CHOICE Community members have been among many vocal consumers sharing their displeasure with Australia Post and other delivery services in recent times. So, will ‘Shipster’ turn the tide? The program is being trialled ahead of the Christmas rush.
Hey @BrendanMays
May I suggest that the article by @TonyIbrahim is reviewed and edited as it is hard to read and understand.
For example the first paragraph:
“Australia Post’s Shipster will offer no-cost delivery from more than 40 big-brand retailers on purchases greater than $25. The service is being trialled throughout metropolitan Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for $9.95.”
Either it is free or it costs $9.95.
The second paragraph:
But that will change at the start of 2018, when the offer will begin to exclude delivery fees more than $20, and the cost becomes a monthly payment of $6.95."
This para just doesn’t make sense. Are there words missing?
I think what is being said is that after a trial period you can subscribe to a AP’s Shitster delivery service instead of paying fees each time. Conditions apply…
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The current deal is for postage fees not above $20 and membership will cost $9.95 for that trial period but in January 2018 the cost of membership of the service will be a monthly one. The Choice article also incorrectly refers that postage above $20 will be excluded from Jan 2018 but the AusPost site clearly states that the postage cost must be $20 or lower even during the trial. See the snip from their site
The postage is free, where the cost of postage does not exceed $20 and $25 or more is spent on goods in the online store you use. But as noted above, membership of the service is a cost and in the next 3 ish months (Oct, Nov & Dec) the membership cost is $9.95 total (equiv to about $3.40 per month). After Dec 2017 the cost of membership goes up to $6.95 per month.
I would refer you to a post of mine in another topic which has a news article link and a link to the Shipster online page, that may help describe the service more clearly for you.
So to your concerns about Choice’s article I can see where some confusion may occur.
During the trial they are very strict on the areas they will deliver to, I don’t know when or how much they will be relaxed after the trial. But I am one suburb out of the delivery zone currently and thus this trial is of absolutely no benefit to me, nor does it currently cover our other Capital cities Canberra, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide & Hobart.
They have now added Adelaide to the offer, and there is now a free 2 month trial of Shipster. Oh forgot they also give a $10 credit to Aussie Farmer Direct orders over $25 and this applies to one order per Calendar month.
"1. Following the 2 month trial offer, you will be automatically charged $6.95 per month until you cancel your Shipster subscription. Note your credit card will be charged $1 as a pre-authorisation transaction. The $1 will be reversed within 5 business days.
…//…
4. $10 Aussie Farmers Direct credit is applied to account automatically once an initial $25 order has been delivered. Limited to one $10 credit per Subscriber per calendar month."
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I think at the end of the day you nailed it, intentionally or not 
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I’m glad someone picked it up 
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Thanks for the feedback @meltham and @grahroll, much appreciated. The article has been updated.
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I’m a thousand miles from where this applies - but really, subscribing to a hopeless service provider is unlikely to result in better service than paying as you go … It’s still Australia Post …
No indication whether they ever will service remote areas in their terms and conditions, but one thing they make very clear, “for the avoidance of doubt”, is (from here ):
So you can’t buy a “download” and have it delivered by Australia Post … who’d have thought?
Where do they find the muppets to write this stuff?
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That’s a shocker
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Just received the offer to join - says it is Australia wide now for all these brands …
… none of which I intend to order from …
In the process of looking at the offer, I saw the following in the terms and conditions:
I nearly choked 
. Do they really think they can control who links to their website? and what was the thought process behind such a belief? Oh dear … I guess its the same muppets who won’t let me have a non-tangible purchase such as a download delivered by Shipster to my letterbox …
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… and this:
So which is it? not oversized or heavy, or not expensive? to put that in context, a 30x30x10cm 2kg package from Adelaide (my nearest capital city) to me is just under $30 by normal parcel post. I’d hardly say a package that size is oversize or heavy, and I regularly receive packages that are bigger/heavier.
Sorry Shipster - you seem like a big city thing only …
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That is quite shocking @draughtrider. Does it really mean what it says on the Shipster website? Now we’ve already linked twice to their website just on this forum thread, so according to its website, Australia Post is now holding CHOICE to its lengthy terms and conditions (and we’re already such big fans of this type of thing).
Personally, I find the value proposition pretty strange. Only people who are frequently ordering expensive, small items will be able to get value to my reading.
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One link in a post a few weeks back and about 57 links today between us - not that I’m counting 
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Well they have the normal stuff about how the website is not to be used to make any decisions:
"While Australia Post endeavours to take reasonable care in preparing and maintaining the information on this website we do not warrant the accuracy, reliability, adequacy or completeness of any of the website content. You acknowledge and accept that the website content may include technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. The website content is subject to change at any time without notice and may not necessarily be up to date or accurate at the time you view it.
It is your responsibility to enquire with us directly to ensure the accuracy and currency of the material or information you seek to rely upon. To the extent permitted by law, including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Australia Post disclaims all liability for loss directly or indirectly arising from your use of or reliance on the website and the website content.
Australia Post does not guarantee that access to the Australia Post website will be uninterrupted or that the website is free from viruses or anything else which may damage any computer which accesses the Australia Post website or any data on such a computer."
Also the use of anything on their site for comment (which I thought was protected) etc is not allowed it seems other than for personal use.
"The materials displayed on this website, including without limitation all editorial materials, information, photographs, illustrations, artwork and other graphic materials, and names, logos and trade marks, are the property of Australia Post and are protected by copyright, trade mark and other intellectual property laws. Any such content may be displayed and printed solely for your personal, non-commercial use within your organisation provided that any copyright notice on such a display or page is not removed. You agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast or circulate any such material to any third party without the express prior written consent of Australia Post.
Save for the above, and unless expressly granted, Australia Post does not grant any licence or right in, or assign all or part of, its intellectual property rights in the content or applications incorporated into the Australia Post website or in the user interface of the Australia Post website."
And by their terms the above two excerpts are in breach of their property rights because I and any others who did similar didn’t get their express written permission.
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A hijack, but as an alumni of the public service I fought with our agency counsel for about 2 years trying to do something eminently reasonable and at no cost to government or the taxpayers. I lost. 5 years later it is done and has become routine. My conclusion is that the legalise can be credited to some ‘expert advice’ that is as over-employed as anyone, anywhere. I empathise with those trying to get their jobs done to a high standard without all the ‘value added’ in their way.
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@grahroll, that’s my understanding as well, thanks for posting the reference to the forum too.
That also sounds right to me @PhilT, well said.
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We’ve compare Amazon Prime, eBay Plus and Shipster from Australia Post to find out if they are worth it.
Here’s the article:
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