For anyone interested in modern postal history this trial will produce some collectable and possibly scarce items. I would say that of the three postal zones involved, mail to South America will be the least likely to be sent in this way.
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Interesting, I wonder what their rationale was?
I was recently in outback Queensland (nowhere near my usual postal haunts!) and went to the counter to purchase international stamps, expecting to be offered the standard wetlands. But the lady there was super keen about this āpromoā and dug up two old Christmas designs to total $3 for each card.
Do you mean with this amount of postage, or with a barcode? I find it fascinating that this would be something to collect, either way!
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I reckon that both stamped and barcoded envelopes would be of interest. The collection and study of postal items, rather than just the stamps themselves has a small but dedicated following. I have never collected such items, though I do have the ultimate piece of mail (for me at any rate!) - a penny black stamp still attached to the cover it was sent on, dated 23 November 1840. Funny to think that at that time only two stamps were in existence, the penny black and the two penny blue.
I saw this at the postoffice (Dickson GPO), Itās the first time Iāve seen it since the campaign startedā¦
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Iāve noticed that the Q3 maxicards offer listed on the Australia Post website includes an issue called āAerial Views Internationalā.
Perhaps āAerial Views Internationalā is related to this new $3.00 initiative? I canāt find any mention of this issue in the most recent Australia Post Stamp Bulletin and donāt know what denomination(s) the new issue will involve. However, the above listing seems to indicate āAerial Views Internationalā will be released at some point between āCentenary of the Menās Football Teamā (released 19 July) and āCicadasā (to be released 2 August).
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Iām not sure that the order of that listing has anything much to do with the time of release. The AAT 75 years appears at the bottom of the list, but according to the current stamp bulletin, it is released after the cicadas and before the Telegraph Station (on the 9th August).
I am super, super excited that we have some new international stamps coming thoughā¦and will be pressing the refresh button continuously when the new stamp bulletin is due for release!! 
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Ah yes, youāre a better sleuth than me!
Hereās hoping the new international stamps and maxicards look good. 
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I have been told that the $3.00 rate has been extended to 31 October- I have not confirmed this with Australia Post as yet. It would be nice if the forthcoming international stamp issue included a three dollar stamp.
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I havenāt been using the promotion. It just seems too poorly managed for me. The rate does not appear in the postage calculator online either. 
Have you been using it @bowyumā¦and are your cards arriving at their destination without any trouble? Iām keen to know. Thanks 
Iāve been using the promotion quite a bit since I found out about it in early July.
So far all cards have been arriving normally maybe even faster?
Envelopes and postcards seem to arrive around the same time.
Hereās some stats Iāve collected so far.
Sent from-
Canberra GPO counter
USA- 10, 15, 18, 20, 21,21,21,21,25 (days)
UK- 7, 12, 18
Germany- 18, 20, 20, 20
Croatia- 22
Lithuania- 19
France- 15, 23
Slovenia- 20
Slovakia- 23, 23
The Netherlands- 19, 20, 20, 21, 21, 21, 22
Belgium- 24
Peru- 25
Brazil- 20
parliament house
USA- 14, 14, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23
UK- 15, 15
Germany- 17, 20
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I have only sent one (non-Postcrossing) card in this way, to a friend in Canada - posted on 14 July, received on the 28 July, so no apparent problem. As the majority of the cards I send on the official Postcrossing site have a prepaid imprint they are not relevant to this promotion. Also, I mostly prefer to send cards without an envelope even when they not of the prepaid type.
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Your stats make me want to cry with jealousy 
ten days? Seven days?
I post mine from Wodonga and they seem to take a billion days.
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this!!!
I canāt even manage a postcard to Adelaide in less than ELEVEN daysā¦and itāsā¦you knowā¦on the same patch of land as me!!!
Did you take the card to the UK yourself @Nt1?
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Iām surprised myself! 
All of my mail is magically getting delivered so quickly but getting mail has been a rough rideā¦
Only about 10% of my swaps have made it to me so far!
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I just looked at my āsentā againā¦I actually have a card to the UK that got there in just ten days! Iād forgotten about that one. So we know the system can work quicklyā¦sometimes! 
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I got charged $3 today for US. Never heard of the promotion. A couple of weeks ago I paid $3.40 to the US. I wish Aus Post shops were consistent with their knowledge.
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They are very inconsistentā¦ The promotion started from May and it supposedly got extended until the End of October .
Here are variations of the āRulesā Iāve heard so far
- postcards are the same price as usual (according to the promotion it should be max $3)
- ācardsā only refer to greeting cards, not letters. So letters are normal postage
- A clear indication of ācard onlyā needs to be written on the envelope
To be honest every post office Iāve gone to they have different rules and some donāt know about the promotion!
I just stick a $3 Melbourne stamp or $2.50 and 50c stamp and put it in the red postbox itāll arrive just fine.
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They must be able to look promotions up on their computers somehow. I was at a local Post Shop yesterday (itās a really busy one in a main shopping centre) and asked the guy who was serving me. He hadnāt heard anything about the discount. He tapped away at his computer for a bit and confirmed it was in there and had been extended.
His look of confusion didnāt fill me with much confidence though 
. Luckily, I was just sending off maxicards yesterday!
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I was at the Melton Post Office yesterday and asked. They had a flyer taped to the door that talked about the promotion, and one of the staff confirmed that it had been extended.
So then I asked for stamps ā¦ 
silly me!
I wanted 20 x $3.00. So I have 20 x $2.50 international, 40 x 20c international and 20 x 5c domestic. When I queried the domestic, the knowledgeable staffer said āItāll be alright. Theyāll let them throughā
Iāve cleared them out of all their small denominations!
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I handed in some cards for hand cancellation today at a PO I havenāt been to before. The clerk told me $3.40 to the US. When I said I had heard from other POs there was a promo for $3, she didnāt even look up at me, let alone her computer, she just postmarked it and put it through. Maybe even staff have have given up trying to keep track of postage rates?
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