Best Ways to Send Post and Parcels To and From South Africa

With the South African Post Office revealing there’s currently a backlog of 7.8 million items in Johannesburg’s International Mail Centre (which is an improvement from the previous 46 million), here’s a compilation of alternative options for posting Christmas cards and presents to friends and family back home (or overseas if you’re in South Africa).

PLEASE NOTE: The Post Office has put systems in place to clear the backlog by the end of November, and according to Sbu Xaba, acting head of SAPO’s Operations, postal delivery is currently only five days behind schedule.

If you’d like to use other options in the meantime, here’s a list compiled by SAPeople members.

Best Ways to Send Post and Parcels to and from South Africa

1. Online Shopping

Instead of posting, find a website with door-to-door delivery.

2. International Courier Companies

Be aware when sending items that if the value is above a certain amount, customs and VAT will be charged to the recipient.

eg. FedEx, UPS, DHL, The Courier Guy and Transglobal Express

3. Other Courier Companies

Be aware when sending items that if the value is above a certain amount, customs and VAT will be charged to the recipient.

• Parcel Monkey for UK to SA (partners with companies like DHL and Parcel Force).
• PostNet (which partners with companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL)
• InternetExpress.co.za
• TNT Courier Door to Door service
• Delene McCulloch: “I use Postbox Courier to send parcels and docs from the UK a to SA – they have been faster and far cheaper than DHL.”
• Marie-Louise Audouin: “Try the courier service in Pick and Pay called ARAMEX to send parcels overseas. They are reliable, and one is able to track where the parcel is during transit.

4. Find a Friend

Alex Kuier: “If I need something overseas I find out from all my friends if they know someone coming down that can bring it for me. Or I ask volunteer places – they always have people flying in from all over the world.”

5. Use an Airline

Kerstin Bachmann Van Kerken: “If the receiver goes to the airport and fills out customs papers, sending parcels directly with an airline works well. It’s quick and cheaper than courier services.”

6. Recorded Delivery

Margaret J. Lacy Thomas: “Recorded delivery from the UK so that it can be tracked. If it doesn’t arrive within a few weeks get the recipient to phone the manager of the post office in SA to enquire why it hasn’t been delivered so that the UK post office can be informed of their poor unreliable service. Seems to jack them up a bit.”

7. SA Post Office 

Please remember, the Post Office does plan to have everything working normally by Christmas, and they’re much cheaper than couriers. Details on SAPO’s international parcel service here.

Please Note: SAPeople has never used any of the above services. We do not endorse any of them and we have not been paid to mention any of them. Thank you.