This week we had an enquiry for Bug Zappers from a customer in Kent, England. We are not trying to sell internationally because it creates too many middle-men (China to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the SA importer, SA importer to us, us back overseas) plus double customs and lots of delivery charges. But we do appreciate that the Bug Zapper is a special product, and when you want to get your hands on one there aren’t a lot of options. So we quoted a price for 3 rackets (they fit nicely in one box), and the customer accepted.

Then we got some quotes for international shipping. Notice how this part happened after we had already quoted the customer? Yip, we’re not that bright.

A box of 3 rackets weighs 1.15kg and the dimensions are 53cm x 24cm x 4cm. That’s about the size of 2 small Debonairs boxes end to end, and not much heavier. ACT Logistics quoted around R800 and Berco Express quoted R710 (ex VAT, but apparently you don’t pay VAT on international shipments?). That was way, way higher than we had expected. With a deep breath and a grimace we turned to the South African Post Office.

You might have noticed that the Post Office website is not too shabby. The design is clean and there is a lot of information, although the navigation is not always obvious. We have used the PO Box renewal facility in the past and it was very impressive (read here). On the site we found the rates booklet in PDF which is handy. Their courier cost was very similar (around R700), so clearly that is the minimum rate for a small parcel to an international destination (I wonder how Amazon does it so cheaply in reverse?), but they do offer normal international postage (10 days air freight as opposed to 4 days courier), so we decided to go with that.

This morning Shane and I went to the local Plumstead Post Office with our box of Bug Zappers and the customer’s address. We were greeted by a teller whose mood was closer to a Home Affairs worker than a Vida e Cafe waiter. I guess she knows that we’re only using the Post Office as a last resort, so a cheery disposition is just a waste of energy. She weighed the parcel and quoted R203 for air freight (about R130 for sea freight), plus R6 for insurance.

We tried to pay via credit card, but apparently the Post Office doesn’t accept credit cards. Can you believe that? The second-hand jewelry shop in the tiny centre down the road from us does, but for some reason Post Offices don’t. In an interesting case of irony, the Post Office even calls themselves a bank. They do accept debit cards, but this is not ideal because each transaction costs us a charge from our bank.

We asked if we could open an acccount (not a bank account, a retail account for paying a bill once a month) because we plan on taking lots of small deliveries to the Post Office every day, but that’s not possible either. In my usual hot-headed way I threw out the comment, “I guess this is why PostNet exists”, to which the teller responded curtly, “Have you been to PostNet? They charge double, and use us for postage anyway.” Although she didn’t see it, this was exactly my point. Why has a PostNet branch opened up in just about every South African town (200 according to their website) when they offer the same products as the Post Office, outsource delivery to the Post Office, and charge more than the Post Office? Today I found the answer - PostNet cares, and tries to understand what customers really want. They are usually staffed by the franchisee him/herself, which means there is an element of passion and desire to help, they offer accounts for businesses and they accept credit cards.

The Post Office could technically solve these (and a few other) problems and blow PostNet out of the water. But I wouldn’t count on it.

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