We have new owners at our local AusPost. I took a letter and two postcards to be posted on Wednesday and I know I’ve been under charged. 1 post card to Italy ($3.70), 1 postcard to Germany ($3.50) and a letter that didn’t slid through the scale easily which I’ve been told would cost me upwards of $9.55. In total I was charge $7.00.
When I queried the new owner about putting a $2.50(NZ) stamp on the postcard for Italy I was told it was fine.
I’m anxious because I want my mail to get to where I said it would go.
Is there anything I can do now? Anyone else have this experience? What did you do?
I’m not looking to get anyone in trouble I’m just wanting my postcards to get to the right person.
Yikes! That sounds all kinda of crazy. I’m not sure that there’s anything you can do at this point except hope that the postcards go through. I’m guessing there’s no return address on those…so if someone decides there’s not enough postage…I’m not sure what would happen.
I buy all my own stamps (because the local LPO doesn’t get a big range in…and I like to try and put stamps that match with the recipients likes…where possible). I buy them either from Aust Post online, from eBay (for older issues) and sometimes from Etsy…and then just apply them myself (after calculating postage using the online calculator).
I throw most of my mail in a kerbside redbox. The only issue with this is that it doesn’t get cancelled. I’m not sure if this is what happens everywhere…or just in my local area. It’s disappointing. If I want cancellations I have to take the stamped article into the post office and ask for it to be cancelled (and then they take it and it goes with the office pickup). If you’ve already put correct postage on it…there’s not much the post office could do to interfere at that point (except insist you need more postage…at which point you could direct them to the online postage calculator).
Italy is $3.50, same as Germany Both are in Zone 4
The letter that didn’t go through the gauge Up to 260 x 360 x 20mm Up to 500g $14.60
The NZ stamp would be considered as decoration as long as VALID Australia Post International postage is also applied.
If you only paid $7 but saw them a-fix the $3.70, $3.50 and $9.55 postage to the items then it is their loss.
Australia Post will charge them for the correct cost of the postage when they balance their stamps etc.
Personally I would report them to Australia Post as they are losing money and need more training in regards to Zones etc.
As an aside have a look at the Australia Post pre-paid postcards. They are $2.40 and they include WORLDWIDE POSTAGE. So you are getting the postage reduced and effectively the postcard for free. No need to worry about zones and stamps then. https://auspost.com.au/shop/search?SearchTerm=postcard
Thanks so much. I’ve considered buying my own stamps but as I’m never quite sure which country I would get I was slightly hesitant for fear I’d end up with several stamps I don’t use. But now I’m reconsidering.
I really appreciate the screenshots of the different zones! I’ve saved them to my PC so that I can reference them in the future. Thanks!
Yes, I’m flabbergasted at the $7 charge!
Thanks again.
Hi there @Mundoo thank you so much for your reply. No, he affixed a $2.50 NZ stamp on to my card for Italy. He put a label on the one for Germany. So I don’t know what that means for the postcard itself.
I’m wondering if it might be an idea to message the people I sent the cards to and let them know that if it doesn’t arrive I’d be happy to send another postcard them or just leave it want wait to see what happens.
At any rate you both have come up with some great ideas for me to utilise and I appreciate it. After I go through all of my post cards I think buying the worldwide postage postcards will be a great option for me.
Thank you for sharing that idea. <3
I’ve been buying the $2.50 or $2.70 base rate stamp and a bunch of smaller denomination international stamps to make up the difference…to $3.40 and $3.50 (there’s a lovely 5c platypus, 10c Maria Island, 20c Coburg Peninsula, 25c echidna, 30c Rottnest Island and 50c Paddle Steamer stamps available at the moment). I enjoy decorating with these.
And as Mundoo mentioned, there’s also the pre-paid cards, and the slightly more expensive Maxicards…both of which include world-wide postage, end up being cheaper than buying a card and postage separately, and leave no room for postage error.
I did not even know you could still do this. My the previous owners of my local post office said it couldn’t be done anymore! I’m starting to believe they just didn’t want to do the maths! Oh gosh! Wouldn’t the rest of the world love too see our fauna! I’m sure of it.
I do think that me buying my own stamps would be a better option for me now. I had trouble again on Wednesday with posting a letter to France so…
I did see the Maxi postcards. I’m curious. Do you use the stamp on the front of the card to put on the card as postage? Or just send them as is after writing on them.
If your local PO doesn’t stock a wide variety of stamps and denominations…you can always order online on the Aust Post store. I’ve also bought mint stamps on eBay…but they’re more expensive.
You are also allowed to use domestic stamps to post internationally, but you need to pay 10% more (because the domestic stamps include a GST amount). See this document here for details.
So if you are trying to send to Germany ($3.50) using domestic stamps…you will need to stick on $3.85 worth of stamps. I also put on an airmail sticker when I’m doing this too…just to be sure. I’m not saying you’d want to do it all the time. But I have done it, in order to be able to use theme-specific stamps for someone.
And as missmelbourne said…you are not required to put any stamps at all on the maxicards. They are all good to go, as is.
Hey there, Do you purchase stamps after you get your post crossing address or do you purchase several stamps and then hope that you get the location you need for the stamps you have? Thanks
Besides maxicards (which don’t require an added stamp and can go to any location) I personally also keep a supply of stamps for other postcards. I have $2.50 stamps, $3.40 stamps and lots of 10 cent stamps. By combining those I can make the right postage for anywhere in the world.
I keep a huge collection of stamps both domestic and international and try to give those who collect stamps themes they enjoy. I usually also use domestic +10% for these but I keep a variety of denominations in both domestic and international stamps. Makes it much more fun to decorate with stamps. I plan on Postcrossing for some time so plan to use them (plus several penpals) but old discontinued stamps always have good resell at face value.
Oh gosh! Wouldn’t the rest of the world love too see our fauna! I’m sure of it.
