Effective ways to avoid parcel delivery and postal problems (Australia)

One of the best things about online shopping is that you don't have to carry your purchases home. Conversely, one of the worst things about online shopping is that you can't carry your purchases home and instead you must rely on a third party for delivery.

Few of us stay at home all day, and even if you work at home or are a full-time parent, Sod's Law dictates that couriers arrive during the narrow windows when you're out buying milk or picking up one of your little angels from kindy.

Parcel delivery at work

If you are employed outside the home, the obvious solution is to have parcels sent to you at work. The drawbacks are that some organisations don't allow this (though depending on your job, it might be hard to tell whether a particular item is business or personal), and that a receptionist or someone in the loading dock will sign for the delivery, giving you no chance to check for external damage before accepting responsibility.

Risks in courier delivery

It is possible to provide carriers with an Authority To Leave, but that's a bit risky given reports of thieves following delivery drivers around so they can pick up items left outside. It's possible to buy and install an oversized and heavy-duty mailbox that includes a one-way flap so that parcels can be left in relative security when there's nobody home. This isn't a recommendation, but one example is the widely available Sandleford parcel mailbox that accommodates parcels up to 410 x 190 x 300 mm.

Smarter Logistics Solutions

Companies such as Mail Boxes Etc (MBE) and Pack & Send offer private mail boxes and will take delivery from any carrier, including Australia Post. Clients can usually collect small items at any time, but do check whether this also applies to larger parcels. As an example, MBE prices start at $165 a year. Some other businesses such as newsagents sometimes offer private mail box services that may include taking delivery of parcels.

Some carriers, eg Couriers Please, let you arrange deliveries to participating petrol stations, newsagents and other stores with long opening hours, or to parcel lockers located at places such as shopping centres.

Australia Post Parcel Delivery

If your supplier does or will use Australia Post, you have several additional though in some cases similar – options.

If you set up a MyPost account, you can tell Australia Post whether you'd rather have any parcels left in a safe place near your door or taken to a nearby post office or post shop for collection in the event that nobody is in when delivery is attempted.

Or you can register to use a parcel locker that's located conveniently to your home or work, or somewhere along a route you frequently travel. Then when you place an order, enter your personalised parcel locker address as the delivery address. When the parcel arrives, Australia Post notifies you by SMS and email that it's waiting for you, and you have two days to collect it. Parcel lockers are accessible around the clock.

You're not limited to a single parcel locker: you can register at multiple locations and use whichever address suits you at the time. If you normally have items delivered to a locker near your work, you might specify one close to home if you expect delivery while you're on leave, or even one convenient to wherever you're staying on holiday.

If there isn't a handy parcel locker or you can't be sure that you'll be able to collect items within two days, there's also the Parcel Collect service. Like parcel lockers, there's no extra charge for the service. The difference is that you nominate a post office or post shop as your delivery address which means items can only be collected during opening hours (usually 9–5 Mon–Fri, but sometimes longer). They are held for up to 10 days, giving you more time than you get with a parcel locker.

In theory, Parcel Collect can be used for items delivered by other carriers, but Australia Post insists that the carrier pays for that aspect of the service, and practically none do. There's no option for the addressee to pay the fee.

Because Parcel Collect is free to the addressee, you wouldn't pay $135 a year for a Post Office Box just as a way of taking deliveries when you're not home. But if you already have one, you can use it as a parcel delivery address. If an item is too large to go into the box size you selected, Australia Post will either leave it in one of the larger boxes with red doors and put the key in your box, or make it available for collection from the counter. An optional service provides email notification when there's a new item in your box, and parcels are stored for up to 30 days.

Ink Depot's Shipping and Delivery process

Our orders are dispatched and delivered through many different courier services(Courier's Please, Toll Priority, Direct Freight, Fastway, Go Logistics, Fox Line, StarTrack, Australia Post ). Our customers receive tracking details in the email. These tracking details include the name of the courier company, their phone number and a tracking link which includes the consignment number.

At Ink Depot we charge a flat rate of $6.95 (including GST) for all your orders under $99.00 (including GST). Orders over $99 are shipped for free. Find more about the delivery options available. Buy printer cartridges and enjoy FREE and FAST shipping for all your orders over $99.