How to keep your parcels safe and timely this Christmas
WELCOME TO TUTORIAL TUESDAY! Every Tuesday we will be sharing some of our top tips and helpful information so you can get the best out of your purchases from us!
So stick with us ladies, we will always take care of you!
This week we're sharing our top tips to keep your Christmas shopping safe and on time to the best of your absolute abilities!
And this is the only Christmas advice for you we will have in November we promise! The last 18 months have been chaotic and depressing and we believe the women of Australia (and the world!) deserve a month all to themselves - to celebrate THEM and do things they love! We are calling it 'Me Time Month'! More on that tomorrow!
However, we are all racing the postage clock when it comes to Christmas shopping. It slows down significantly as we approach Christmas so we wanted to remind you of key deadlines to get your Christmas shopping done.
We have also seen Australia Post delays increasing during the NSW and Vic lockdowns (we are hoping they resolve soon) but with these delays come LOST PARCELS! We have seen an increase in lost parcels recently so we want to help you avoid this to the best of your abilities.
How to get your parcels to you on time
Australia Post have advised the Christmas parcel postage deadlines for this year as follows:Domestic parcels
ending to/from | Parcel Post | Express Post |
---|---|---|
Anywhere in Australia (except WA and NT) |
13 December |
20 December |
WA and NT |
8 December |
15 December |
International parcels
International sending dates vary depending on destination and the chosen delivery service. Search your chosen destination here!
So the moral of the story? Get your Christmas shopping done now and stop thinking about it! We'll be releasing a Christmas gift guide and shopping list for you later today to take all the hassle out of it! We can even do your wrapping for you! Keep an eye on our blog for details!
How do I protect myself from lost parcels
We have seen increased delays in the Australia Post network of late which is leading to an increase in lost parcels. The longer they spend untracked in the system, the more likely it seems they are to go missing so what can you do to help your parcel get to you?
TRACK IT!
TRACK IT! TRACK IT! TRACK IT! TRACK IT!
If you don't see it move (ie get another scan) for 2 days, report it as missing! Harass them to within an inch of their lives! Honestly, 9/10 it works. And most people we have seen not look up their parcel and query it for 2 weeks, have lost it! Including our own personal parcels! So do not, we repeat, do not, let that sort of time go by without reporting your parcel as misssing. 9/10 times once you report it as missing it magically gets moving again. And the less time it spends in the network whereabouts unknown, the better!
So TRACK IT!
Here is where you report missing Aus Post parcels. Please do this as soon as you don't see it move for 2 days. It puts Australia Post on notice that you're watching it and it gets them investigating it faster if it doesn't move. The quicker a lost parcel is identified the higher the chance you will receive it.
You can also insure your parcels so in the unlikely event they are lost forever, you will be compensated. We will be offering capped price insurance for all parcels between now and Christmas! Domestic parcel insurance will be capped at $8 regardless of parcel value and international parcel insurance will be capped at $20 regardless of value. We will cover the difference for you!
Please also be aware, Australia Post only compensate us for the wholesale value of your goods when insured so if your parcel goes missing - we will be covering the difference for you! We will replace the goods if available, or provide a credit note to the full value of your order so you can purchase something else. We have plenty of new stock arriving daily between now and Christmas so you will have lots to choose from. And in the rare event you can't find something else you love, we will refund your lost parcel (but only between now and Christmas and only if you have insured it).
How do I prevent my parcel from getting stolen
We love Christmas! But unfortunately so do thieves. We had over $10,000 worth of parcels stolen in our suburb in one week alone a few years ago - and it's devastating. One elderly lady who did all her Christmas shopping online lost $600 in toys for her grandchildren.
And some retailers will replace them for you. Some won't. Almost all contain terms and conditions that DO NOT make them liable for loss or damage during transit. And almost all courier companies and Australia Post limit their own liability as well.
Most of those companies are now photographing where they leave parcels if signature on delivery is not requested and paid for to prove that they left it in a safe location because the instances of theft are significantly on the rise.
This leaves you, the customer, high and dry if you're not dealing with a great retailer. But to be honest - the great ones can't afford to keep carrying this burden either!
Last year, lost parcels cost us over $7,000. This is not sustainable for a small business.
So this year we are helping you keep your parcels safe!
Postal services also get VERY congested around the festive season so from now, we recommend choosing express post wherever you can. Regular postage services are de-prioritised meaning if there is too much express post to leave that day, your regular parcels will be put on the back b toner to make way for the express parcels. Just last week we saw delays of 3 business days on regular parcels vs express.
So here are our top tips for keeping your parcels safe this festive season!
1. Use a secure parcel locker
This is the easiest way to try to protect your parcels! If you know you are not able to be home to receive your parcels, do not have them delivered to your home unless you have paid for signature on delivery (and insurance if it's a really valuable item and you'd like to be compensated if it's lost during transit or stolen from your letter box or other location where parcels can be left). It's just not safe any more.
Australia Post offers a fantastic, FREE, parcel locker service that you can access 24/7. Yes, you can pick up your parcels ANY TIME YOU LIKE! How great is that?
We can't recommend this service highly enough and not just at Christmas time - any time.
Sign up for a parcel locker here and enjoy the convenience and safety this festive season. You receive your own personal parcel locker address to send to and when received at the facility they pop it in a locker and send you collection details so you can access your locker and receive your parcel quickly and safely.
Not all retailers will deliver to parcel lockers because they use cheaper courier services who are not able to deliver to parcel lockers. This is a risk so make sure you know who your retailer delivers with and that all secure options are available to you!
2. Purchase additional services for greater protection
Some retailers will offer you additional services to keep your parcels safe - like signature on delivery or additional insurance.
For a few extra dollars, it is well worth the peace of mind!
3. Keep an eye on your parcel's tracking and be home to receive your parcel or swoop it up quickly
This is another great way to ensure your parcel isn't left outside for the world to steal.
Keep an eye on your parcel's tracking. That way you know the day it's scheduled to arrive (you will usually see it arrive at your local depot the day before or the morning of delivery) and you can arrange to be home to receive it.
In the past most deliveries used to occur between the hours of 7am and 3pm (with the vast majority in the morning) so you didn't even have to stay in all day most of the time BUT with the increase of online shopping and parcels, Australia Post and other courier companies seem to be delivering ALL DAY Monday - Friday including right up to 5/6pm and they are also delivering on Saturdays so please be aware you could get a delivery on a Saturday. I had an unexpected delivery on a Saturday a few weeks ago (left on my front porch) and it was stolen within a few hours (it was a big box that looked like wine...and said "wine" on the side. No prizes for guessing why that one was stolen! The moral of the story is: you cannot rely on delivery drivers to do the right thing by you. They are rushing from one place to the next to deliver all of their parcels, many of them get paid per parcel delivered. So they will often do the bare minimum. Some of them won't even ring the doorbell and will just leave it on your front step if you don't have signature on delivery (some of them do that even when you do have signature on delivery!). So please do everything you can to keep your parcels safe this festive period.
We understand it's a busy time of year and most people work every week day so if you can't be home to receive your delivery we highly recommend the parcel locker system or paying for signature on delivery and insurance to protect your parcel.
Try to do all your Christmas shopping in as few deliveries as possible so you have less deliveries to keep an eye on. And use the Shop app to track them where you can! This is a service we offer so you can track your Miko + Mollie purchases in the Shop app.
Some hot tips:
- Most courier companies are extra cautious with parcels that have signature on delivery and insurance on them - they don't want to have to compensate you for lost or damaged parcels!
- Lots of additional drivers are taken on over the Christmas period to deal with the increase in postage that occurs around that time - these drivers are not always given an adequate amount of training and some of them are just bad eggs to be honest. This is a constant source of frustration for those of us who use the postal systems a lot and we have provided this feedback to them year after year but not a lot seems to happen so we need to take it upon ourselves, as consumers, to protect ourselves and our parcels. We shouldn't have to, but we do.
- Thieves target delivery vans during the festive period in particular. Australia Post is the easiest to target because their delivery schedules are so regular due to the sheer volume of post they deliver within Australia. Last year, in my neighbourhood, thieves were following the Australia Post vans around the neighbourhood and stealing parcels left outside your front door within LITERALLY minutes of the tracking advice saying the items had been delivered - you didn't even have time to get to your front door! If signature on delivery had been on these parcels, the delivery driver would not have been allowed to leave those parcels by the door and they would have been safe.
So we urge you to consider parcel lockers or the additional services available such as signature on delivery and insurance to keep your parcels safe this Christmas (and beyond).
It's not worth the risk, expense and inconvenience at this time of year when the fix is so easy and simple (and arguably more convenient with 24/7 parcel locker access and there's probably one right near your home or work!).
In addition to all of this information on the increased risks of parcel theft these days, and what you can do to protect your parcels, we are offering ALL customers FREE signature on delivery services within Australia from 14 December to 6 January on ALL ORDERS over $200 to try to help you keep your parcels as safe as we possibly can. No code required!
Be aware, be alert, and do what you can to keep your parcels safe this Christmas, and we will be doing the same for you as well! Because we're just a bunch of women, who genuinely care about you.
Have a safe, enjoyable festive season our beautiful friends and we look forward to you receiving your fabulous Miko + Mollie orders safely this festive season!
Lots of love
Courtney, Lily, Sally, Ebony and Dani
xx
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