Crazy Irish postal price

Rabies

Two weeks ago I sent a 3.2Kg package from New Zealand to Ireland.
Total cost was NZ$89 (e47). This included insurance and tracking plus it was sent by express post.

Around the same time my parents sent a 3.5Kg package to me from Ireland to New Zealand. Total cost was e101 (NZ$191). I don't know if my parents had tracking or insurance, doubt it.

Is it just me or are Irish people getting fleeced on international postal charges.

Plug

Thats Ireland for ya! I usally order stuff from america and the shipping is reletively cheap considering the size and weight of the boxes. I wouldn't like to see the price of the oppisite direction:rolleyes:

Sparky

Stamps may be going up from 48c to 55c come March. It will be put to the people first.

Rabies

Just to add another thing about the Irish postal system.
Before I left for New Zealand I sent some documents relating to my visa to an office in Dublin by registered post. Two weeks after I sent them I get a call to say they never arrived.
I happened to be in Dublin the next day to I dropped in a new set personaly to the visa office.

The registered post only cost about E6 or so, but that is not the point. Didn't even bother to call An Post. Should have.

Sad Professor

Your parents must have used courier post which is the most expensive and fastest option. Prices are pretty ridiculous and it would have had tracking and insurance, I believe. Unless the package was urgent they should have sent by regular registered post. Might have taken a month but it would have cost half as much. Also An Post round up the weight so if the package weighed 3.6Kg you are charged for 4kg which is the difference of about €10.

An Post don't have many options for overseas delivery. It's either regular/registered post (which takes forever) or courier. Their express service is in between but only delivers within Ireland. It's a bit of a joke I'm afraid.

Where I live the postman doesn't come till about 3pm most days and sometimes he doesn't come at all and I get a bunch of post at the end of the week. I inquired and found out he's doing two shifts and my street is at the end so he doesn't bother doing it some days. I'm just happy I get post at all.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

Ruu_Old

Story below from rte.ie/business. Now I always find when my folks send me stuff regular airmail, gets to the US within a week and if they send by a more expensive method then it gets here much, much slower. Also you can forget about 'Economy' postage, something like 4-8 weeks (if you are lucky to get it at all). There is just not enough options for international postage in Ireland than in countries I have been to around the world, poor show.

An Post has applied to the communications regulator for an increase in the price of a basic stamp from the current 48 cent to 55 cent from March 1 next year.

As a result, ComReg has launched a public consultation process before deciding on whether to approve the increase.

ComReg said that the application was for an increase in the standard letter category up to 50g and, if approved, prices for the 50-100g large letter category would come down from 60 cent to 55 cent.

In its application, An Post said that by March 1, it will have been 42 months since prices were last increased. An Post also pointed to significant cost increases in that period, and further cost increases for wages, energy and fuel over the next 12 months.

ComReg last year rejected a price increase application from An Post for a 12 cent rise to 60 cent.

John R

Rabies wrote:

Two weeks ago I sent a 3.2Kg package from New Zealand to Ireland.
Total cost was NZ$89 (e47). This included insurance and tracking plus it was sent by express post.

Around the same time my parents sent a 3.5Kg package to me from Ireland to New Zealand. Total cost was e101 (NZ$191). I don't know if my parents had tracking or insurance, doubt it.

Is it just me or are Irish people getting fleeced on international postal charges.

3.5kg Ireland-NZ is €55 standard airmail €59 registered post (with tracking and insurance) and €93 courier post.

Rabies

John R wrote:

3.5kg Ireland-NZ is €55 standard airmail €59 registered post (with tracking and insurance) and €93 courier post.

Not the price going by the document attached to the parcel.

John R

Rabies wrote:

Not the price going by the document attached to the parcel.

http://postage.anpost.ie/

Courier post IRL-NZ 4kgs €101

similar package NZ-IRL seems to be approx €85 so about 15% cheaper.

Rabies

Looks like my parents were charged an extra E8. The print out states the weight as 3.5kg but yet it was charged as 4kg.

Oh well, I still got my christmas present. Now all I need to do is try to hold out and not open it

mickoneill30

Are there any alternatives?
I sell stuff on eBay had to send a package to the US this week. I rang DHL, UPS & Fed Ex. They ranged from €80 - €110. I used to live in Oz and the equivalent services were way cheaper. I sent it by registered post for about half the price but registered basically tells me if it gets there or not. I can't guarantee when and I don't trust them that much.

parsi

mickoneill30 wrote:

Are there any alternatives?
I sell stuff on eBay had to send a package to the US this week. I rang DHL, UPS & Fed Ex. They ranged from €80 - €110. I used to live in Oz and the equivalent services were way cheaper. I sent it by registered post for about half the price but registered basically tells me if it gets there or not. I can't guarantee when and I don't trust them that much.

There ya go. There are alternatives to An Post but they are dearer. If you want time defined deliveries you have to pay for it. Damm public sector postal service being cheaper than the great efficient private sector.

Rebeller

Ironically, it is competition, that cure all-of capitalists everywhere, which is partly responsible for postal price increases and esb rises.

The EU postal directive calls for the opening up of national postal systems to third party private providers. As is the case with the electricity market in Ireland, the postal market is too small to provide adequate profits to more than one or two operators at current price levels.

Prices are therefore being increased ahead of time to make it more viable for private companies to operate in both the postal and electricity markets so that they can break up those evil state monopolies and provide us with better, more efficient and cheaper services. However, the idea of paying more for cheaper prices seems somewhat surreal to me:eek:

You see, privitisation wil cure all deficiencies in public services: private buses will be plentiful and will always run on time having somehow found a way of avoiding traffic chaos on our third world roads;

Our backward health system will be transformed into a model of service and efficiency thanks to the selfless building of private hospitals.

Post sent form Dublin to Cork will no longer take 2 to 3 days. instead it will arrive at its destination almost instantaneously thanks to the miracle of private (taxpayer subsidised) enterprise.

We are being asked to pay more for certain essential services so that "entrepreneurs" and private individuals can make a healthy profit when they decide to operate here.

Crazy:mad:

parsi

The Directory Enquiry service was another example of this. They used be free (part of teh service you got for paying your highly expensive line rental). Then they were made chargeable so that it would be viable for a competitor to setup a service. This competitor could then charge a wee bit less than eircon but claim that competition was driving down the prices. Sort of ignored the fact that before competition the service was free.