An post price - odd?

Saruman · 06-03-2008 12:04pm #1

Does this seem odd to anyone else?
I went to price sending a parcel to the UK.

Courier post, which is faster and has higher insurance than registered post is actually cheaper than registered post.

Is this not a contradiction?

You have selected a Parcel with a weight of 0.05 Kgs from Dublin to Main cities/towns, Great Britain.

standard
Rate €18.25
Vat n/a
Total €18.25

Transit Times: 2 Working Days
Service Features:
World-wide Airmail Delivery

registered
Rate €23.00
Vat n/a
Total €23.00

Transit Times: 2 Working Days
Service Features:
Premium Secure Delivery Service
Track & Trace
Some service elements destination dependent
Inclusive Insurance up to €320.00

courier
Rate €16.94
Vat €3.56
Total €20.50

Transit Times: Next Working Day
Service Features:
Guaranteed Day Certain Courier Service
Track & Trace
Some service elements destination dependent
Minimum size: large envelope
Inclusive Insurance up to €350.00

boneless · 06-03-2008 1:28pm

Registered mail actually involves more handling via hand-to-hand checking and signing within the postal system, hence the higher cost and slower transit through same system.

danniemcq · 06-03-2008 1:47pm

plus registered is kinda well safer so you pay for security

Beano · 06-03-2008 1:53pm

If you try the same thing for a 0.5Kg parcel then you get a more reasonable result. I think the fact that the parcel is only 0.05Kg is throwing off the calculation. Registered post is a flat rate €23 up to 1KG. After that it get more expensive. Courier cost is purely based on weight and get very expensive at around the 1Kg mark.