STAMPBOARDS - Postage Stamp Chat Board and Stamp Forum

I went into the Market Street Auspost store today.

They have turned it into one of the new superstore post offices. Here is a link below to more details on the matter:

http://www.powerretail.com.au/news/australia-post-superstore ... mailboxes/

This is some of the new services they seem to have:

• A vending machine that dispenses stamp booklets, prepaid envelopes, small boxes etc. (Nothing really new with the stamp booklets though if you were wondering, they are just basic over the counter ones). It looks like a candy vending machine by the way :/ ... not joking at all.
• A self service system. This is a trial apparently according to the staff. What this does is lets an individual pay a bill at a Big-W style self service style machine.
• Self service also lets you process a letter or small parcel. Only for domestic standard delivery (no register mail or international mail etc). Do not know how this will work but I am guessing it prints out a label.

I am going in on Friday to use the self service systems to post a letter to myself, just to suss it out.

I am hoping (I doubt it though) that the labels are of collectors interests.

Also I am going to try to take photos of these systems and post them here as well.

more details here:
http://auspost.com.au/personal/self-service-trial.html

This was done at the Brisbane GPO some months back now, it looks great but philatelic service is virtually gone with a philatelic "counter" which is just where everything is stored but not staffed, you have to line up with everyone else and they only keep issues for the past 3 months on hand.

As far as I know the self service machines just spit out the same boring white labels that you get at the counter of any post office.

The 24 hour section is good if you need to post parcels after hours though.

Ah, stamp vending machines again. I post parcels most days of the week and never cease to be amazed at people who line up for fifteen minutes and then politely ask, "one stamp please". I feel annoyed enough waiting in line with an armful of parcels, let alone wasting that amount of time for a lone 60c stamp. This is good news. 8)

The parcel lockers are even better, I'm glad we're getting these so soon after Amazon essentially invented the system in the U.S. not that long ago. Now all we need are couriers to start supporting them so we aren't stuck at home all day awaiting the courier truck.

Another bonus is the auto bill pay in the self-serve line, as (excuse the generalisation!) these people are a major clog in large post offices, especially when they want to part-pay a bill. I feel sorry for the one stampers, but not these people.

Aside from the inevitable increase in white labels, it's all good news as far as I'm concerned.

The 24 hour section is good if you need to post parcels after hours though.

A return of 4am cancellations will be a novelty.

Hi Brissypete

Just had a look at you web link and love the layout, nicely done.

Cheers Robbo

ChrisGray wrote: Aside from the inevitable increase in white labels, it's all good news as far as I'm concerned.

I am looking forward to it as well, I just wish that they would consider a "nicer" label instead of a receipt like white label that's all.
I am really happy about the stamp vending machines, they look like candy machines but they will be useful.

Grich wrote:I am looking forward to it as well, I just wish that they would consider a "nicer" label instead of a receipt like white label that's all.
I am really happy about the stamp vending machines, they look like candy machines but they will be useful.

Agreed, if they were nicer they might even end up being collectable - imagine that!

I couldn't seem to see the candy machines mentioned above though, unless that was part of the circular kiosk display. I was thinking of mid 20th century candy machines.

ChrisGray wrote: I couldn't seem to see the candy machines mentioned above though, unless that was part of the circular kiosk display. I was thinking of mid 20th century candy machines.

I'll be down there on Friday and I will take a photo of it, they are a bit fun I have to admit.

Grich wrote:I'll be down there on Friday and I will take a photo of it, they are a bit fun I have to admit.

Awesome. It'll be a while before they appear on the Gold Coast and elsewhere in Oz so I'm sure plenty of people will want to check out the latest iteration of stamp vending machines.

I'm partial to vintage design so I'm hoping it leans towards that. Can't wait.

Grich wrote:
Also I am going to try to take photos of these systems and post them here as well.

Yes please - love to see this.

Re. the use of white labels, I have raised this matter with Australia Post and through my Stamp News articles, and suggested colourful labels are used.

I understand there are a number of reasons behind the use of generic white labels. One reason is on some parcels a barcode is printed on the label, and so a design on the left hand side would get in the way. Also, these labels are designed to be used on the letter immediately. They are not intended to be 'stamps' (i.e. can be used for postage at anytime in the future).

Personally I think the whole system could've been thought out better, after all the self-service Monotel machines used in Perth in the 1990s actually dispensed 'labels' which had a picture, resembled stamps, and could be used at anytime in the future. It is a shame that Australia Post who used to be proactive in their technology use (Counter Printed Stamps, Monotel machines, hundreds of Frama machines etc.) are now lagging behind many other countries.

The use of white labels could be something to do with Patents. For example, Frama stamps are by a Swiss company who hold some patents on the matter. If Auspost use just simple white receipt like labels that have little or zero design, they can't get sued.

It is a shame that Auspost doesn't use any nice patterns, I collect Framas, ATM and label stamps and it would be nice to see something that is not a receipt.

Britain does these sort of things and change designs now and again and sell at TON to collectors.

AP are losing out big time by using plain white labels.

Rolls of these pre supplied would mean philatelic sells PO packs and FDC of each new design type - like these did with Framas etc.

Grich wrote:The use of white labels could be something to do with Patients. For example, Frama stamps are by a Swiss company who hold some patients on the matter. If Auspost use just simple white receipt like labels that have little or zero design, they can't get sued.

Frama holds patents (note that they would be in very serious trouble if they detained patients) for the machines, not the labels themselves.

I am unaware of any limitations to Australia Post using a similar approach to royal Mail in the UK.

The reason for the white labels is as described in my posting above viz:

• On some parcels a barcode is printed on the label, and so a design on the left hand side would get in the way.
• These labels are designed to be used on the letter immediately. They are not intended to be 'stamps' (i.e. can be used for postage at anytime in the future).

I agree with Glen and others that colourful labels would earn Australia Post income, but the current self-service machines do not allow for this. The intention of these machines is to produce labels which are used on letters immediately. The labels can be taken away, but cannot be used as postage days or weeks later.

In the UK, machines are supplied with at least two rolls of labels - one for items which are posted there and then (basically a white label), and another with preprinted designed which allows customers to by 'stamps' which can be taken away and used at a later stage.

I will add that I am not supporting Australia Post's position either and have expressed to those in high positions my opinons to them both privately and through Stamp News.

Will be taking photos tomorrow (Friday) and posting them here of the vending machines and self service.
WATCH THIS SPACE!

brissypete wrote: philatelic service is virtually gone with a philatelic "counter" which is just where everything is stored but not staffed, you have to line up with everyone else and they only keep issues for the past 3 months on hand.

It shouldn't be difficult to have someone sit at the philatelic window...they can serve people from the general queue when they don't have a collector come in (which is most of the time)...the banks here do similar, they have one queue and set of counters for the "prestige" customers (people that maintain a fortune in their account) and then another line and counters for the hoi-polloi...when the staff for the premium accounts do have anyone to serve, they'll deal with us riff-raff.

Three months of philatelic stock...so that'll be about a dozen sets of commems.

So, this is the new label!

Notice the left is empty, I am assuming some sort of barcode or hopefully a design of some sort
Will be loading up more photos soon of the vending machine and self service!

The vending machine:

Close up if the vending machine showing the stamps:

Dangit! Don't know why it is coming up sideways
It is upwards on my photobucket account

Will post up the self service machine soon, need to edit these images around in photobucket

Grich wrote:
So, this is the new label!


Notice the left is empty, I am assuming some sort of barcode or hopefully a design of some sort

Will be loading up more photos soon of the vending machine and self service!

Keep them coming ... is this the 'Market Street' PO you refer to?

Global Administrator wrote: Keep them coming ... is this the 'Market Street' PO you refer to?

Yes, my bad with me getting mixed up with the PO's :/

Grich wrote:So, this is the new label!

Notice the left is empty, I am assuming some sort of barcode or hopefully a design of some sort
Will be loading up more photos soon of the vending machine and self service!

More info on the self service machines. The label was printed out at one of them.
At the moment the self service machines accept cash only (both notes and coins).
These labels can only be used and posted in the PO it was printed out at and can only be posted on the day it was printed.

Grich tells me this was the CASH machine -

Yes, this was the "cash register".
The semi circle at the front of it is were you "chuck" coins into it like one of those highway toll baskets were you throw money into it. Notes can be given to it on the right of it.
Sorry about the image quality, I was in a rush.
The white boxes is just a rubbish bin.
Notice on the left there is a rectangular skinny hole, this is for measuring your letters, one hole / measurment for large letters and a smaller one for standard ones.
The self serve system in general is easy enough to use.

aethelwulf wrote:

brissypete wrote: philatelic service is virtually gone with a philatelic "counter" which is just where everything is stored but not staffed, you have to line up with everyone else and they only keep issues for the past 3 months on hand.

It shouldn't be difficult to have someone sit at the philatelic window...they can serve people from the general queue when they don't have a collector come in (which is most of the time)...the banks here do similar, they have one queue and set of counters for the "prestige" customers (people that maintain a fortune in their account) and then another line and counters for the hoi-polloi...when the staff for the premium accounts do have anyone to serve, they'll deal with us riff-raff.

Three months of philatelic stock...so that'll be about a dozen sets of commems.

The philatelic counter is staffed at Perth's St Georges Tce post office, and serves ordinary customers when they aren't busy. I understand it is completely up to the individual post office how they handle the philatelic counter.

Grich wrote:

Grich wrote:Notice the left is empty, I am assuming some sort of barcode or hopefully a design of some sort
Will be loading up more photos soon of the vending machine and self service!

More info on the self service machines. The label was printed out at one of them.
At the moment the self service machines accept cash only (both notes and coins).
These labels can only be used and posted in the PO it was printed out at and can only be posted on the day it was printed.

As mentioned above the left hand side is used for barcodes for certain parcels, hence at the moment there is no room for a design.

Australia Post probably has no interested in adding a design as these labels basically pre-pay postage. If the machines were upgraded to allow people to buy labels which could be used at anytime in the future (i.e. a stamp with a printed value), then no doubt a design would be used. See my note on the situation in the UK above.

Grich was there just one label dispenser machine at QVB or an "island" of them like this?