eBay has made one of its periodic increases to the maximum postage rates it allows in some categories (notably CDs and DVS). Australia Post increased its charges back in April, so the new rates reflect that, ensuring sellers can charge a vaguely fair price. Most notably, caps have been dropped altogether for books. eBay is also introducing a new fee structure this week. [eBay]
Store gift cards rarely get sold at a discount, so this is notable: from today until May 20, Australia Post is selling gift cards for The Good Guys at 20 per cent off. Combine that with the chain’s in-store price matching offer and you could score some serious savings. [Australia Post via OzBargain]
Shopping online may well be cheaper, but one big barrier to having everything delivered is the variable and expensive nature of postal and delivery services in Australia. A survey of eBay sellers confirms that people selling goods aren’t thrilled with the system either, but how should it be improved?
Blimey, it’s December tomorrow — so if you’re going to be posting presents and cards, you’ll need to be facing the dubious prospect of a Post Office queue. In a bid to quell the crowds, Australia Post is extending hours at 300 of its stores over December.
We’ve repeatedly noticed the persistence of scam calls pretending to be technical support from Microsoft, Telstra and other large companies, and now there’s a seasonally appropriate version in the wild: callers demanding payment for a parcel due for delivery from Australia Post. As ever, it’s a con, and our advice is simple: just hang up.
eBay has been promising cheaper postage options for heavy users as part of its partnership with Australia Post for quite a while now, and it has finally delivered with three flat-rate postage boxes which can be used to send items weighing up to 15kg.
Having established that paying a premium for Telstra’s Ultimate Wi-Fi hotspot won’t necessarily get you a performance boost, buying the more basic model might look more tempting. If that’s the case, Australia Post is selling the prepaid standard Next G hotspot for $49 — half the regular Telstra price — until August 7. [Australia Post via OzBargain]
It’s a major hassle for online shopping: you’ve ordered something but then you have to sort time to pick it up from the post office. That might get a little simpler with plans for “24 hour parcel lockers” being tested in a new concept post office.
If you’re planning a big clearout via eBay, it might make sense to do that before the end of June. On July 4, Australia Post will start incorporating a 1% fuel surcharge into the price of parcels, Express Post packages and all international letters and parcels.
Ever-tightening security procedures in the US have resulted in a lot of angst over airport rules, but they have consequences in other areas as well. Case in point? Sending most parcels to the US will now cost you $9 more as a “security surcharge”, and may take up to two days longer.
