Thanks for the info guys.
Greece was great. Of course they call it “summer” there 
.
And with 1.3$ for mailing a card and with shipping times of 1 week to 10 days to the rest of Europe it’s also easier for Postcrossing…
3 Likes
I wonder if anyone has been able to get confirmation of this? My local post office still knows nothing about it.
It would be great if it was in effect for WPD.
1 Like
Everytime I visit a postoffice and tell them that, they seem to agree very easily and accept my cards without any hesitation.
I just hope that they will arrive 
3 Likes
I am just realising I don’t have any $3 stamps, or stamps that make that combination, so I guess I’d better get on that before next week.
1 Like
It works quite well!
Currently, I use one of the following combinations
And if I’m feeling adventurous I use 3.30 combinations of domestic stamps, like these
4 Likes
I absolutely adore the recent budgies stamps and have been enjoying sending some cards with the whole rainbow set to make up $3.30.
@helent I’ve sent cards for the past 3+ months according to the special rate and I’ve had no troubles with them arriving. Like @FoTiS when I’ve taken cards for hand cancels the staff at every PO has marked them without question once I mention there’s a special deal for postcards.
But then it never ceases to surprise me how regularly the staff start adding up as if they’re going to charge me for new stamps for my prepaids, until I point to the tiny “postage paid” marking…
3 Likes
Hey guys,
Is the 3.00$ flat rate for overseas postcards still applicable?
1 Like
I’ve heard that it is, I can go confirm at my local post office tomorrow
Please do. I can also go and ask my post office but I don’t really trust that they know what’s going on.
1 Like
As far as I am aware, it was extended until the end of October. But I did get questioned about it recently at a post office I’ve visited before, who suddenly claimed they had never heard of it, even though I’m sure I’ve posted with them in the last few months. I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on.
Is anyone clear on whether we can send postcards with the Christmas rate from 1 November? I have done in the past, but last year I was called up on it because there was a requirement that “Card only” be applied to an envelope. So now I’m wary.
2 Likes
@FoTiS @ahmandah
I just confirmed with my local post office about the $3 international greeting card/postcard promotion.
The campaign is still going on, they even showed me their computer screen to confirm it. They told me the promotion will end on Oct. 31 and then switch to the holiday rate from Nov.1!
So we don’t have to pay full postage this year For postcards!
One more thing for the holiday rate from November they said it was ok to use the holiday rates for postcards but if it’s in an envelope we have to write “card only” on the envelope.
4 Likes
Many thanks for reporting back @Nt1 , that’s great news about the holiday rate too. Let’s hope we all get the same advice from our various LPOs 
1 Like
I always use the Christmas rate stamps on my postcards, during the period that I can. Have never had an issue.
3 Likes
My regular PO informed me (as of last Friday) that the $3.00 promotion is running to the end of November!! 
3 Likes
Doesn’t make much sense, does it? Why put the price up if you are then going to discount it? But why would you use $3 to Europe in the Christmas period when all cards will go for $2.60? 
2 Likes
I’ve been meaning to write this message for a few days now.
I have the 2 following issues with Australia Post:
-
Is it only me or sending postcards from Australia is unreasonably expensive?
With the new prices, a card to some exotic place like Mexico or Luxemburg
(true story) costs 4$. This is not only ridiculous but it is also unreasonable for the following reasons:- The cost of sending a post-card is the same as with a medium size letter (250 gr). An average card however, weighs less than 5 grams.
- Prepaid post cards cost $2.40. Prepaid postcards however, should be more expensive than the stamps for normal postcards because they include the cost of the card itself.
Or in other words, the cost for the stamps for a post-card should be much less than the cost of pre-paid postcard, i.e. much less than $2.40.
- I know that one way of circumventing the prices in Australia is using maxicards.
Actually the whole world does
, since they only tend to receive maxicards when they get a postcrosser from Australia. But this is not a solution. It shouldn’t be this way.
Somehow we should demand from Australia Post that postcards have a separate item category with a much lower price than sending an envelope.
- I don’t know if it’s just me, who moved into this country only 3 years ago, but I’ve had enough of not being able to send mail to as many as 66 countries. I am not sure if this is happening because of Covid but Covid is gone now and it is just unacceptable to live in a prosperous country of the Western World and not being able to send mail (and post-cards) to countires like Jamaica, Tunisia or most of South America.
What do you think fellow postcrossers ?
Do you agree with the above or am I being a drama queen?
Is there something we can do?
2 Likes
I definitely agree with the pricing of postcards in Australia, I moved to Australia from Japan this year and struggled with the cost of postcrossing. One of the reasons I’m able to continue is only because I found a stamp shop that sells maxi cards with prepaid postage for about a dollar each.
Aus post really needs to start lowering prices in my opinion, other wise the use of the postal system we all love is going to decrease even further.
Compared to other countries I’ve lived in (US, Japan, South Korea) the cost is nearly 2-5 times. (US $1.4, Japan 60 cents for sea mail, 70 for air mail, and South Korea about 35 cents for sea mail 43 cents for air mail)
For the amount of countries you can send a postcard to, while I do see it as an issue, I’ve been able to send postcards to more countries compared to Japan which doesn’t do air air service to at least 100 locations. I also lived in South Korea for a bit when Covid hit, and to this day you can barely send any mail to other countries via airmail.
But overall I’m sending significantly less mail than the time I’ve spent on those countries, because of the pricing.
totally agree the cost is ridiculous, particularly if you use your own card. I’d love to buy different types of non-Australia post postcards, but it’s too expensive, so I stick with the maxicards.
2 Likes
At one point I wrote to the ACCC, mostly just to see what kind of pointless bureaucratic reply I’d get. Their response was to refer me to the Postal Industry Ombudsman, and also included this nugget:
Price gouging
Price gouging is a term used to express dissatisfaction with a high price—a price so high that the person using the term thinks the price is unfair or unreasonable. Price gouging is not against the law so, if they want to, businesses can set high profit margins.
And the Postal Ombudsman says this straight up front:
We cannot assist if:
…
- your complaint relates to the postal operators setting of product pricing.
So no, it would seem there is nothing we can do, at least not via official channels.
Maybe it’s time to start protesting.
2 Likes