Just thought I would post up some info for people on this board that may not know or understand some of the different postage options available with Australia Post . This should give sellers on the sales thread a better understanding of what options you can offer a potential buyer and for those buying you should better understand what you are paying for in your postage costs here or any other Australian source you may buy from.

Note:
- Prices and services offered by Australia Post may obviously change but this is current as of Feb 2014.
- This is for domestic (within Aus) only.
- I don’t work for nor am I affiliated with Australia post

Things you should know:
- Postage costs can be calculated at the Aus post website if you know the weight and dimensions here: http://auspost.com.au/apps/postage-calculator.html
- Letters or padded bags over 2cm in thickness are charged parcel rate (currently $6.95 flat rate)
- Parcels sent via regular post (no additional services added) can be tracked at no extra charge. Check your receipt and it will have an article ID number that can be tracked here: http://auspost.com.au/track/
- Parcels sent via regular post (no additional services added) can request a (free of charge) “No safe Drop” meaning that the posty is not allowed to leave the parcel at the door so it will be carded and dropped at you local PO. A warning though, anyone can pick up the item with the card.
-Parcels can have the following services added on top of the postage charge:
- Sign on Delivery @ $2.95 extra. The benefits are that someone at the delivery address needs to sign for the item. This signature is kept on record and can be used in a dispute etc. If you are not home the parcel will be carded and dropped at you local PO. Only the addressee can collect the item unless you authorize someone else by filling out the info on the drop card. Believe it or no this service offers no cover for loss or damage
- Registered @ $3.50 extra (This service is not available on the Aus post web calculator but can be requested in store) Has all the benefits mentioned above for S.O.D. but with the addition of up to $100 coverage for loss or damage.
- Extra Cover (insurance for loss or damage) This service can be added to all three (regular, SOD, Registered) starting @ $1.50 for $100 cover. The fee increases for higher cover costs and caps at $75 for $5000 in cover.
- One final note is that the postage sticker that is stuck on the box does not reflect the costs of any of the above services and is merely the flat postage rate. The way to tell if you got what you paid for (in terms of postage services) is the different types of labels added to the parcel for SOD, registered etc. and /or the tracking number you are given. I have personally observed the following (their could be others or they may change as they run out of numbers):
Regular post tracking number (article ID) starts with 61
SOD post tracking number starts with 62 or 63
Registered post tracking number starts with 49

Hope this helps, Ravagecat out…