Anyone is welcome to Sell through the post office - CODs

The post office offers a service where entrepreneurs, SMEs and big companies can sell to customers anywhere there is a postal outlet in Africa. This excellent service is called 'Cash on Delivery' (COD) and it is one of the traditional mail services from the post office. The model works exactly as the phrase suggest, 'you pay cash when you get the item delivered to you'. You pay for the item, that is, the purchase price and the shipment service as well. If you any reason the sender wants to pay for shipment, the price of the item should be adjusted to cater only for the unit bought.

The seller receives an order from a customer from wherever his marketing initiatives reached and got a lead, let the buyer agree to pay for the item upon receipt and then the item is sent. The buyer would give delivery address, which is normally his or her nearest post office. Those postal administrations that provide door-to-door delivery are always ready to offer the service even with COD parcels, as long as the item has been fully paid for. Items should comply to the post office rule, that is, items should fall within the acceptable volume and non prohibited items. 

The sender should then package the item and send it through the post office. Normally, the post office will use normal mail delivery service to get the item to the recipient. At the receiving end, a notice slip is sent to the post box and the recipient should present himself / herself in person. The owner should prove with the help of an ID that he is the rightful owner and should pay for the item. 

The post office is really unhappy when customers disown COD parcels. However, if for any reason the recipient is not happy with the item, they are free to reject it. The post office then sends it back to origin and yes somebody must pay for this. 

These items are allocated bar codes at the sending / origin office. This means that once posted, they can be traceable until they reach the delivery / destination office.

The Message

If you have anything to sell that can be posted through the post office, should you be an entrepreneur, SMEs or a big company, you are welcome to use this service. This service is good and even more relevant in today's world of e-commerce.

If you are a buyer but have no means of collecting your item, simply inform the seller that such a service exists in the post office. If you are in Swaziland, you can call 00268 3405 2000 to talk to a manager that will engage your chosen shop to assure them of the COD delivery service.

Note: This post will be updated continuously as more information is gathered about this service

How long will it take for my posted item to be delivered?

The post office works slightly different from a courier company. When you post an item through the post box, it will be collected from there once a while, normally in intervals of 30 minutes. Street posting boxes may be collected a little bit less frequent yet they also should be cleared at least once a day. You also must observe critical times as highlighted in the post 'How to quicken delivery of your postal item', point number 2.

Sorting is the process of separating items according to destination and it is a process that follows after collection at the posting box. If your item has been received before the critical time, it will connect to the next sorting centre on the same day or within 12 hours. The last step is sorting to destination office by the sorting centre. Finally, your item will then be delivered to a post box.

Depending on the size of the operation, the distance between origin and destination, the item delivery standards vary. It is expected for the postal administrator to publicise delivery standards according to destination categories. Rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban, international and regional will should be made known to customers.

 

the global standard is 6 days at 80 percent, which unfortunately most postal administrations struggle to meet, particularly because they have no influence when the items or mail bags have gone beyond the boundaries of their country.

 

This knowledge will help you make an estimate of the time it will take for your item to get delivered to your destination office.

 

Photo taken from: http://www.savethepostoffice.com/how-slowing-down-standard-mail-paves-way-ending-saturday-delivery

How to choose packaging for your item to post

First, you must know that the post office will charge based on weight than volume. However, some special service may use volume to price shipment. In this post I will focus on the traditional method, which is weight based charging. It normally becomes cheaper to post one large item than splitting it into smaller ones. In general, the cut off weight for postal letters and documents is 2 kilograms. Above 2 kilometers items are classed as parcels.

Secondly, know that item is the post office are handled with care but there is some throwing and tossing around of mail bags during processing and transportation. Items that cannot fit into a mail bag are shipped as is, normally as it was packaged by the customer. Fragile items should be clearly labeled so but this does not mean that your item will not be transported in a different vehicle.

Let me now give you the tips:

1. Get a strong package material that will withstand the conditions of mail handling. If your item cannot fit into a mail bag, the size of a standard bag you would have in at your home, try for a hard cover packaging like a box.

2. Choose a package that will fit the contents. Avoid placing loose contents inside a package. If for any reason you have to use a larger package, fill the empty space with fondled paper. Plastic or some very light material.

3. Choose a package fit for purpose. There is a variety of packaging material in the market. Some are cushioned and some are not. Do not compromise on packaging because your item may get damaged. Rather be safe than sorry.

4. Don’t use an over attractive packaging. You don’t what your items to be suspicious to people that will handle your it. This might draw the attention of inspectors who might even engage police sometimes. Anthrax and other forbidden items are still popular in the post office and they are first suspected from the packaging. Your item might also have to be inspected under a controlled environment, thus delaying delivery of your item.

5. A light weight package will save you on postage costs.

Some post offices sell the packaging at their counters and they are best positioned to direct you tot he right shop to get some. Indeed the post office is not dead, get to your nearest post office and enquire on how to package your item for even more specific tips.

How to quicken delivery of your postal item

The post office remains relevant even today, besides the fact that hard copy documents and letters still flood postal sorting centers, e-commerce has empowered the post office as well. The global trend show an increase in the number of parcels handled within the post office.

People that want to use the post office should know that the post office has a global obligation of delivering shipments on time. The global delivery standard, even though many countries cannot meet it, is 6 days at 90 percent success rate. All postal administrations have an obligation to work towards meeting this goal. This is a topic for another day but for now let me give you some guidelines on how to make sure your items takes the shortest time possible to reach the recipient.

1. Observe critical times of posting.Critical time is an estimated time it takes for the last item posted to get into a mailbag that will connect to the next sorting center or office. Items posted late in the day are most likely to be left for processing the following day. However, this might not be the case with postal administration that have night shifts. It is a standard requirement for postal operators to put critical time notices on posting boxes.

2. Post at the begging of the week. If the post office is closer to where you go for church, try posting after lunch on Sunday. This will make your postal item get Monday priority and connect on the very first processed letters.

3. If you have a chance or you will be travelling to bigger cities or towns, take your item with you and post it from there. Bigger post offices normally have enhanced operations with more staff and the best equipment.

4. Address your item clearly. If your hand writting is not good, the sorting officer might be tempted to put it aside and deal with it later. This is surely not the right way of doing things, but we are largely talking about people doing the work in Africa. Even a sorting machine might reject your item for human handling if the address in not clear. You will have done yourself great favour printing the postal address from a computer.

These are just tips that will cost you no extra charge yet they will help you optimise the delivery standard of your item.