by Starting April 30, 2025, eBay and Australia Post are trialing new "extra small" flat-rate satchels.
My guess is that this new offer is to compete against eBay's option to send through Sendle, which is often cheaper for lightweight, small packages.
To use this service you need to purchase satchels in advance and then you pay a flat rate through eBay when you use these for an eBay order.
The new satchel size is 280mm x 215mm (the current small satchels are 355mm x 225mm) and, like all of the flat-rate satchels, can take up to 5kg.
The price of the satchels when purchased through eBay or Australia Post is $7.50 for three packs of ten satchels (30 satchels). This works out as 25c per satchel, but you also need to pay $9.95 for regular delivery so the real cost is 58c per satchel, unless you are purchasing more than 30.
Australia Post do say on their website that you can buy satchels at post offices, but I don't know if this applies to the new satchels.
The price of postage is $8.55, so $8.80 to $9.13 including the satchel, which is about $1.40 less than the current cheapest parcel rate. You can also send the satchels Express Post for $11.25.
eBay claim that sellers get 10% off the recommended retail price (RRP) but it is not clear whether the advertised prices include this discount or will be 10% less.
You can buy the satchels now but cannot use them until 30 April. The eBay listing already shows over 300 packs purchased in the first twenty-four hours, so there looks to be demand for sending smaller items at a reduced cost.
So far there has been no word whether Australia Post will offer an extra small satchel for non-eBay postal needs.
Updated 1 July 2025: Australia Post are offering the extra small satchels for $10.05 and a new extra small postage tier. See my parcel rates post for more information.
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