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Although the figures haven't been widely discussed, I suspect that the volume of regular snail-mail letters has taken a dive over the past five or six years, yet the postal system is doing very well. How can that be?

Well NZ Post admits that online shopping and trading sites have significantly boosted its parcel and courier services.

Yes, sites like TradeMe produce a snot-load of sales that then require the product bought or sold to be delivered by physical means.

And, I have to give NZ Post a pat on the back here -- they do a damned fine job for a very reasonable cost.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the multitude of other courier companies that litter the country.

Since I've been here, I've discovered that Tokoroa is a kind of Bermuda Triangle for items sent by courier. The average time to get a package from Auckland to Tokoroa seems to vary from three days to over a week.

The most recent delivery gone astray that has produced today's little hissy-fit on my part, was a package sent from Hamilton last week.

Three days later it hadn't turned up so we rang the sender who advised that it had been sent Poste Haste Couriers.

We rang Poste Haste's Hamilton branch who advised that "yes, it had been picked up and forwarded to the Rotorua branch for delivery, you'll have to ring them." So we did...

"I'm sorry, we've got no record of that package, you'll have to talk to Hamilton" was their reply.

Hamilton again swore that they'd passed it on and that it was now Rotorua's problem.

Actually, it turns out that no matter who's at fault -- it's *my* problem because the package has vanished into thin air.

But Poste Haste isn't the only one to screw up deliveries in recent times - I've tried most of the different companies and had similar fiascos.

If online shopping is to prosper and grow, surely we need a decent infrastructure for the delivery of goods that are purchased in this way?

What are your experiences with NZ courier companies?

Is it just Tokoroa that has these problems or is it a more widespread issue?

With Christmas coming up, I'm sure all readers would like to know which courier is least likely to lose your parcel.

Tell us all and see what others have to say in The Aardvark Forums

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