Hi all, just looking to gauge peoples experience with Australia post in general. I have sent/received probably somewhere around 100 individual packages through Aus post and have never had an issue. I recently spoke to some one who told me they had lost their metals through aus post... How do your experiences stack up?
200+ transactions, including many overseas, all sent express or parcel post with tracking. All good apart from one small untracked order sent via regular mail which didnt arrive...
Last 1.5years 600+ transactions, none overseas only within Australia, about half registered or prepaid satchel (express and regular) half unregistered standard postage, only 1 unregistered standard post apparently not delivered which was to a unit so dare say put in wrong letter box.
I've probably sent 100+ packages and as we speak I might be incurring my first problem with them, that is their fault I've sent an item to a fellow member 2 weeks ago now, and the tracking shows nothing, that it's just been accepted and scanned at the post office I dropped it off at but no updates since so after 20 minutes on the phone I've been told because there is no further scans anywhere there is no way they can track or follow up, and that I basically just need to cross my fingers and hope it somehow pops up otherwise it's gone... I've had two other ordinary experiences too Last year I sent a package to a fellow member, then got a call from an old lady telling me a package had arrived at her door (Lucky I put my phone number on the back when I send) Long story short the moronic postie dropped off the package at this old ladies place and she lived 3 streets away from where it was meant to be! Luckily she called me and I was then able to message the forum member here and they went and collected it A few months ago I sent a parcel to another member, and after Aus Post investigating it looks like the postie dropped off the package in the mail room of the complex this person lived in, but someone has stolen it. Again, you would think being a shared mail room it would be stored safely for the owner, but I guess it wasn't... I feel like 99% of the time everything goes very well using registered satchels, but I have had these few hiccups which is disappointing
Thanks all for the comments so far, very informative. I said above that I've never had an issue but one of Soprano's instances has occurred to me also unfortunately. Basically I ordered a small amount of bullion and it was dropped off to the next street over from mine (don't even think it was even the same house number...). THANK GOD the lady that owned the house was kind enough to just give me ring (my number was on the package) and tell me what had happened. Some people might not be so helpful... The reason I ask about this is because last year I sent about $2000 worth of gold/silver to a member of this forum via AusPost, I didnt think about it at the time, but looking back I'm not sure that that was very wise of me
I'm not a fan of AustPost. They know they are the only reasonably priced game on town and treat you as such. Have at times shipped 10K + packages annually now substantially less. No matter - at least one a month goes missing. Some big, others small. They once managed to misplace an entire UDL (big metal crates they load onto airplanes) of our parcels 38 all up. All our stuff is scanned at the business centre after pick-up. Sometimes things vanish after origin scan at the center and before another scan. Other times it will reach another business center, be scanned and then disappear which is obvious theft.
be extra careful when posting valuables, there are always sneaky hands everywhere we look better be sure than missing, all care must be rendered where possible too it is now getting much more difficult to received your items un-inspected, particularly those that go to the CENTER and post overseas... USA is goner, so I stop completely buying from USA other countries may be 50:50 this company that control the shipping is truly irresponsible, not want to mentioned their name...
As above, never had any major issues with them. A few delays (have a delayed express ATM) and some that seemed lost and resurfaced a week after logging parcel querie(tracked package). I usually send sig only or mark "do not safe drop" when sending to apartments. Without trying to derail thread; Has anyone had any issues using Mailman from Officeworks? Concerned that auspost may give it even less care and consideration?
I have sent about 150 parcels and registered envelopes over the past 16 Months and all of them have got to their destinations so far. Some were standard mail only and they were also all received. On 3 Occassions I sent parcels by yellow express next day delivery. All were within the sending times and within the network but they arrived a day or two late. I rang Australia Post when these parcels failed to get there in time as guaranteed, I provided the details and got a postage refund for each occassion.
Despite the odd grumble, Australia Post is very reliable. Unless platinum express, most parcels travel interstate by road in ULDs in B Doubles (not UDLs tongkat ). These B Doubles may eiether be owned and operated by Auspost or a private transport company. Given Australia Post has no way of telling what people post, from time to time dangerous items like Lithium Batteries are posted in parcels and can, and have caused truck fires. I’m aware of several in recent years. If you’re unlucky enough to have a parcel in the back of one of these B Doubles, your parcel and it’s contents are gone. If your posting interstate, I recommend you post early in the week, and always opt for platinum express to ensure it flies. Much safer. Also, if you post using platinum express on a Friday, it will probably go by road anyway, with all its inherent risks. Regards Acorn
I've sent many thousands of items (3000+ at a guess) via Australia post, both pre-paid satchels, custom boxes, and the eParcel system, mostly by non-express post. The failure rate would have to be around the 0.2% figure tops, and in several cases that's because they have given me the wrong address. You just factor this sort of loss into your business. Big ecommerce sellers factor in a 1-2% loss rate into their business model. One thing you shouldn't do is hand write the labels, you'll screw it up eventually. Get a cheap Dymo PC label printer if you are half serious.
We hit 1% last month with 4 still missing, but that's rare. If you can, get access to the AustPost business portal. Get's you customer assistance without being on hold on the phone. Keeps all investigations in a managed easy-to-see area. If you qualify maybe consider eParcel as it requires you to use the correct (with AustPost system) city and suburb for the post code - what the customer puts in is often not correct. For example someone today put Hayters Hill 2481 when it was really Byron Bay. Hayters Hill is what the locals call the area but not AustPost. That would have held that one up. Always lodge a parcel in a branch, never in the box. It only stings on the day, you need to try and not take (the loss) it personally. It's the ones that go missing after the destination scan that I find really sus. It scanned in the centre so it's there somewhere or with the delivery driver.
