Hello all,
I’ve definitely had all of those experiences (photocopying charges, having maxicard sets put through the register as some esoteric combination of stamps, and outright refusal).
As an aside if you’re in Sydney looking for maxicards I can’t go past Sydney Uni LPO (on Thursday I bought one of the Achievement in Technology cards there which is so old (FDI 19 August 1987) it is from before they became prepaid). The family who run it are also lovely.
I’m having a very slow month for Postcrossing! I have fifteen slots to use. They’re all taken, and travelling…and that’s the case 99.9% of the time. I have four more cards that are expired. Another will be added to that list imminently.
So far, for the month of January, I’ve only had FIVE cards registered!!! The last time my stats looked that dismal was December 2021, when I’d only been Postcrossing for three months, and it was Covid days too. I’m so over it! 
So I was sitting on a bus this morning and pondering the single slot that had opened up over night and thinking, I wish I’d draw an Aussie address. At least that has a…medium to fair chance of arriving soon…ish!! 
So I clicked the button, and you can maybe imagine my surprise (I gasped out loud) when I drew not only an Aussie…but a forum member to boot! 
Thank you for the immediate PMU Postcrossing! 
I’m excited to find out who it was!
The card is on its way already, and with any luck might arrive by Friday. I have my fingers and toes crossed!
So jealous! I absolutely love getting Australian addresses but seem to only get them when I’m sending from elsewhere. I don’t know if that’s just a coincidence or says something about the algorithm.
At any rate, an Australian forum member is like the holy grail 
so exciting!
I got an Aussie address yesterday too! It’s so rare to get honestly.
I’m excited for the potentially quick registration. Tassie to Melb should be quick… but I’ve had international mail arrive quicker XD
I’m having a bit better luck as I’ve had 18 registered so far in January. One to Canada took 10 days and 1 to Germany was 11 days.
As for Aussie addresses, it’s great to receive one but I want my balance between sent and received to even up…13 sent and only 1 received. It’s also good when you get an Aussie address close to when you are about to get an extra slot 
I now feel like I’m being a bit greedy because this is the seventh Aussie address I’ve drawn in the 2.5 years I’ve been Postcrossing! Still rare…but not as rare as you’ve experienced. 
Yeah I’ve only had two! One I drew in Norfolk Island and one in the Cocos Islands, so never with an AU ID. And I definitely have ‘send to your own country’ active. Just the luck of the draw I suppose!
I’ve got an Australian card travelling right now - 16 days so far, Melb > Queensland. 
I’m curious to know why different sets of AusPost maxicards cost such wildly different prices? Back home the cost of a maxicard doesn’t vary between different issues, it only changes when there’s a postal price increase overall. Or does it have to do with the issue date of each of the maxicard sets? (ie. older ones cost less, newer ones cost more… etc)
Also… I have just ordered stamps but the nostalgic tinned fruit stamps are so pretty… aaaaaaaaahhhhh imusthavethem!
It’s based on the face value of the stamps. I did some sums in another thread once to work it out, but can’t find them so let’s re do them…
Looking at the below three sets (all currently in the shop)
Nostalgic fruit - all $1.20 domestic stamps
Native animals - domestic stamps, but range of values
Aerial views - all international stamps (much more expensive stamps)
| release | number cards | cost | stamp values | total stamp value | cost per card | stamp value per card | diff between set total and stamp total (per card) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nostalgic tinned fruit | 3 | $5.85 | 1.20 x 3 | $3.60 | $1.95 | $1.20 | $0.75 |
| native animals | 4 | $11.40 | 1.20, 1.20, 2.40, 3.60 | $8.40 | $2.85 | $2.10 | $0.75 |
| aerial views | 4 | $17.10 | 2.90, 3.50, 3.70, 4.00 | $14.10 | $4.28 | $3.53 | $0.75 |
The total price of each set is made of the stamp values, plus $0.75 per card.
Wow… thank you for that detailed breakdown, helent! 
It was when that aerial view set came out, and they were lovely but so expensive. I was raging at Aus Post, but then thought I should be fair to them and actually work it out… turns out, they are very consistently priced!
I just found it odd at first because if the maxicards are for worldwide mailing, the price (I thought) should be consistent across the maxicard range. But after your explanation I understand their rationale, even if it still doesn’t make sense to me personally. But I’m learning the AusPost quirks!
In my experience in the Post Offices I see single maxicards consistently priced at $2.55. Do other members share this experience, or are maxicards usually priced differently.
When Australia Post issues a single stamp (which is not a common occurrence), the accompanying maxi-card , in my experience, is always priced at the same amount as a prepaid card, currently $2.55.
Darn, I thought I had completely cracked the pricing system, but I didn’t include any single stamp releases in my data.
I have always had that feeling too. I get that sometimes the stamp on a Maxicard is like a $4 stamp but it’s not like you can remove it and use it for something.
The stamp value on maxicards vary but for practical purposes the value of the stamp is just 1 x international postcard.
Heard on the radio this morning that domestic postage prices are rising to $1.50! I didn’t note the date as I was in shock at such a rise.