Do you use the Post Office?

Do you use the Post Office?

  • Yes

    Votes: 159 37.1%

  • No

    Votes: 269 62.9%
  • Total voters
    428
I think customs is the major bottleneck or source of loss and theft. Packages can easily sit at the Johannesburg customs for months. Without tracking it is impossible to know whether it ever arrived at customs. With tracking you'll know it arrived there, but it won't help with getting any information on when or if the package will ever be shipped on.
 
I regularly buy stuff online and recei e through the post office in the past 5 years I lost 1 package that was never delivered but got refunded by the supplier. No issues except the long wait associated with the post office
 
Only if I have to. Just tried opening a PO box there last weekend. This because items in my Postnet Suite go to the PO anyway and parcels I have to pay R28.00 import tax on get lost because I don't out my number on my receiving address. So they return to sender. They told me I can't because the "system is offline". Can't receive post at home because I live in a security estate and according to the PO it's "too much trouble" getting through security to deliver mail.
 
only for online shopping(read Wish) deliveries and my fishing permit
 
I only use PostNet for all postal related services. BidorBuy I look for PostNet to PostNet as well.

The only time I step foot into a Post Office is to renew my license disc once a year.
 
I used to use the PO regularly for parcels of varying value. But the PO is no longer reliable. The last time I went there (a few months ago), it was for a parcel that was not even addressed to me - looked like expensive tech stuff...hope it got to the right person....
 
Yes, but not by choice. There are no alternative options when I do.
 
Only if I can't help it. Oh and to do my annual car licenses, cos there's only one place worse than the post office and that is licensing dept.
 
At the moment, I do not use the Post Office. This is not to say that I would not like to. If the SAPO was efficient and reliable, I would use their service extensively.

I have a small, fledgling online business. I sell to consumers in South Africa only. I use Postnet, Aramex and PAXI where orders cannot be collected. I use these services because they are efficient and reliable. They reach their destination within the guaranteed time. Parcels never go missing or get mangled en route.

Consumers in South Africa are well below 1% of the possible potential (if I were to open up to shipping to international destinations).

Very few of the fellow store owners in South Africa sell beyond South Africa. Those who do tell me that they mainly use the SAPO to ship their packages. Mostly, their packages make their respective destinations. But they tell me it is not efficient and there is always the worry that it will not get there.

In addition, while I can new stock locally, I cannot get the pieces in sufficient quantities (bulk) that are attractive to local buyers. I have started buying from other stores in Europe (soon to look at SE Asia too) where I can get quantity of parts that are attractive. It is not without concern that products will not arrive or that I will have to sweat bricks wading through SAPO trying to get it cleared through customs, etc.

My dilemma is that I either use SAPO to get it into South Africa (cheapest option, but full of blood, sweat and tears) or get it couriered by Aramex Global Shopper or similar where the cost makes importing stock less attractive.

If I could brave export, the business has the potential to grow to a point where I could employ either part or full time people to help manage it. This is exactly what the country needs, is it not? Creating employment? Yes, I can use courier services to ship packages to the USA, UK or Europe, but the cost makes purchases from my store less attractive.

I do not want to make huge margins or get rich quick. I want to do my small bit to grow the economy by creating employment opportunities for others.

For me, the SAPO has the potential to help grow the economy. Right now, it is just another stumbling block that hamstrings opportunity.
 
Don't want to but have to.
When ordering international as doing it via courier is just to expensive.
Some do offer reasonable courier and would rather use that then.

Also use post office for car license renewals
 
noxibox said:
I think customs is the major bottleneck or source of loss and theft. Packages can easily sit at the Johannesburg customs for months. Without tracking it is impossible to know whether it ever arrived at customs. With tracking you'll know it arrived there, but it won't help with getting any information on when or if the package will ever be shipped on.
Click to expand...

You know that there is no such thing as customs right? That when SAPO tells you a parcel is in customs what they mean to say is that the parcel is at SAPO and they haven't bothered to do the paperwork that is required for clearing.
 
beans100 said:
Been a while, but there is times where it's unavoidable.
Click to expand...
Managed to avoid them for around 7 years including the closing of P.O.Box. Before they collapsed after that big 6 month strike way back when, used them a few times a week - EMS was faster than courier at one stage and speedservices worked....alas those are now the good old days.
 
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