How to post our quilts and bags.

Hi All

As some of you have already discovered, Australia Post has discontinued the BX2 box that has been used for many years to send care packages to our defence members on deployment overseas. Unfortunately it appears that this change is here to stay and so we have to find a way to work around it. 

In a statement from Australia Post on their facebook today they said "

It won't change anyone's ability to send packages, they may just have to think out of the box so to speak. I know there are many businesses that sell different sized boxes. If we don't have something that's suitable to someone's set of requirements they can definitely look elsewhere for packaging."

So how do things stand for us?

Firstly this is the BX2 box.  The size of the box is 310mm x 230mm x 105mm.

 There is no equivalent sized box available at Australia Post any more. The two new boxes are as follows.  This is the medium sized box.  

Its dimension are as follows.   It is 20% smaller than the Bx2 so no good for quilts and ok for care packages as long as you dont want to include a magazine or as much as you would normally send. 

If you are sending a care package or a laundry bag to an AFPO address you can use one of these boxes and pack it up to 2kg in weight and send it off. 

Below is the other box, this is the large box and, by volume, this is actualy too large to use.  This box will attact a fee regardless of the weight because it is too big by volume. 

For interest's sake, these are the dimensions. 

So, what can we use??

We have options.  Believe it or not, you an actually buy plain BPX2 boxes (a plain version of the BX2) from Australia Post online. I have even been assured that you will be able to buy them from Post Offices but the one that I spoke today today will not be getting them in.  If buy them online you can buy in packs of 10 or 20.  

If you have access to an Officeworks you can buy boxes with the same dimensions as BX2 from them.  I am not sure if you can buy individual boxes or if you need to buy packs. 

You can also buy similar sized boxes at Bunnings.  I am pretty sure they are available as singles but this will vary from shop to shop. 

If you do not have access to Officeworks or Bunnings, but you can shop online then you can find a number of suppliers on ebay who stock boxes of similar size to the BX2. There are plenty of suppliers. I am not going to recommend one over the other but I will say that I have been using a number of these suppliers over the years and have not been let down by any of them.  The thinner white boxes are just fine. If you tape them well, you won't have a problem. 

If you don't have access to an Officeworks or Bunnings and you don't want ot buy your boxes online then the only suggestion I can make is that you use one of the following... a PADDED POST PACK.  

Please DO NOT use the normal TUFF BAGS.  They are no that strong and they tend to fall apart.  Some of the one that arrive here are not in great conditon by the time that I receive them. 

Even if you use a PADDED POST BAG you will need to tape it up.   Can I please request that you purchase a roll of Duct Tape or strong clear tape and do not rely on the Post Office to tape the parcel for you.  You need to tape to reinforce the package, not just to seal it.  

This is the largest size as the smaller sizes will not fit the quilt. Just fold it like you would normally to fit into a Bx2 Box and then place it inside. 

Place your quilt inside the bag and fold back the flap as far as you can so that the quilt is not floating around loose inside the bag.  The bag needs to be firm around it. 

The flap will cover the return address but that can be written on anywhere. 

Then you NEED to tape the bag up. Please invest in a roll of strong clear tape or duct tape of some sort.  If you use clear tape you can tape over the address, never a bad idea, especially if your bag gets wet which is always a possibility.  I tape in both directions, three times, all the way around the bag bbringing the tape back on to itself. 

Make sure you tape up the zipper bit that you are supposed to use to open the bag.  This is a weak point and trust me, the guys and girls will not have a problem getting their parcel open and they will be very relieved to see it arrive safe and sound. 

Please, please, please do not rely on Australia Post staff to tape the boxes up for you.  It is so much safer to do it yourself and to make sure that it is done properly.  

If anything changes in this regard I will let you know but for now, these are the best options I can come up with.  

So, that is all for now.  Till next time..... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree xx