This article outlines how the shipping of parcels works in Australia.
With a long history of shipping parcels all around Australia dating back to 2007 and almost 1 million packages shipped, we have a deep level of experience to ensure your order arrives quickly and in good condition.
Unfortunately, all freight and logistics services in Australia are neither precise nor predictable, so we try to smooth this out to ensure customers receive a good experience.
It's no surprise that shipping parcels around Australia are much more expensive than most other countries due to long distances between cities and poor road infrastructure, tolls and additional high costs related to transport.
Who delivers the parcel to me?
Australia Post carries the majority of our parcels. We selectively use StarTrack Road Express for deliveries to businesses where we know the receiver can accept delivery without the risk of a futile attempt, which costs us more in re-delivery fees.
Courier deliveries often fail when there is nobody present to take the parcel.
Re-delivery or redirection adds to the total cost of the shipping - a price we, as the sender, are forced to pay after delivery has finished.
We have used all of the Australian-based couriers over the last 15 years.
Based on our extensive experience, we know there is a higher incident rate from couriers, especially when delivering to residential and small business premises.
High incident rates add risks to our business through higher costs, inferior customer satisfaction and reputational damage.
For these reasons, we send the bulk of our parcels with AusPost.
AusPost are more reliable and consistent than couriers - we have extensive stats and performance figures to back that up.
AusPost also covers a far more significant part of Australia. Couriers tend to focus on capital cities and, for regional areas, rely upon 3rd party subcontractors - that is where the performance levels deteriorate rapidly.
How much does shipping cost?
The shipping cost is highly variable as it depends upon a few factors, such as a parcel's size, weight and destination address. A big misconception many customers have is that the price of shipping is a flat rate; it's not.
We have a handy shipping calculator available in the store CART to assist our customers.
To use this handy shipping calculator, add all the required items to the shopping cart, then enter your postcode and Australian state, e.g. VIC or NSW.
There is also a discount for customers ordering more than $120 in free shipping products.
For customers needing their parcel to arrive faster, you can select the express freight at Checkout. AusPost sets express fees and is generally more expensive than standard or regular shipping.
Our facility is in Melbourne, Australia.
Due to the larger size of our company and higher volumes of parcels shipped daily, we enjoy the unique privilege of lodging directly in a central hub.
In bypassing usual delays experienced at the standard Melbourne Parcel Facility at Sunshine, we can save customers at least 1+ day transit time, sometimes 2+ days during peak periods.
If you need to obtain a Shipping cost Estimate, please add all of the required products to your CART, then access the CART page where you will see the "Estimate Shipping" function.
The postage calculator asks for your state and postcode before calculating shipping estimates.
An important point to remember is that we don't use pre-paid satchels - never, ever! Our products are sensitive and will get crushed or damaged in pouches.
All orders will be packaged using brand-new cartons.
All parcels are shipped using whole track and trace details sent to the customer.
Signature Required is the default setting for all parcels, and customers can change that feature in the CART before proceeding to the Checkout by checking the box "Authority To Leave" in the CART.
IMPORTANT - Authority To Leave is not available in the Checkout; please do this in the CART before proceeding to the Checkout.
Transit Insurance.
AusPost parcels have NO transit insurance provided by default.
This means that if your parcel is lost or damaged in transit by AusPost, it's not covered by any form of replacement, as AusPost will only cover losses if transit insurance is pre-purchased before the parcel is shipped.
Transit cover must be paid before the parcel is dispatched.
The costs for AusPost transit insurance are approx. $3 per $100 of cover, and it's important to remember this must be paid for before your parcel leaves our premises - once it has gone, we can't add or change the transit insurance status.
To arrange Transit Cover, please get in touch with us before your order is shipped.
What about arrival time guarantees?
Express freight is not a guaranteed service in terms of delivery arrival timeframe.
Arrival guarantee is a marketing blooper by AusPost as they have historically advertised Express freight as being "guaranteed next day" delivery.
The devil is in the details here, folks.
AusPost only guarantees Express parcels when official AusPost-branded merchandise is purchased over the counter at licensed AusPost outlets.
DELIVERY GUARANTEES FOR EXPRESS ARE NOT APPLICABLE FOR RETAILERS AND MERCHANTS LIKE US.
All we can guarantee is that if you purchase the express option, we will ensure it is configured and dispatched correctly according to the express service.
NO money-back guarantees are available with AusPost Express Services where a parcel is delayed or arrives later than expected.
Therefore, we offer no warranties on the arrival date of your parcel. The factors affecting transit time are not under our control or influence.
If you purchase the express option for your parcel and it arrives after the expected time frame according to the freight provider guidelines, please note that our freight contract with AusPost does not allow for a refund of the express freight charge.
These are standard AusPost merchant conditions. Any advice provided by AusPost Call Centre Support Staff claiming to offer refunds by "contacting the sender for a refund" is entirely invalid, untrue and illegal.
Why didn't my parcel ship the same day?
We want our customers to receive the freshest roasted coffee possible.
There may be occasions when we have run out of a specific roasted coffee product during the day.
We cannot predict how the sales and orders will flow daily. Coffee is roasted in the morning and up until midday, then packed and shipped.
So, we exist within a delicate balance between retaining only fresh roasted coffee and keeping higher levels of roasted stock to satisfy incoming customer orders.
Our policy is to hold low roasted coffee inventory - barely enough for 24 hours and not quite enough for 48 hours.
You can read more information about the optimal quantity of coffee to purchase.
