Shipping with vPost
Volumetric weight is the ‘volume’ a package occupies (example; the physical size of a package)
Calculating Volumetric Weight
Volumetric weight is calculated by the Length x Height x Width of a package and dividing the result with a volumetric factor.
To determine a package’s volumetric weight in kg, using measurements in centimeters.
Please note that in some cases, shipping weight indicated on your merchant order form confirmation is based on ground shipping guidelines and does not correspond to international a shipping criteria.
vPost cannot deliver items that are considered prohibited for international shipping by IATA regulations – items that may cause danger, damage or delay during international shipping and items that require special handling
vPost allows you to shop and ship from any source countries (Click here for various countries you can ship from, via vPost) online merchant. Except for a handful of merchants that practice brand owner right.
Q: What is volumetric weight?
A: Volumetric weight is the ‘volume’ a package occupies (example; the physical size of a package)
Q: What is actual weight?
A: Actual physical weight of a package is its actual weight measured in kilograms.
In international shipping, how much space a package occupies (volumetric weight) in a cargo hold is as important as how much it weights (actual weight). Large packages, even if they are light, take up more space in an aircraft. This is why shipping companies take the volumetric weight into consideration.
If the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight, the volumetric weight will be the default chargeable weight.
Calculating Volumetric Weight
Volumetric weight is calculated by the Length x Height x Width of a package and dividing the result with a volumetric factor.
To determine a package’s volumetric weight in kg, using measurements in centimeters.
Please note that in some cases, shipping weight indicated on your merchant order form confirmation is based on ground shipping guidelines and does not correspond to international a shipping criteria.
You will receive a notification via email and sms when your parcel arrives at the vPost overseas warehouse.
You’ll also be able to view all of your received parcels by logging in to your vPost account and clicking ‘Action required’.
Refer to the full guide here.
Please ensure that you have updated your email address and your mobile on your vPost profile and that your mailbox is not full.
If you do not wish to proceed with having an item shipped via vPost Australia, you can choose to:
- return your parcel to the overseas merchant you purchased from
- have your parcel forwarded to an alternative address
- ask vPost to securely dispose of your item
If you choose to return your parcel to the overseas merchant or forward it to another address, you will be asked to supply the address and a contact phone number for that address and pay for the associated delivery costs.
You may use our self help entry for return and redirect of your parcel. Fees will apply when you checkout.
Please note that parcels at our vPost overseas warehouse can only be returned to domestically within the source country address.
Goods that cannot be sent via vPost Australia include:
- food or perishable goods
- items requiring cold storage shipping
- dangerous or prohibited items as determined by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. These commonly include perfume, items containing lithium-ion batteries, ink cartridges and aerosols.
More information on dangerous and prohibited items is available on the Australia Post website.
If your item cannot be delivered for any of the above reasons, you will be notified that you have an ’Erroneous Package’ and provided with alternative delivery options.
You may refer to the full list here
If you receive an incorrect item or quantity of goods delivered through vPost, you should liaise directly with the overseas Merchant for any refund, return, exchange or money-back guarantee claim.
Below are the shipping services offered by vPost currently:
- vPost USA
vPost provides you with a personalized delivery address located in the 1 source countries overseas, allowing you to shop globally from international merchants.
Your purchases that are delivered to these personalized delivery addresses will then be shipped to Australia and delivered to the Australia address you indicated when you made the payment.
To use vPost service, you must first be our member. Membership is free and you can Sign Up over here if you are currently not a member:
For vPost members, you can follow the steps displayed here to start shopping from overseas retailers/merchants.
The benefits of using vPost Shipping Services include, being able to:
- Purchase items that are available overseas but not in Australia.
- Purchase items from overseas merchants that do not ship to Australia.
- Purchase items available in Australia from relatively cheaper overseas sources.
- Save on shipping costs with shipment aggregation using vPost Shipping Services that offer bundling discount ranging from 3-5%. Find out more on shipment aggregation.
You should enter your personalized vPost address, specific to the country which you are shipping in, as your shipping address.
- These personalized addresses comprise of your name, VP number and the overseas address vPost uses to process your packages and are displayed in your vPost account.
You should enter your Australia address as your billing address.
However, you can also enter your personalized vPost address at merchants’ sites which do not allow you to enter Australia addresses as a billing address. Please note that by doing so, you may not receive the hard copy invoice should the merchant send it via mail.
vPost does not guarantee the authenticity, genuineness or quality of the item. For your own safety, please purchase items from reputable merchants and sites.
We do not advise shipping of Fragile or Special Care items.
However, if you need to, please ensure proper packaging by your Sender. Please inform your sender to pack it well in shipping condition to ensure that the items are sufficiently insulated during the shipping process.
We do not take responsibility for any damages that may occur during the entire handling, shipping and delivery from our overseas shipping facilities to your Australia address.
You should enter vPost Overseas address, as found in ‘My Addresses’ in your vPost AU account.
Your vPost address comprises your name, a suite number and a street address. You must include your vPost suite number in the shipping address, as this is how vPost identifies that the parcel belongs to you.
Some merchants will allow you to enter your name and suite number in the name field, while others may not accept numbers in that field. If this happens, simply enter your suite number in the 2nd or 3rd address line instead.
If a phone number is required, enter your own number.
Estimated delivery in 7 to 13 working days from the date of payment.
Working days do not include Saturday, Sunday, both in Australia or product source country and public holidays.
*Subject to clearance from local customs and not limited to unforeseen weather conditions and circumstances.
- Public holidays
Please be aware that public holidays, both in Australia or product source country, affects delivery dates. - Working Days
Working days do not include Saturday, Sunday, both in Australia or product source country and public holidays.
Gentle reminder that the product source country warehouses are in a different time zone to you.
Your source country address is only meant to be your shipping address, not your billing address, or an address for you to manage mail.
We will discard the letter immediately should we investigate that your packages fall under credit card application or any monetary activities using our source country warehouse.
When packages are delivered to our overseas vPost warehouse, they are often received in bulk.
This is the common practice for most of the big local couriers that are delivering to our warehouse.