Australia Post and the global online marketplace eBay have signed a partnership aimed atenabling eBay sellers to organise the packaging, labelling, tracking, pick-up and delivery of their
products more simply, via the click of a mouse.Under the deal, eBay customers can now profit from Australia Post’s ‘Click and Send’ service, anonline portal through which they can prepare both their domestic and international parcels forshipping.
Australia Post said one of the issues that prevented people engaging more with online sellingwas the hassle of having to get to the post office to mail the item.
The new Click and Send service allows eBay sellers who register for it to prepare their shippinglabels and pay for their postage online, with a courier pick-up by Messenger Post Couriers, allwithout leaving their computer, the postal operator added.
Customers can also prepare their shipping labels online through Click and Send and lodge and payat the post office.
The service is expected to appeal especially to low-volume online traders who seek a moreconvenient and reliable way to send their goods.
“With 8 million registered eBay sellers in Australia, the potential for take-up of the Click andSend offering is tremendous,” said Chris Koo, Group Manager for Parcels at Australia Post.
“Online shopping projections indicate that there’s a strong market out there, and we want aslice of it. If Australia follows trends in the US and UK, where online shopping occupies a 7-8%share of the market (compared to Australia’s 3%), then there’s enormous scope for an end-to-endservice like Click and Send,” Koo explained.
Australia Post launched Click and Send in March 2009 for international parcels. Since then, over100,000 parcels have been sent through this service. On 31 May this year, Click and Send becameavailable for domestic parcels as well.
“We welcome the integration of Click and Send on to eBay.com.au and look forward to workingclosely with Australia Post to provide further innovation that helps e-commerce grow,” said DeborahSharkey, Managing Director of eBay Australia & New Zealand.
The partnership with eBay follows the announcement of Australia Post’s business renewalprogramme called “Future Ready”, which includes an entire business unit dedicated to e-services.The five-year programme was launched to compensate for letter declines by growing parcels, retailand B2B express delivery and expanding online services.
“We are committed to adapting our business to ensure that electronic solutions deliver tangiblebenefits to our customers,” Koo concluded.
