I had previously seen a couple of posts on the Australian Resellers Facebook group about using the AusPost business account which gives discounts on shipping for bulk volume.

As I was really starting to get some volume numbers adding up in May I finally got around to checking this out recently and was pleasantly surprised:

#1 That it was easy to setup and #2 connecting to eBay and importing orders was very straight forward.

I was up and running in less than 5 minutes. On logging in I was immediately drawn to the Band Savings amounts which list the discounts that are applicable if you send X amount of packages per week. I found out that I could print 1kg Satchels in place of 3kg satchels. 1kg Satchels are unable to be printed through the eBay platform so this alone will save me quite a lot of money over the course of year with those items which sneak just over 500gms.

My initial excitement was dashed however as there was a long lead time of 8 weeks for what band I was to be placed in. I attempted to bypass this wait time by appealing to the friendly lady on the other end of an AusPost chat line. With my already decent volume it was more economical to print labels through eBay whilst waiting for my discounts to take effect I posited. I was not successful. She did suggest I could simply pay for everything through AusPost straight away at the higher rate which would mean they could review it sooner and ergo I would obtain the discounts sooner, however I declined on principal of not paying more just for that privilege, and simply waited it out.

Saving $$$

The wait was worth it and at the end of the review period I was thrust into Band 2 gaining access to immediate savings.

As you can see in the below photo a simple $1.36 discount to another major city with a 1kg Satchel. It may not seem like much but extrapolated over a year and that’s the equivalent to a return trip to Bali from Perth or more than $2000 in interest of my house loan (including the savings over the full term) saved.

Other Unexpected Benefits

The savings aside a couple of other benefits also appeared. As you are directly within the AusPost business platform the page will attempt to auto-validate the address. I have been pleasantly surprised on a few occasions where this has picked up an address error And potentially saved painful time-wasting problems later.

The other feature I am really liking is the quick access to tracking which shows all updates in the history very quickly.

Applications To Reselling

As the reselling business volume grows I am hoping to move up the tiers to take advantage of the scaling discounts. The savings of course can either go straight into the profit bottom line or can be factored into pricing to become more competitive.

Either way if this is something you are not currently doing, there is money being left on the table.

The full savings rate table can be found here on the AusPost website.