Foreign mail

Products: Letter mail items comprise: Letters (personal correspondence) Postcards Aerograms Small parcels (also known as small packets in other countries) Range of services: International letter and parcel services are available worldwide, either by air mail or surface mail. These services may be accessed by posting either at post offices or by posting in street posting boxes. The available range of services includes: Product Description Aerograms An aerogram consists of a sheet of paper folded and gummed on all sides. It must be rectangular or square. The front is reserved for the address and postage and service indications. The word "Aerogram" must also appear on the front. No enclosures are permitted. Aerograms may only be sold by the Post Office and should not be confused with similar products sold by stationery stores to which the letter mail postage rate applies. Postcards Convenient conveyance of unenclosed messages and greetings Small letters Consists of private and business letters up to 50 g and no bigger than 120 x 235 x 5 mm Medium letters Consists of private and business letters up to 250 g and no bigger than 250 x 176 x 10 mm Large letters Consists of private and business letters up to 300 g and no bigger than 353 x 250 x 30 mm Small parcels The objective of the small parcel service is to facilitate and expedite the dispatch of goods of small quantity or mass, whether dutiable or not, at lower rates than those for large parcels. The following documents may be enclosed in packets: - An open invoice reduced to its essential elements - Any other document not resembling current and personal correspondence, provided particulars of the addressee and sender of the document are the same as those of the small parcel Large parcels For the conveyance of goods and material up to 30 kg. The minimum mass differs from country to country. Registered mail A separately streamed service with added security for letter post items Direct publishers bags (M Bags) Direct publisher's bags are: special bags containing newspapers, periodicals, books and other printed papers for the same addressee at the same address; supplied by the South African Post Office to the sender wishing to use the service; and prepared by the sender and posted over the counter at post offices designated by the South African Post Office regional general manager Senders wishing to use the service must be furnished with the necessary mailbags. The following conditions apply: The addressee's address must appear on each item in the bag. The bags must be clearly labelled by the sender: The label must be made of sufficiently strong material to withstand transport through the mail. The label must not be smaller than 90 mm x 140 mm and must be provided with an eyelet. The sender's and the addressee's names and addresses must appear clearly and legibly on the address label. The bags must be handed in at a post office counter and the appropriate postage calculated according to the mass, destination and type of service (surface or air mail). Bags weighing less than five kilograms must be charged the rate applicable to 5 kg - the postage paid (postage stamps, cash register slip, et cetera) must be indicated on or affixed to the address label. Bags may not weigh more than 20 kilograms (may be increased to 30 kg) The mass of each item in the bag must not be more than 2 kg. International reply coupons The international reply coupon service enables clients to repay the postage on a reply from a correspondent abroad. Coupons sent abroad may be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage prepayable on an air-mail letter. The coupons cost R11,00 and are available at post offices. Exchange control regulations Exchange control regulations apply equally to postal items as they do to other exports. Generally, items of a value of more than R1 000,00 require specific export documents to be completed. Details are available at post offices. Note International letter post products have no insurance option and may only be registered. Expedited mail service (EMS) The purpose of the expedited mail service (EMS) is to facilitate the dispatch of urgent articles between the countries participating in the service and to ensure delivery to the addressees within guaranteed set times. The articles receive priority treatment and are delivered to the addressees. These articles are only accepted at the main post offices in: Bloemfontein Cape Town Durban East London Johannesburg Kimberley Port Elizabeth Pretoria Special value-added services Value can be added to basic international mail services by buying additional value-added services. These include express, registered, insured and advice-of-delivery (AR) options. Note As these add-on services are not available to some countries or for some categories of mail, enquiries should be made at post offices to find out if they are available for your purposes. Insured and registered items must be posted at post office counters and not in street postboxes. Letter post items cannot be insured. More information Phone the toll-free number 0860 111 502 and ask for the telephone number of your regional sales office for more information about the above international products.

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