It turns out this was caused by a problem with our web hosting company, now resolved.
Now that I’ve done some testing, I have found some other problems though, so first I just want to describe the Australia Post parcel options (as I understand them).
There are three kinds of postage:
- Parcel Post (often called Regular Post, though not an official name, usually delivered in 2 business days but not guaranteed) and
- Express Post (delivered the next day, most of the time)
- Courier (StarTrak semi-privatised, for more urgent or bulky items. We never use this, so I’ll ignore it below)
Then there are different rates for different kinds of packaging:
- Flat rate packaging — sold by Australia Post, 5 size classes, 5 kg maximum, slightly cheaper rates, if it fits in the package it qualifies for that category’s postage rate
- Pre-paid Satchels — sold by Australia Post, 5 size classes, 5 kg maximum, plastic, packing includes postage
- Everything else (Use your own packaging) — also includes Australia Post packaging that isn’t one of the above, up to 22 kg, rate depends on dimensions and weight
We only post textbooks. We don’t use
Pre-paid Satchels (because of the plastic waste) and we don’t use
Flat rate packaging (because the paper option isn’t strong enough and the boxes are the wrong shape). We use Australia Post A4 Rigid Mailers (cardboard) which they class as “using your own packaging”. This means they’re assessed on dimensions and weight, but effectively they usually end up costing the same as Medium Pre-paid Satchels.
The labels on the options shown in the back end aren’t very clear and don’t match up with the names for different shipping at checkout. They also don’t very clearly connect with the categories described above. For example, the back end has
Regular Parcel as its first option, which seems like it means a Regular Parcel Post package (not a satchel or flat rate package) and at checkout this
does appear just as
Parcel Post. You would expect there to be a matching
Express Post Parcel, but there isn’t; only
Express Post Satchel, which is a particular
kind of Express Post parcel
.
It’s confusing for the end user to see options at checkout like
- Medium satchel (delivered in 2 business days) ($20)
VS.
- Medium satchel ($24)
when (I’m guessing) they correspond to the backend options
- Prepaid Parcel Post Medium (3Kg) Satchel
VS.
- Express Post Medium (3Kg) Satchel
It looks like they’re paying
more for no guaranteed delivery time, when Express Post is the faster delivery. At checkout the Express Post options should always include the words Express Post as everyone knows exactly what it is (next day delivery).
The postage amount that appears at checkout for one of books we sell is $15 for
Parcel Post. None of the packaging types costs this though. Flat rate Medium = $15.25, Pre-paid Medium = $15.65, Own packaging (calculated when you create a postage label): $15.65.
I don’t know where this figure comes from. Is it some bulk rate?
Express Post (
Express Post Satchel in the back end) at checkout shows as $19, but the prices are Flat rate Medium = $19.25, Pre-paid Medium / Own packaging: $19.65.
When I added the books as products, I used the dimensions of the A4 Rigid Mailer (but the height of the book) so that the calculator would have the dimensions of the actual package.
I was really hoping this would save me creating static links for different combinations of books, but if it can’t calculate the postage we actually have to pay, it’s not much use.
Calculate postage page
(Australia Post)
