Irish postage

[sarahjayne]

Any other Irish users around? And who do you use to send single or twin mugs? I just posted one in a smashproof box upto Dublin with An Post and it cost me 6.50 euro (approx 5.45 GBP) - I just can't see how I can do one off mugs with postage that high. I had expected it to be around the 4.50 mark and was way off obviously.

[John G]

Hi Sarahjayne,
You really need to know all your weights and prices for diffferent qty's of mugs, and this should be past onto your customers as postal charges - its pointless trying to guess as your going to be out of pocket.

You may not be able to compete with UK based businesses but if we tried to send a mug to Ireland, it would be an arm and a leg too.

[sarahjayne]

Hi Sarahjayne,
You really need to know all your weights and prices for diffferent qty's of mugs, and this should be past onto your customers as postal charges - its pointless trying to guess as your going to be out of pocket.

You may not be able to compete with UK based businesses but if we tried to send a mug to Ireland, it would be an arm and a leg too.

Hi John,
I had downloaded the rates from An Post for the small packets service and thought that was the category it would come under, costing me 3.85 euro. However, as the box has a depth of more than 7cm it is automatically classed as a parcel and carries a minimum charge of 6.50 euro.
I'm not trying to compete with UK business - I was sending it from Galway to Dublin - about 125 miles but it would have cost the same to send it 6 miles down the road. Surely people are not passing on postal charge of 6.50 on a 7.99 mug?
I can send upto 20kg of mugs for 7.50 with a courier - it's the single and double orders I have a problem with - not sure many people will want to order 4 or more mugs at a time.

[John G]

Yeh, its a funny one. Are these the only postage service in Ireland?

[John G]

Are these any good.

http://www.citypost.ie/pouch/Pouch_Step_1.aspx

You'd have to check first if its classed as a packet.

[sarahjayne]

Yeh, its a funny one. Are these the only postage service in Ireland?

Yes - there was one started in Dublin city but not countrywide yet as far as I know. Guess I'll just have to saturate my friends and family then the local towns with them first - had thought I'd stick a few Easter ones on E-bay and local ad sites - maybe I can try a set of personalised mugs with 4 or 5 and list one single one with the actual postage cost added - so people can see the saving of having 4 .... guess I wont know until I try.

[JSR]

I had downloaded the rates from An Post for the small packets service and thought that was the category it would come under, costing me 3.85 euro. However, as the box has a depth of more than 7cm it is automatically classed as a parcel and carries a minimum charge of 6.50 euro.

Is that right, or am I reading it wrong?

According to http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/What+Are+Yo ... htm#packet a "packet" is defined as:

"minimum dimensions: 100mm(L) X 70mm(H) X 25mm(D)", and
"maximum dimensions: for a packet are a combined length, height and depth of 900mm. No individual dimension can exceed 600mm, with a tolerance of 2mm."

A mug box that is typically 10cm x 10cm x 10cm (or thereabouts) would be greater than the minimum dimensions (10cm x 7cm x 2.5cm). And the combined dimensions of length, height and depth would be 100+100+100=300mm (or thereabouts) which is less than 900mm.

It looks to me like you were right and that it should be a packet @ 3.85, not a parcel @ 6.50.

the box has a depth of more than 7cm

The 7cm is a minimum depth, not a maximum, for a packet.

If they're classing it as a parcel rather than a packet, then I've clearly read it wrong.

[sarahjayne]

Are these any good.

http://www.citypost.ie/pouch/Pouch_Step_1.aspx

You'd have to check first if its classed as a packet.

thanks John will check them in the morning - it will depend on the depth of the pouch they supply - but it's quite a saving if they will fit. 10 pouches upto 500g is 3.60 each.

Ahhh but their definition of a packet is -

packet - An item which is not a letter, large letter or A3 packet, and is no larger than 460 millimetres by 610 millimetres by 460 millimetres and no heavier than 4 kilograms. For tubular packages, the length plus twice the diameter must not go over

1040 millimetres or be more than 900 millimetres long.
darn it.

[sarahjayne]

Is that right, or am I reading it wrong?

According to http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/What+Are+Yo ... htm#packet a "packet" is defined as:

"minimum dimensions: 100mm(L) X 70mm(H) X 25mm(D)", and
"maximum dimensions: for a packet are a combined length, height and depth of 900mm. No individual dimension can exceed 600mm, with a tolerance of 2mm."

A mug box that is typically 10cm x 10cm x 10cm (or thereabouts) would be greater than the minimum dimensions (10cm x 7cm x 2.5cm). And the combined dimensions of length, height and depth would be 100+100+100=300mm (or thereabouts) which is less than 900mm.

It looks to me like you were right and that it should be a packet @ 3.85, not a parcel @ 6.50.


The 7cm is a minimum depth, not a maximum, for a packet.

If they're classing it as a parcel rather than a packet, then I've clearly read it wrong.

No individual dimension can exceed 600mm, with a tolerance of 2mm. This is were it stops being a packet I think.

[JSR]

No individual dimension can exceed 600mm, with a tolerance of 2mm. This is were it stops being a packet I think.

Sorry, I thought you were just sending one or two mugs - in which case no individual dimension would have exceeded 600mm.