Items from abroad

[Izzy]

Am I right in thinking RM doesn't get paid for delivering ordinary items from China, USA, Belgium etc? (Not counting items from locker.) And in exchange RM give Chinapost, USPS etc whatever is going in the other direction?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Am I right in thinking RM doesn't get paid for delivering ordinary items from China, USA, Belgium etc? (Not counting items from locker.) And in exchange RM give Chinapost, USPS etc whatever is going in the other direction?

Correct for all members of the Universal Postal union, currently 192 countries.

The UPU established that:
There should be a uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world
Postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail
Each country should retain all money it has collected for international postage.

However In 1969, the UPU introduced a new system of payment where fees were payable between countries according to the difference in the total weight of mail between them. These fees were called terminal dues. Ultimately, this new system was fairer when traffic was heavier in one direction than the other.

[Izzy]

Tks TBT

[Wednesday]

Does it state in the UPU that all items from China should have everything written so small that you struggle to read it?

[scoobydo79]

Does it state in the UPU that all items from China should have everything written so small that you struggle to read it?

Not only small but there is so much other sh1t written on the label You struggle to see the address

[Mezza]

So is this part of the reason that a lot of the foreign items that used to come through and be treated like recorded's, then came through as recorded's with that 'signature required' sticker - all seem to come through in the specials now?
Are we now charging for items that were once free?

The number of these foreign items that now come through as specials has seen our daily SD total figure rise by around 25%.

[wannabeek]

If you scan it and there's no black circle to the left of the letters on the PDA display then it will not ask you for a sig when you click 'delivered'. (i.e. @BU123456789CN will require signing for, but without the black dot '@' it won't, so can just be posted without knocking).

As another related query, should we really be scanning these items individually on delivery if the company's only getting paid by the bulk tonne for them, presumably irrespective of whether or not they have recognisable barcodes on them?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

As I understand it accepted barcodes are not ordinary mail so RM will be paid for them. Its only the basic non trackable international mail that the UPU agreement covers.

[SpacePhoenix]

So is this part of the reason that a lot of the foreign items that used to come through and be treated like recorded's, then came through as recorded's with that 'signature required' sticker - all seem to come through in the specials now?
Are we now charging for items that were once free?

The number of these foreign items that now come through as specials has seen our daily SD total figure rise by around 25%.

It's an increase in the number of countries that RM has got reciprocal agreements with, just go onto RM's website and look at the list of countries tracking is offered for, the list has gotten a lot longer over recent years

[Mezza]

I understand it from that point.
What i don't get is why we have a load of American and Chinese items arriving as specials each day and are dealt with as specials.
But we also get identical items arriving with barcodes in the normal packets, so are treated as recorded's.

How is it decided what should be treated as a special or a recorded?

[postman1979]

I understand it from that point.
What i don't get is why we have a load of American and Chinese items arriving as specials each day and are dealt with as specials.
But we also get identical items arriving with barcodes in the normal packets, so are treated as recorded's.

How is it decided what should be treated as a special or a recorded?

In our office the current system is, if its received from HWDC in a bag with a white label it stays in the locker and is scanned as a special and if it is received in a bag with a red label the items are treated as recorded except items with a surcharge or that are being returned to sender (i.e. International Tracked).

[Mezza]

That's the same in my DO and probably every other office.

It's the fact that identical items can arrive in both the Specials or recorded's that is so puzzling.