Thread: Australia Post - value for money?

Originally Posted by Roverlord off road spares

Maybe they are using the cheapest road freight option? We send heaps of stuff over to the West and it get's there in a day or 2.
but some locations can take longer eg. Road freight to say Wadeye NT can take 14 to 16 days basically because it's in the middle of no where, mail truck probably only comes once a week. it's subject to road conditions and whether the driver wants got go fishing that day etc etc. Certain things have Aviation bans and cant be flown in so must go road.

It takes 10 days to get stuff from UK, US 21 days sometimes to me, so some are luckier.

I can assure you that my WA customers consistently tell me that small parcels I send by AP take at least 6 days, sometimes longer, to reach the SE populated part of WA from Brisbane. Parcels to the sparsely populated parts of WA can take considerably longer. The only really good service from AP is their COD service. Probably take more care as they have to deliver to get paid the postage and their commission. To their credit is that they have only "lost" three parcels in almost 20 years of trading.

I have found the US Post Office gives superior service to the freight forwarders at considerably less cost. If you are over there and visit a post office with Oz bound parcels they will weigh and measure and advise the best/cheapest way to send them. If by flat rate box, the box is free of charge and the PO will complete the customs declaration for you.

Wow......I must be on Australia Post good side. I send parcel bags around the country a the time for work and don’t recall ever having a delayed delivery.

Hopefully I haven’t jinxed myself now.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

I can assure you that my WA customers consistently tell me that small parcels I send by AP take at least 6 days, .

if is only small stuff try the 500 gram express bag. Usually next day to capital cities and guaranteed next delivery if the post code is on the list of next day. if not complain to them and thy are obligated to refund the post cost. They are not that expensive and give a tracking number. if not in the next day then they say fastest possible.

Aust Post is a swear word in our house.
Sending items is never within their promised delivery and receiving is consistently late, often by 20+ days despite the false tracking info claiming delivery. Part of the problem is the useless contractors.

We have customers on Flinders Island, One customer told me it takes 10 days to receive mail, it needs to go via Tassie. He ordered a part, asked for it to be delivered to airport in Melb so he could get it flown over at his expense it arrived 2 days later. Then another customer from Flinders Island ordered a part , we sent it express post, it arrived 2 days later and was cheaper.

I had some friends who were living in southern India for about six years, many times we would send them a parcel and it would either not arrive or would arrive with the contents plundered and the more desirable of the contents missing; this is apparently just part of the culture over there, if you have the good fortune to land a job sorting mail you will never want for anything. Perhaps we have imported some cultural attitudes into our workforce that were unthinkable here a generation ago. That aside though, there is a lack of concern for providing customer service and pride in workmanship that extends into many industries.
Last year I bought some tapware made in Sydney, there was a fault and I rang the manufacturer, the lady there said she would mail a replacement by priority mail and I should receive it the next day. A week later I phoned and suggested she must have forgotten to send it, she tells me she sent it that afternoon, priority paid. Next day I get the parcel notice in the mail, the date on the notice is six days ago! I pick up the parcel at the Drouin post office and point out that this was priority paid a week ago and their note says it was here 6 days ago, they tell me that parcels are sent first into the bigger office at Warragul and then moved across to Drouin for local delivery. So a priority paid item can make it's way from Sydney to Warragul overnight, then take six days to travel the remaining 12km to Drouin. Closest thing to an apology was a shrug of the shoulders.
I've read some horrendous stories about mail services in the US also, definitely not all roses over there.

When doing the trip to and from cooma my better half mailed the grandchildren postcards from most major places we stopped at.

Some still haven’t been received and others they received some in bits, but not all the bits

Abominable service considering the advances over the last few decades

I have to say I agree with Mario, the Express packages from him in Melbourne are usually here (Warwick Qld) within 2 days, 3 at the outside. I could (if I chose to) wave at the Aus post trucks going past with my parcels, heading for Brisbane, where they get put on a truck to Toowoomba, thence to Warwick.
I have received packages from the USA within a week, but the norm is about 2 weeks.