People take the stamps that hasn't been stamped with ink, washed them and sells them.

          It's illegal though, hard to police I would assume.

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 17:23

          No they aren't used, alot of them are in blocks of 4, 8 etc or in sets most of the time.

          Well the ones I buy anyway, I can't comment on ones sold on Ebay. Agree with you if that's true.

          Mine look like this sort of thing: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Discount-US-Postage-Stamp-Collect…

          I was told they get them from stamp collections, stamp shops etc as they are worth nothing in collection terms.

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 17:24

          That was a US listing, but you get the idea.

        • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 17:28

          Its why its funny because stamps at face value are worth that money (you used to be able to trade them back to the post office for its face value) since they have been counted as currency for decades.

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 17:41
          +2

          According to the Ebay Forums, alot of people use this guy:
          http://www.glenstephens.com/postage.html

          Probably the worst website ever but quite reliable apparently.

          As mentioned I have a friend of a friend here who gets them, which I use to get them at 60%, although I know he gets them at 40% face value buying in massive quantities, I'm not sure where exactly, I only get bits and pieces of info.

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 17:43

          Yeah I was very sceptical at first, didn't sound right to me :p

          I'm surprised more people don't use this method, but I know some would see it as too much of a hassle.

        • Moots on 28/12/2013 - 18:01

          What are you talking about, your the one that gave the link of this

          If it's UNFRANKED it means uncancelled, how does a stamp become deemed as cancelled or not cancelled, obviously going through the postal system. Which means illegal.

        • danyool on 28/12/2013 - 18:03

          I reckon Moots is right on those 60c ones on e-bay that they are used stamps that just didn't get marked/crossed when originally posted - inparticular in the ad it says "no gum" and "off paper" and carefully says "No rips, no ink /franked marks". I've re-used the occasinal one myself if it wasn't crossed, but that's big quantaties, and a lot of work to get them off paper!

        • Moots on 28/12/2013 - 18:11

          Of course I'm right. Australia Post would not allow online sellers to cut their stamp prices by 40% if they were in-fact legal. The 40% discount is to compensate for the washing, and drying, flatning, and the risk of reselling these washed stamps.

          'No-gum' because they've been used by some chemical to get it off. Common sense.

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 18:14
          +1

          Yeah sorry that Ebay AU one was a bad example. I just did a quick search to find an example without looking too quickly.

          The legit ones are from the 1970s-1980s type of things of mixed currencies, usually lower amounts like 20c, 22c etc but greatly vary. Places like that glenstephens website, and other stamp collectors seem to offer them in bulk at a good discount.

          They are unmarked and still in sheets. I took a photo to explain what I mean:

          https://app.box.com/s/6dm0pd7w7hdt846mzrzl

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 18:15
          +2

          Hope that clears it up :)

        • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 18:18
          +2

          Yes completely agree, that ebay au auction was a bad example, didn't look closely sorry, not a legit one, just taken off paper like you say. The fact they are all new stamps in singles of 60c, makes it give away (and you can see a slight stamp on one).

        • Moots on 28/12/2013 - 18:35
          +3

          The one's your talking about is a good idea. I never realized you could use the stamps so far back. I'll take note of that.

  • drspy00 on 28/12/2013 - 14:13

    They're probably doing it because many sellers, me included send small items as a large letter as its ridiculous sending small light items as anything more. What doesn't seem fair though is the sellers in China pay almost no postage so that would also be contributing to their profit losses, they have to deliver items from China but dont really get paid for it! im not sure how exactly it works, but I guess if we send something to China China Post would get a larger profit than what our postal system gets.

    Its great that we can get cheap items from China with free post but its destroying small sellers in Australia who just cant compete. Most people will go on ebay and just buy the cheapest item, not worrying where it is from, sometimes its hard to even see if something is from China or Australia as ebay is making it appear more seamless so people will always just choose to pay the cheaper price and get it from China if its non urgent. Id love to be able to offer customers the same prices as Chinese sellers offer but Australia post make that impossible.

    • Brick50 on 28/12/2013 - 14:35
      +1

      Yep, I send my large letters with 60c stamps….
      Think about this…

      The $1 iPhone cable you buy off eBay.
      42 cents eBay/PayPal Fee
      65 cents postage (Envelope + Stamp)
      = $1.07 Fees/Postage

      Look the seller has already lost 7 cents and hasn't even paid for the cable yet. (Lets say that costs them 20 cents)

      If we paid $1.20 for correct postage, We would be losing 67 cents per item before we even buy the cable to resell… And 87 cents once the product/postage/fees have been paid for

      • RockyRaccoon on 28/12/2013 - 15:06

        Nothing personal, but since most cheap items come from China in the first place, how does a local reseller add value. Even Aus post now takes sometimes a week or so to deliver.

        If they dropped deliveries to 3 days a week, it would at worst case delay a postal item by 1 day and reduce costs of delivery, and the impact would be on all posters including those from Overseas, but maybe reduce postage costs in Australia for our sellers.

        Urgent deliveries can still come by express post which is a different delivery system, or courier as they do now.

        Oh and BTW eBay charge more here for local sellers than they do for those in China

        • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 15:16

          They already are in some areas, removing 1 day delivery for most mail items in rural areas to reduce the amount of machinery and staff overhead. Its cheaper to move the letter 1400km round trip to be sorted then to sorted inhouse.

  • drspy00 on 28/12/2013 - 15:50
    +1

    Not all my items are available from China, but some are.
    Most people would prefer to buy from Australia not only for the faster post but also the better customer service.
    For someone to state that it is faster to buy from China or the same, obviously hasnt had much from Australia or China, I buy almost on a daily basis from China and Australia and its definately faster and worth paying a little extra most of the time.

    Post I send as regular letter usually arrives in the next business day and things delivered here usually take within 1-3 business days from anywhere in Australia though usually I try to get from Sydney or Melbourne. Post from China can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months! so all my customers are very happy to receive their items within 1 business day, sometimes theres things you need fast that arent available in stores and you need it quickly.

    Still waiting a month or more now for things from China, and the US, and ordered some blurays from the uk and they arrived in less than a week at christmas time with regular post!

    But its definately making it harder with the rising in post, I dont think 10 cents would make much difference but it will no doubt rise again sooner or later. Its the light things that don't fit as a large letter that are the real problem and cheaper usually to get those things anywhere in the world rather than Australia.

    • Roney on 29/12/2013 - 13:33

      One reason for long postal delay from overseas is that most incoming items are queued up at Aust Customs for scanning.

  • wired00 on 28/12/2013 - 16:37
    +2

    Off topic but considering we're talking about auspost. If you guys haven't heard of it already , parcel lockers seem really interesting. Free personal locker code. You can set it as your recipient address for parcels from ebay, online etc and pickup 24hours a day. Some 7/11 service stations have the pickups too
    http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html

    • hamza23 on 28/12/2013 - 17:12

      Thanks for that, it looked quite good, my only problem with it, is that you only have 48 hours to collect the parcel, before it gets transferred to your local post office. That and the fact the nearest one to me is 6km away and I only live 7km away from the city :p (Adelaide).

      I was going to set up one in the city as it's a block away from the office I work at night, however if I'm not working for a few days then I wouldn't be able to pick up the parcel in time and would then have to wait for it to be transfered to a local post office. Sounds a bit messy.

      Will certainly work for most people though, where collection points are available close to them.

      • wired00 on 30/12/2013 - 08:46

        Yep completely agree the 48Hour thing is far from ideal but I'm suspecting that based on the fact its not advertised really , at all?? then it might basically be a trial to see how it runs then they will increase times they hold if its popular? Also yeah they are quite scarce, but again i guess this will increase with time.

        Either way i think its a good thing to implement to help people collect parcels and also to take burden off the local smaller Post offices. The one i deal with (used to sell a lot of xbox/ps3 games on ebay) said they get no extra pay for dealing with the large influx of parcels. So i guess this in response from post office francisees and needs for collection after hours.

      • OzJD on 30/12/2013 - 19:47
        +1

        I've been a long time user of the parcel lockers. The post office (business centre) said they rarely if ever clean them out… The 48 hours is just a limit set in-case they need to move items.

        • wired00 on 30/12/2013 - 22:12

          Ahh interesting stuff

    • modsec802 on 28/12/2013 - 17:33

      Looks interesting.
      We pay for a post box to have this kind of service.
      It seems there's a few limitations about registered articles etc.
      It seems like it's free for the moment but I imagine this costing after everyone has tried it. From their T&C

      "While there are currently no fees and charges for use of the Parcel Lockers service, in the future this position may be revisited. However you will be given adequate notice if Australia Post decides to introduce any fees or charges for this service."

      • wired00 on 30/12/2013 - 08:52

        Yeah I'm worried about the costs coming in also :) I mentioned above I think this must be a beta trial of the service or something? based on fact its simply not promoted anywhere (certainly not on TV or print media?) I assume when it gets going the price will come with it to match PO Boxes?

        Just regarding that though, you said you have a post box (I use my work one too) the problem with PO boxes unless you pay for the extra large sized ones often a parcel will arrive and if its too large they will simply leave a "collection receipt" you then take it to the desk. If its out of hours of course you out of luck. With these new boxes though, from what i Understand they will simply place your parcel in the appropriate sized box so you can always collect. Definitely a progressive idea and something I was surprised Aus post would come up with as a solution to the onslaught of parcels. Hopefully they won't ruin it by eventually pricing the service out of use.

        Anyway happy NYE :)

  • drspy00 on 28/12/2013 - 17:02

    Yeah thats a great new service. What would be great is if they had a service where you could print out a barcode and address label at home, pay for the post online and just post it! would be great for those times when you cant make it to a post office or when they are closed.

    • MATTDAMON on 28/12/2013 - 17:26

      I presume you arent being obtuse.

      Anyways they already offer this, called click n send, you can print out your address label + pay for postage and then mail it in any red/gold box and has tracking.

      • drspy00 on 29/12/2013 - 12:55

        I know about click and send, but have you used it? Its very clunky, with many errors and sometimes difficult to use, its definitely a start but I think it would be great if they had a similar service available on their regular site where you could print bar coded stamps and labels and put them on any items, not just ones that fit into their bags. It would also be great for sending documents overseas or having a paid express service where you can print a yellow label yourself and lodge it in a yellow box. Would be great for the times you run out of stamps and the post office closes here at 5pm, post boxes are emptied closer to 7pm so when in a hurry it would solve problems :)

  • nzthunderboy on 28/12/2013 - 18:27
    +1

    Operating cost is too high. Trucks + airplane (fuel), Delivery Centers, PDOs etc. Running postal service with such land area to cover, is not cheap.

    • Cheeper on 28/12/2013 - 23:37

      Plus it is run as a corporation and the parent co (the fed govt) expects a return on the investment just like any other business.

  • Risser on 28/12/2013 - 19:01

    I bought a Henry vacuum cleaner from the UK awhile back and had it express shipped for one pound. You can always get free delivery at the Book Depository in the UK. It's a crazy world that can ship overseas for less then it costs to ship a parcel/letter just up the road.

    • machej on 28/12/2013 - 20:50

      Read above, it's due to the international postal agreements.

  • netsurfer on 28/12/2013 - 20:30

    The main reason for the postage increase on letters is that AusPost is losing money on letter delivery. With Internet, the need / demand to post letters is decreasing. However, the cost of delivering letters will remain at least the same, if not increasing.

    It is either AusPost increase the letter postage cost to perhaps bring that part of the business to break even point OR increase postage on other serices to compensate the loss.

  • Prettyinpink on 28/12/2013 - 21:03
    +4

    I used to view cards and letters as a reflection that the person put the effort into choosing and writing the card. Now I view it as them considering me worth the postage.

  • Cheeper on 28/12/2013 - 23:35

    Meh…
    Me thinks the op does not do the grocery shopping?

    • Moots on 28/12/2013 - 23:43

      I definitely do. If I was on a forum that talks publicly about food bargains, I would point out the price differences and increases. Since I'm on a bargain forum which compiles a huge list of online Australian sellers that rely on postage, I thought this thread was adequate. Methinks.

      • Cheeper on 30/12/2013 - 23:02

        Methinks that those people all eat food too…
        If a food item rose in price from 60c to $1.20 no one would blink an eye as it is a daily occurrence so why bleat over a 10c rise in the cost of posting a letter.

        Austpost is not a government department these days but a corporation and must bring in a profit.
        Digitial communication has had a massive effect on their letter revenue which was a big money spinner for them in days gone by… that sweet cash cow is drying up.

        Add to that the ever increasing costs of overheads and you will see that like most things.. the cost must increase, what other answer is there? I can remember when it cost 5c to post a letter… Such is life.

        Austpost's parcel business would have increased as a result of the online shopping boom but there was much more profit in their now shrinking letter business. Postal agencies around the world would be all be suffering from this shrinking revenue source.

        All this shifting of the tides affects all businesses and when it does other things must change to meet the market, there is no point in sticking your head in the sand and hoping it will fix itself.. (why do I think GM when I say that? lol).

        Diversify or die is the saying in business, in this case it is a shrinking area of the business that is becoming expensive to operate… thus the increase. It will not be the last.

  • Devils Advocate on 29/12/2013 - 00:00
    +4

    I'm astonished by how few people there are that know how inflation works!

    • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 29/12/2013 - 00:12
      +2

      This isn't just about inflation, though. If volumes had held over the past decade, there'd be no need for a rise of this magnitude. This is an appropriate - if unpopular - response to the structural decline of an essential service.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join