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Officeworks Mailman Parcel Delivery Service - Cheaper than Auspost ($15 for 5kg Parcel)

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Officeworks have a new parcel delivery service. I have done a price comparison vs. Auspost for a few different sized parcels, and Officeworks Mailman has been cheaper.

They have flat rate delivery throughout Australia.
Delivery time is 1-2 business days between most capital cities.
Price includes tracking, and parcels are delivered by Fastway Couriers (therefore they don't deliver to PO boxes).

Price comparison-

10X10X10CM 1kg box OW- $11 AP- $13.95
20x20x20cm 5kg box OW- $15 AP- $18.35
20x15x10cm 10kg box OW- $20 AP- $23.85

For a tube parcel 50cm long x 5cm diameter (max weight 2kg) - OW $12

Parcel protection costs:
$1.50 - $100 coverage
$3.00 - $300 coverage
$5.00 - $500 coverage

Maximum weight is 10kg

Only issue is, you need to drop the parcel off at an Officeworks store.
Parcel labels can be purchased and printed online.

As per the Officeworks website-
Simply weigh and measure your parcel
Six labels to choose from (parcels & tubes)
Buy in-store or online 24/7 using our Mailman Label Selector
Flat rate delivery anywhere in Australia
Mailman is available at all stores
Buy your packaging here or use your own

Here are the FAQs-
http://www.officeworks.com.au/mailman/mailman-help/faqs

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

closed Comments

    • +1

      Pretty sure you can pick up from Officeworks.

      Otherwise they may be Fasyway depots or "ParcelConnects" (Fastway pick up/drop off sites).

      Or you can usually call em up for a second attempt at delivery.

      They shouldn't charge you if its the same address.

    • +2

      My parcel from Shopping Express was delivered by Fastway. It was sent but the driver did not press the intercom and it was sent back to the depot. I requested it to be delivered again online and nothing was done. I called again and the driver picked it up just put it on the van and do nothing. I spent 3 days waiting at home. Then back and forth, it was in transit for a month and finally sent back to the depot. Then a lady from there can't stand the parcel sitting there and called me for another resent. Finally got it after a month.

      They are not reliable and the dodgy, whereas Auspost it more reliable and it has online tracking. Fastway just asked you to contact the driver directly for deliver time, but the mobile phone given was turned off. There is no way to know the exact delivery time/day.

      • Sorry to hear that. I think fastway employs contracted drivers to deliver to assigned areas and theres no assurance of their quality of service. If you have an irresponsible driver for your area who won't go the extra mile in making sure things are done properly, you are pretty much stuffed.

        • But Auspost don't ask you to contact the driver, they track it for you. Fastway' customer service just asked me to contact the driver and they refused to do it.

      • +1

        I ordered a portable air conditioner, ( not ) delivered by fast Couriers. They told me I had to stay home to help carry the parcel. Seriously? I paid for the service, and hell no, I am not helping the courier, they can send a second man with they guy. Was hours of phone calls. At one stage they said it will not be delivered, I had to pick it up from their depot. I called Kogan, where I bought it from, and told them about, and that I was happy to cancel the order, and Fastways to get the parcel back to them. Only then the did a second delivery.

    • +1

      If the recipient isn't home, the package is delivered to the nearest Officeworks store if it's within 20 minutes of the recipient's address. If it's further than 20 minutes then somewhere else more convenient (usually a depot I would imagine) is chosen. The recipient MUST have the "package left" slip that the courier driver will leave.

      • fastway has an agreement with newsagents that allows them to transfer parcels for collection from there. will the ow/fastway do the same?

  • +1

    There are two major unanswered questions that it would be worth getting some real world feedback on:

    1) What's the delivery time like? Auspost are horribly bad, both at actually delivering to the individual (rather than expecting them to do the work) AND in terms of the time taken to deliver.

    2) What's the tracking like? It says it has some, but how accurate and updated is it. We all know of the auspost black hole where the parcel disappears, often for weeks on end, sometimes never to reappear. So how well does Officeworks track?

    • The service I assume will be on par with Fastway with at least OW standard delivery tracking as I believe this be using surplus room on the free stationary delivery service.

      • +2

        So if the delivery is stationary, does that mean we have to pick up from the originating store?

        • No I mean the from store to DC and from DC to person recieving may be a Fastway person or an Officeworks delivery driver for their other promo http://www.officeworks.com.au/information/policies/delivery-…

        • +1
        • What I am trying to say your local Fastway courier could also be your Officeworks courier and vice versa, or it could be another subcontractor on Fastway. Anyways I see the reply below.

      • The service is provided by Fastway, nothing is delivered by Officeworks themselves.

        • ow parcel delivery used to ship via toll. toll were great. what happened that contract?

        • @whooah1979:

          I know that Mailman has been in development for a while, I'm guessing Fastway just tendered a more competitive proposal.

    • +2

      Officeworks are using Fastway.

      How Fastway works.

      Delivery is super fast to all metro areas. Usually 1-2 days.

      If its on the other side of the country it is usually 4-5 days. (Eg. Sydney to Perth).

      Tracking is much better than AusPost and is updated regularly but is dependent on the driver.

      Eg.

      Pick up from LOCATION TIME
      At depot LOCATION TIME
      Travelling from LOCATION TO LOCATION TIME
      At depot LOCATION TIME
      Ready for delivery today LOCATION TIME
      Delivered LOCATION TIME RECIPIENTS SIGNATURE

      Should be something like that if they just give you the tracking from Fastway.

      • Thanks for that.

        If its on the other side of the country it is usually 4-5 days.

        Really strange that Oz delivery companies haven't sorted that one out - shipping the parcels by cargo plane is hardly shockingly novel.

        • Road is cheaper.

          You can have "next flight out" if you want to spend the $. A lot of $.

      • +3

        How Fastway works:

        Driver drives in to apartment complex. Pulls up at the mailbox rack. Throws a few slips in some boxes, can't be bothered writing the rest out, so doesn't even drop them in. Updates tracking for all of them to 'delivery attempt made, person not home'. Drives off. Unloads 2 parcels at depot, as he only actually loaded 2 of his 80 in the first place, because he couldn't find the rest.

  • +2

    I don't see why (when being compared to AusPost) needing to go to OW to drop it off is a bad thing. You need to go to AusPost to drop off a parcel too and I would think they are about equally as widespread?
    Actually.. maybe not. Maybe that's why. I'm probably just surrounded by them, being suburban and close to the CBD and all.

  • +9

    Just a heads up, Officeworks is actually using Fastway.

    As a Fastway member, they charge me $15.95 (GST inclusive) and pick it up from my house for this same service. Only difference I had to buy their printer and labels. Not sure how Officeworks are making money, maybe more or less trying to get more traffic in their store and sell some postage boxes, packing materials and equipment.

    About Fastway from my experience.

    PROS

    Super fast! Decent prices. However, like mentioned above. This flat rate service is only good for all areas, except your own state and your neighbouring states. Eg. if you are in Sydney, there are cheaper options for all of NSW, VIC and most of QLD.

    CONS

    Fastway from my experience have lost about roughly 1/500 parcels on average a year from all that I have sent.

    Sometimes they aren't bothered looking for some addresses and will just send it back. A LOT of the times they don't even bother delivering and claim that no one was home and a calling card was left and your parcel sits at the depot and no one knows about it. My customers always tell me they were home and in 4 years no one has ever found a calling card.

    For issues like these or any other issues you may have, you will usually have to call them a few times, each time waiting on the line for at least 25-35mins.

    Hopefully if anything does happen, Officeworks won't direct you to Fastway and will deal with it themselves.

    Issues occur for me maybe once or twice a month. So probably not something to be worried about that much.

    OVERALL they are a decent service.

    • Good review of fastway, but what are the cheaper options you mention?

      • +2

        Fastway them selves charge me:

        All inclusive of GST. and from Sydney.

        Sydney metro: $7.20 (Upto 25kg/minimum purchase of 100 labels)

        Newcastle, Wollongong, Central Coast areas: $10.29 (upto 5kg/min purchase of 100 labels)

        Meb, Bris, Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour and Northern Rivers areas: $11.75 (upto 5kg/ min purchase of 50 labels)

        So not really an option for those that aren't posting daily I guess.

        • you can get good rates when you spend >$4k p/m using eparcel. use a bpa for local (50km) del. to give you an idea of what the rates could be. keep in mind that i don't pay these rates.

          20kg <$35
          10kg <$25
          5kg <$15
          3kg <$13
          2kg <$12
          1kg <$11
          0.5kg <$10

        • @whooah1979: thanks for that. most of my parcels are around 1.8kg so probably would work out the same, but will check it out. and what's a bpa?

  • +4

    Wish they had this when i was a serious ebay seller. Still remember waiting in line at local post office with queues that went beyond the front door.

    • what make you not a serious ebay seller? another greedy company called eBay? or PayPal? or AustPost? or…..all 3 of them? ;)

  • belongs in forums?

  • why is dropping off the parcel at an Officeworks store an issue? :S there's a store in most areas, unless you're in whoop whoop

    • +1

      Less Officeworks stores than Australia Post outlets

      Also, you'd need to check out the re delivery fees if the sender isn't home to receive the delivery

      • but they are open later past 5 and on weekends. So you can actually post somethign if you work 9-5

        • True, there are pro and cons and I'm sure there will be a number of people keen to take advantage of this

          The biggest issue for me as an eBay seller selling to private individuals is that in most cases the parcel goes to their home and if they are not there then from my experience its very hard to get a courier to do a redelivery and even if you do there is a cost involved

        • @darthhasbro: I currently use the Aus Post Parcel Collection service where the items get sent to my local post office for collection. It's a terrible service with significant delays and they don't even tell you that the item is ready for collection - but I've got to use it as I'm not home most of the time. Hopefully officeworks offers a similar service for in-store pick up - would be worth a try :)

        • +1

          @mr_vino89: Agreed, an in store pick up at Officeworks would be a great idea! Meanwhile suggest you try AP Parcel Locker rather then the PO, works well for me currently.

        • @mr_vino89:
          I have used the Parcel Collect service and it has been great. I get an SMS and an email when the parcel arrives. I don't think there are any delays either in the notifications. I think your local post office isn't quite up to speed with the Parcel Collect service yet.

        • @darthhasbro: thanks, unfortunately there are no Parcel Locker's within my area :( i'll survive i guess lol

        • @amts: yea it must be my local post office… I use to get the notifications but the last 2 times I collected, they didn't even notify me. One item had been sitting there for collection for about a week yet they didn't even tell me!

      • What if the receiver is not in attendance when the parcel is delivered?

        If no signature on delivery is required the parcel will be left at the receivers address unattended. If you have selected the 'signature on delivery' option, your parcel will be redirected to the closest Officeworks store or the courier depot for collection. A delivery card will be left at the receiver's address notifying them of the parcel location for collection.

    • poor whoop whoop. Derided by the masses, and loved by Juggalos

    • OP was just being considerate and therefore included people from whoop whoop. There's a post office in every suburb; can't say the same about Officeworks. Personally, they are just as convenient for me.

      Huge advantage about this service is that Officeworks has long trading hours and they are also open on the weekends which makes sending and receiving very convenient.

      Also if you're wondering about my "Associated" status, I am no longer working at Officeworks.

  • How does this compare to Aus Post Flate rate satchels and boxes?

    • +2

      If you use eBay AusPost Click and Send:
      500g satchel ($0.25 + $7.15)
      1KG Bx1 box ($1.75 + $7.15)
      3KG satchel ($0.35 + $11.70)
      3KG Bx2 box ($2.40 + $11.70)

      AusPost's old click and send was much better (used to be up to 10KG for Bx1 and it was available to anything - doesn't need to be an eBay item)

      OfficeWorks ones are pretty good, especially if the box dimension suits the item. I found I have items which are just a bit too big to fit into a Bx1, but Bx2 is too big (which needs a lot of padding). It is great to have more choices.

  • +1

    I know it will come eventually. Time to challenge Aus Post!!

  • Definitely a plus from me, working mon-fri, officeworks has more convenient trading hours during the week and weekends.

  • Thank you undercut.

  • for 500g and 3kg prepaid parcels. Auspost is still better. If someone came to me with 1kg for under $10. I will be all over it.

  • +1

    i envisaged one day we will be able to drop off bulk items lets say a gearbox which is what I need to send. How awesome would that be to pick up bulk goods at an ow in the city rather than driving to an industrial depot in woop woop.

  • For some comments on Fastway, check out this Whirlpool thread spanning the past six years.

    Do keep in mind that since the courier drivers are individual contractors, YMMV. I'm sure plenty of people have had absolutely no problems with them. But if your local delivery guy is bad, good luck!

  • +1

    Australia Post has changed their service type since last year or so. Standard Delivery will not be prioritised and will take 2 or more days while express will take 1-2 days. They used to delivery standard postage in a day if the receiver address is near but now they won't even do that anymore. That is why standard postage items are picked up and not being processed straight away.

    • I reckon they're doing it on purpose so that people take up their expensive express service.

    • +1

      I believe that change is only for Letter mail. To my knowledge parcel delivery timetables are unchanged.

  • +2

    From the Officeworks website.

    If no signature on delivery is required the parcel will be left at the receivers address unattended. If you have selected the 'signature on delivery' option, your parcel will be redirected to the closest Officeworks store or the courier depot for collection. A delivery card will be left at the receiver's address notifying them of the parcel location for collection.

    You can then pick it up during the store trading hours from the Mailman Locker.

  • -1

    Finally some competition for Aus post. Wonder if they'll do international?

  • The parcel bags of OW are actually big enough for the weight its intended to. Unlike AP which has a 3kg bag that can't fit stuff, which makes you go for the bigger 5kg bag.

  • Good deal! Had enough of AusPost and glad to see some competition.

    • Officeworks doesn't deliver to PO Boxes. I use a PO box for my mail so they're no alternative for me.

  • +1

    I have heard of problems with Fastway, not delivering to certain locations and charging for a second delivery attempt or asking the recipient to pick up from their depot.

  • NT is missing from the Officeworks website. Do they not ship to NT?

  • i don't think it's a good deal coz the boxes size are too small 10cm x 10cm x 10cm for 1kg? even this size cannot be fix a iphone. i don't thonk it's a deal

    • a 15x15x15 1kg box cost $11 with mailman

    • Good size if you're planning to ship Columbian Marching Powder though ;)

      (Not that anyone is suggesting you do ship that.)

  • Is the rates based on size or weight?

    • Both. Whichever is higher. All shipping companys have a formulae to calculate volumetric weight.

  • Fastway…
    Wish they would have partnered with someone else.

  • Oh no… if you use this, A.Fahour would cry that Auspost is losing profitability again and will "not" "demand" anti-competitive schemes to be put in place by the government.

    Auspost will increase their rates, all other competitors will take the opportunity to also increase, at the same time. Great.

    I don't even know what I'm trying to say. Use OW Mailman or not? hmm… confused.

    • -1

      Remember when we we're promised lower shipping rates if AP is sold? As per usual public gets screwed other than the few that bought AP ownership.

      • Australia Post is a wholly owned government business.
        Seriously, get your facts straight.

        • Correct. It is a now a business :( and no longer a tax-payer funded service.

  • +2

    Ugh they had to be Fastway Couriers. On the plus side the guy that delivers to my house is … I'll just say it, Kev The Kiwi. That's who I have so he's cool and all. Except that without fail he turns up before 7:30 everytime and I'm notg outta bed …

    Least he profusely apologises every time I guess.

  • +1

    My two cents - had a pretty bad experience with OW postal service. Paid for postage and they never posted the parcel (pretty key component in being a postage service!)

    A week later it was still sitting in a drawer behind the counter! Not sure if I was just unlucky as the person I dealt with had no experience with the service.

    They were very apologetic but it doesn't instill much confidence in their service

    • The previous service was a hassle for both customers and team members as it was all done manually with the team member having to input all the details into a computer, and having to print labels awkwardly through a laser printer. This meant that (in my store anyway) very few team members were actually confident in processing the delivery. This new service places all the responsibility on the customer with the team member's role simply to process the sale.

      • +2

        I've used the previous service, awful experience! need to wait for some staff who actually know HOW to process it, all details MUST enter manually, long wait, print thru CERTAIN laser printer…..

        hope they get these new services right!

      • If a parcel is still under 10kg by weight and measurement and fits in the locker ok are we able to send a box 55cm in length.
        They say maximum of 50cm?

        Ron

  • I used to use couriers please. Never had any issues. Was back in 2008. The coupons used to cost $11 and that covered up to 25kg most NSW metro, then there were the blue add on coupons, I think they were like $3 or $4 just needed to put one on top of the $11 coupon for Melbourne and Brisbane. Plus they offered $1000 insurance for an extra $1. So if you have heavy stuff to ship, might want to try a courier company.

  • -3

    If we find a lower postage price, will OfficeJerks do a 5% price beat? Lol

  • The only time I have lost a parcel was when it was Fastway couriers so will take a pass on this. I am 100% sure the driver just took my parcel and chucked it in the rubbish because I was home for the whole day and did not see any couriers even attempt to deliver on the day it was marked 'Delivered'.

  • +1

    IMO, a parcel given into the care of a delivery organisation should be covered for loss or damage up to $100 by that organisation automatically (since it is out of the customer's hands) if the customer used their packaging. The only exception should be if the customer didn't pack the item adequately inside the packaging (eg a fragile item just placed loosely in a box): anything that could reasonably be determined to result in damage.

  • Looking at the Officeworks Facebook page, there are a lot of customers unhappy with this new service. It may be cheap, but it seems many items are delayed and people using t for their own businesses aren't impressed.

  • +1

    Quite timely for this thread to come up - as I've used this service today.

    I'll try and keep the thread updated to see how things progress with my use of Mailman.

    First found out about it when I was in Sydney at the start of April, when a late-night run to a CBD Officeworks store had me asking "what's this new parcel locker at the front of the store all about?".

    I ended up purchasing the label and protection cover online, and was simple. Labels are delivered as a PDF, within 5min of the order.

    This is the first opportunity for improvement - being that you can't fill in the details electronically, you have to hand-write like the in store labels (presuming you don't know how, or have the time, to toy with PDF documents and annotations).

    Second area is buying the labels in volume. You have to track/account for the labels, so if you're buying more than you're going to use, you need to keep track.

    Receiving the parcel into the locker was a breeze, and updates into the tracking system are almost instant.

    My parcel was a call centre-type headset that needs repair, so I've gone for the protection cover as well. Parcel was lodged at 1000 local, picked up from the locker at 1530.

    Ship time is estimated at four days from WA metro to NSW metro.

    Price wise, it was ~33% cheaper than Australia Post. Mailmain inc. protection was $20 ($15 parcel, $5 for $500 protection), where Auspost wanted at least $31, and that included having to pay for signature on delivery due to using Extra cover (was about $6.5).

    Australia Post from memory won't deal with a claim on their cover product until after 30 days from ship, where Mailman will accept at 7 days. So it's a more efficient response promise for the protection product, and at a more favourable price point.

    Let's now see is this service is up to scratch.

  • If I'm sending a parcel to someone, I dont care when they receive it and the $$$ are coming out of my pocket for postage then yes this is an awesome deal. If however, I am buying something and Fastway couriers are used (based on much bad experience in the past with them) I shall be rather pissed off with the time and number of hoops I have to jump through just to get my parcel.

  • It's not exactly new - has been instore locally for several months, but they did say recently that they were doing a flash new display for it.

    Just be aware that if you need your delivery to be overnight it needs to be in before 2pm. I guess it's possible this may vary depending on location.

    I recently sent a parcel to central NSW (from SE Qld) to check how well they performed. It was there overnight, whereas Aust Post Express would have taken 2 days.

  • I used mailman for first time today. I usually post a box of 100 dvds to a address in Tasmania for $49. Today I sent same box which I had to cut 5cm off to keep under the 50cm limit. The box still held 84 dvds posted it to the same address for $20 using mailman.
    The staff member didn't seem to think the 5cm would have been a problem but I had already resized it.
    That's a huge saving.

    • You could have saved more money buying the Fastway courier through Temando for $17.62 plus they pick up from your door. Unless you prefer taking to Officeworks because of pick-up timing etc.

      Oh and you wouldn't have had to cut off the extra 5cm either - same price for 55cm :)

      • Learning everyday I will have to look into this I have never heard of Temando.

        • No worries. We're all here to help each other save money :)

          Check out my comment for more info here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/191969#comment-2712011

        • ok I checked it out. This will be another option however officeworks mailman still wins as cheapest.
          The locations from (Martin 6110 WA) to (Burnie 7320 TAS) I think the flat rate $20 is what made it cheaper.

        • @Ron025: Ah, I just checked Perth to Hobart. As I said in my original comment the Mailman service is really only cheaper for cross country non-metro locations. Otherwise there are cheaper alternatives

        • +1

          No problems all these other options are great info. I wish I had of known about them years ago.
          I send 2 sometimes 3 boxes a week so these options will save me over $50 weekly

  • I've had consistently awful experiences with Fastway's Canberra service over 10ish deliveries, and while there have been the occasional problems with AP, not nearly as often. I'm also surprised this has been going for a couple of months, as about three months ago OW refused to price match something available from a Fastway using competitor on the grounds FW didn't have an office in the ACT (False, they do).

  • Im going to goto ow to pickup some faber castells for $9 and then will post an ebay sale between 4-5kg. Will report back.

  • ordered something from Ebay on 1May Friday, it was delivered Monday morning.
    Order delivered from Melbourne to Sydney…. or maybe they hav another warehouse in Sydney and didn't advertise
    didn't have a door bell so the driver bang the door so hard at 8am that woke me up.
    Fast courier service !!!!

  • I posted a box from Perth to Burnie(Tasmania) took 6 days. Quicker than Australia Post and $30 cheaper.
    Parcel was in good condition at other end.

  • -1

    Hi I have a question I want to send parcel to london
    for my son's 30th birthday next week.
    Would it be cheaper to send via Aus post or courier
    parcel has a short coat few other light articles
    Thankyou in advance for any advice

  • +2

    First time using fast way and lost my parcel ..
    @#$%

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