I shake my head!

[Riley]

Bought 4 ea brake cyl seals (buckets) off UK eBay just as the CV19 panic struck us. Items were packed in a Royal Mail Intn'l Priority air mail envelope and despatched the day after order was filled at a postal cost of 4.50 quid. 52 days after despatch the item arrived in my mailbox! Virus influences notwithstanding, I reckon the convict ships would have given the Aust Postal Service a close run for efficiency! And my good wife wonders why I get more cynical as I get older. Sheesh!

[M61A1]

Bought 4 ea brake cyl seals (buckets) off UK eBay just as the CV19 panic struck us. Items were packed in a Royal Mail Intn'l Priority air mail envelope and despatched the day after order was filled at a postal cost of 4.50 quid. 52 days after despatch the item arrived in my mailbox! Virus influences notwithstanding, I reckon the convict ships would have given the Aust Postal Service a close run for efficiency! And my good wife wonders why I get more cynical as I get older. Sheesh!

And at nearly midday other day I placed an order for carburettor parts with a Motorcycle shop in WA. I figured they would show up some the week after. Wrong! They made it to my door in SE QLD in less than 24 hours. I have never had that happen before.

 

I certainly understand the cynicism though. I was told we mellowed as we age. I just get crankier every day.

[onetrack]

Late last month, I bought a water pump off eBay Australia for the Toyota diesel in the 3 tonne forklift, that I'm restoring for a mate. It had to travel from Melbourne to Perth.

 

I was expecting a delivery time of about 10 days - the normal delivery time from East to West, or vice-versa at present - but the water pump arrived here 2 days after I ordered it!! It's not a small water pump, either!

[Old Koreelah]

During the steam train era my home town received mail from Sydney within two days. Now it's at least five.

In the 1980s I could ring Triggs of Toronto at lunchtime to order a part for my Lada Niva and it would be at our local train station next morning.

[mnewbery]

Lakeland Florida to Canberra in 32 day, May 2020.

Same time, Oshkosh to Melbourne 31 days.

 

The Melbourne package went via Sydney and vise versa

[aro]

A lot of international cargo was carried on passenger jets. The reduction in traffic has caused a huge disruption to cargo services. I have heard that freight charges have increased as much as 10 times over what they used to be e.g. a shipment that used to cost $3,000 now costs $30,000.

[facthunter]

M61, you don't mellow with age. The same crap bother's you more as you've been putting up with it for LOONGER. Your crap tolerance module is overworked or out of storage space. Nev

[Flightrite]

We all love Aussie Post Right? I mean great service, goods arrive undamaged and quickly.....cough cough! They would have to be one of the most inificient Co's in Oz! Small parcel (the size of a pack of cancer sticks) took 6 days to go 100 k's, from a busy little country town to a large inner city! That's shameful!

[Bruce Tuncks]

Yes it's 5 days from Adelaide to Edenhope by post. 5 hours by road. I think the post goes to Melbourne first.

[Jabiru7252]

In the old days before email, Aussie post would have truck loads of mail to deliver and thus be able to make a dollar. Now, can you really expect a truck to drive across the country every day with two parcels and a letter? They wait days, weeks, months before the truck is full. When somebody thinks of a way to deliver parcels via email, there will be no postal service at all. Imagine it, you order your bottle of stay-hard cream from Russia and thirty seconds later "woof!" there it is in your house, transported by the latest "Quantum Mechanics Incorporated" matter transfer device. Can hardly wait...

[spacesailor]

At least you got your parcel.

Iv,e had at least 4 items " LOST " by that thieving company, very embarrassing, when a good friend sends a hand held radio from the UK.

Trusting me to pay on receipt, only to find I didn,t get it.

Still feel embarrassed by that Rouge Aussie,

( Sorry Phil ).

spacesailor

[red750]

When somebody thinks of a way to deliver parcels via email,

 

Beam it up, Scotty.

[red750]

I covered this in an off-topic thread a few weeks ago, but I had a parcel, marked "Urgent Medical Supplies" take 3 days to come from East Burwood to Vermont, a distance of 10 km. Text promising delivery day 2, received day 3. Normally I would collect it, but due to Covid19, pickups were suspended.

[bushcaddy105]

And a good news story!

Thursday 10 am Ordered a small spool of transformer winding wire from RS components in Sydney, no charge for "postage". Friday 8 am Received phone call from Toll depot - "there's a parcel here for you." Sure was, packed in a box which could easily hold 20 spools.

I am, however, waiting on car parts from Brisbane picked up by courier on April 28th. They were sent by a courier broking setup called "Sendle". Have a look at customer reviews - 52% of the reviews canned them, particularly about missing shipments where they blamed the contract couriers and dismissed the customer complaint. I tried to find a phone number for them, but they only accept email! Shonky? You bet! DON"T USE SENDLE

[Flightrite]

And a good news story!

Thursday 10 am Ordered a small spool of transformer winding wire from RS components in Sydney, no charge for "postage". Friday 8 am Received phone call from Toll depot - "there's a parcel here for you." Sure was, packed in a box which could easily hold 20 spools.

I am, however, waiting on car parts from Brisbane picked up by courier on April 28th. They were sent by a courier broking setup called "Sendle". Have a look at customer reviews - 52% of the reviews canned them, particularly about missing shipments where they blamed the contract couriers and dismissed the customer complaint. I tried to find a phone number for them, but they only accept email! Shonky? You bet! DON"T USE SENDLE

 

You got caught, it's mostly common knowledge that they are the worst in the business!

[onetrack]

I use Sendle occasionally, they are cheap, but they are slow, and they make plenty of stuff-ups. Dropped off one parcel at the local BP servo for Sendle pickup and the courier forgot to pick it up - for 4 days in a row!

I just sent some filters from Perth to Maffra in Vic., via Sendle - now I find, they've gone to Sydney first, and they are now likely to be going to Maffra via Sydney to Melbourne!! Not good enough, Sendle!

[Old Koreelah]

I must defend Australia Post. They may be a bit slow, but reliable. When ordering items I always ask for them to be send via AP rather than private courier.

We have several freight agents locally and in nearly forty years only one has ever delivered to my place, 5k from town.

The worst performance of private freight companies involved the most expensive item I've had delivered: my Jabiru engine. It sat in an open garage for a couple of days while I phoned around the agents to see what had become of it. I found it without their help, loaded it into my car and left; nobody home, no paperwork.

They still have no idea who collected a box worth $11,500.

 

Meanwhile, our mailman delivers three times a week and, if there is a parcel, drives a couple hundred metres past the mailbox to our door.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Old Koreelah

[skippydiesel]

FYI all you people purchasing brake parts overseas - I purchased my last lot of parts from Power Brakes, Gillies Plains, SA 5086, Email [email protected]. Website www.powerbrakes.com.au very reasonably priced and they are very helpful regarding the correct/compatible seals for the brake fluid you are using.

[Hargraves]

Bought 4 ea brake cyl seals (buckets) off UK eBay just as the CV19 panic struck us. Items were packed in a Royal Mail Intn'l Priority air mail envelope and despatched the day after order was filled at a postal cost of 4.50 quid. 52 days after despatch the item arrived in my mailbox! Virus influences notwithstanding, I reckon the convict ships would have given the Aust Postal Service a close run for efficiency! And my good wife wonders why I get more cynical as I get older. Sheesh!

I think its a lot to do with the companys attitude to customer service Riley. Although an unrelated item I deal with a retailer in brisbane that i can ring and pay for a stock item in the afternoon and recieve it at my door the next day. Their despatch department is a stand alone section that is second to none eh. Ps i,m in reginal Bundaberg (Bargara)

[danny_galaga]

Six weeks at the moment from/to UK or US right now is about right. I work for Australia Post and I can tell you they are totally overwhelmed by the huge increase in parcels since covid. I did just receive something from amazon yesterday that took a lot shorter and a big part of that is they have dedicated freight planes whereas post don't.

 

You can always use a different service. See what it costs to send a letter/small parcel by courier.

[kgwilson]

Good couriers have a tracking service which shows where your item is at all times so when it comes from a small town & has to pass through large depots you can see the progress & the date & time it was received. The problem though is that sometimes the person supposedly scanning in transit item in doesn't do this so there is a gap. I bought a computer & was sent from Canberra via Sydney, Coffs harbour & delivered to my door at Corindi Beach in under 48 hours. This was with Fastways now Aramex & they have a poor on-line reputation. I've received 3 or 4 things through this mob & it has always arrived on the day they said so I can't complain

[Old Koreelah]

Kevin I've used these tacking numbers with couriers and with the PO. As you say, they are only as good as the person scanning the item. Sometimes the parcel spends days between a major sorting centre and my local PO.

[spacesailor]

Or it leaves the UK, gets to Australia then disappears off the face of the earth, and ends up either getting a refund or another replacement if using Paypal !.

spacesailor

[onetrack]

One of the problems today is the number of courier "agencies". I used to use Temando, they were good, you'd request a quote, and as soon as you supplied the item details, up would come quotes from about 6 or 8 of the well-known couriers and freight providers, immediately. The quoted prices would vary from day to day, depending on whether they had full trucks or empty trucks.

 

Then Temando closed down, they obviously got overwhelmed by the number of other freight/postal agents.

 

I use AustPost for most smaller parcels, Fastway and Startrack for some things, Couriers Please for items to well-serviced areas, Interparcel occasionally, and Transdirect in place of Temando.

For larger items, Freightseek and Loadshift are good, they are "direct line" to truckies looking for freight. Uship can also be useful for bigger parcels.

 

But AustPost own Startrack, even though Startrack will often appear with a direct quote on the quote-seeking sites. Interparcel handled my last parcel, and gave it to Fastway.

Fastway obviously rate Interparcel pretty low, because the item I sent from Perth to Maffra at the end of May, is still in transit between Sydney and Melbourne, after having gone to Sydney first.

 

This is because Fastway mostly utilise the Indian-Pacific for their parcels, and the parcels are trucked to the Perth railhead, loaded onto the train, end up at the railhead in Sydney, and then have to be handled again by truck or van.

What is annoying is that Interparcel promised delivery to Maffra by 5th June - advice that persuaded me to give Interparcel the job. They're not likely to get another parcel job from me.

 

Fast, largely direct, road express, is turning out the best solution with the current virus restrictions. There are trucking companies who do Perth-Melb and vice-versa in 2 days with road express, running 2-up in B-doubles.

The truck hardly stops, and the handling is minimalised when done this way. I'm not sure how the air freight business is going, it must be picking up, because I watched 4 Red Rat big aircraft land at Perth yesterday, all in the space of 15 mins.

[spacesailor]

Years ago you could put a parcel on interstate coach ( bus ) for transport to major centre's.

spacesailor