Why I don't ship to Canada

[gum_drops]

but the attitude of completely refusing to deal outside of your own country is ridiculous.

This approach pretty well sums up my opinion of the average american's attitude to the world outside their borders.

I dont think singling out Americans is very accurate at all.

I have on many occasions logged into ebay.com.au, ebay.co.uk,ebay.fr,ebay.ca etc and asked sellers to consider selling to the USA. I would tell them I have great feedback and type up a very curtious message. Many would consider it but at the same time a large number would refuse.

I dont consider it ridiculous. Many people (not just americans) like to stay in a comfort zone and dont want to deal with figuring out international shipping. In many cases they are selling clutter no longer wanted and just want to get it out of their hair with as little time spent as possible.

They dont want to have to call the PO or drive there and waste time trying to figure it out.

And dont assume people are ebay/shipping savy either. I run into sellers from time to time who actually drive to the PO just to get the shipping quote, oblivous to the fact there is a shipping calculator at usps.com.

Or I see the long lines at christmas. I talked to one mother who was standing in line and didnt even know prepaid shipping existed. I explained it to her but she was turned off by the idea of putting her CC number into the computer fearing a hacker would take it. Not that I blame her, the less out there the better.

[GM80]

I always offer shipping to Canada if I'm just selling a couple of items on eBay, or if it's a side deal with someone here at DP.

Two reasons I sometimes don't ship to Canada:

1. Customs forms. If I'm selling a buttload of items, say 20 or 30 at a time, then I love printing my postage directly from PayPal. I can then walk into a busy Post Office and toss my pre-posted packages on the receiving counter and leave. If it's international, then I have to wait in line just to fill out the customs form for that one package. Metropolitan US Post Offices are busy places, full of stressed customers and clerks, and I'd rather avoid it as much as possible. This is not a Canada-specific problem, but an international problem.

2. At one time, at least, PayPal would not offer seller protection on any international transactions on purchases, including Canada. I've gotten stung by too many fraudulent international buyers, and PayPal sticks me with the chargeback. There have been fraudulent US buyers as well, of course, but the seller protection policy has covered me in those instances.

[Kitsune Sniper]

For me it has absolutely nothing to do with this. It stems from the fact that tracking is required on all purchases for Paypal protection, and people in other countries whine about how it costs $20 to ship a game. It costs a lot to use express mail. Air mail and surface mail do not cut it when it comes to Paypal.

Quoted for truth. I don't mind shipping to Canada, but I often have nightmares about getting lost packages... which has happened to me more than once. I've had Canadians threaten me with chargebacks because their stupid postal service held their package up in customs or whatever. And Paypal doesn't care if you have proof that you sent it - if it doesn't get there, you lose your money, and that's it.

It's not the people, it's the service. :(

[skaar]

Old thread... but I've been buying a lot more out of the states now that the dollar's doing so well. Opinions changed at all or is it still USA vs. the world?

[Vectorman0]

I always gladly ship to Canada. I've never had a problem with it. I'll ship worldwide to anyone on the forums, though I'm usually afraid to do so on eBay.

As far as receiving packages, the only two times where I had a package and the contents totally destroyed during shipping, both had come from Canada.

[Cornelius]

I still ship to Canada, and I'd say I've had a noticeable increase in buyers from Canada of late. It is a pain, though, because I ask them to contact me for a quote. If they have good feedback, I offer First-Class shipping for a buck or two more than US customers. If they have bad or little feedback, I quote them for Priority because of PayPal's 'protection' policies (and they don't bid because it is just too damn expensive).

[skaar]

I'm bumping this one because I'm interested to see if opinions have changed... the US seems to have realized the concept of an international market's existance now that their economy is in the crapper...

Also this little gem made me think of this thread:


I just avoid international shipping like the plague. I have shipped internationally before but I made them pay me an extra $15 handling charge and got signature confirmation. If they'll pay that charge they really want the item. I also made them send it to me in a paypal gift so it could't be refunded if they bitched

[portnoyd]

It seems I buy from sellers in Canada so much, it'd kinda be bullshit if I didn't send to them.

[jonebone]

I send to Canada for people I know sometimes (forum guys) but never on eBay. Too much paperwork and hassle.

I'll take a cheaper sale in the USA that lets me print my postage online and drop it off at the PO rather than an extra $5 to Canada and spend 10 minutes on paperwork and 15 minutes in a damn PO line.

[Bojay1997]

I regularly buy from Canada and have sold to Canada on the rare occasions I list anything for sale. Having said that, I believe Canada Post is by far the worst postal system in the world. I have frequently received items sent from Europe in half the time it takes to get an item from Vancouver which is literally two states away from California where I live. Of the thousands of packages I have sent and received in the last decade, maybe ten have been damaged or had the contents stolen and all but two of those were from Canada. I can't explain exactly why the theft/damage ratio is so high and why the postal service is so slow in Canada, but sadly it is.

[skaar]

I regularly buy from Canada and have sold to Canada on the rare occasions I list anything for sale. Having said that, I believe Canada Post is by far the worst postal system in the world. I have frequently received items sent from Europe in half the time it takes to get an item from Vancouver which is literally two states away from California where I live. Of the thousands of packages I have sent and received in the last decade, maybe ten have been damaged or had the contents stolen and all but two of those were from Canada. I can't explain exactly why the theft/damage ratio is so high and why the postal service is so slow in Canada, but sadly it is.

Postal service within the country is great, I think the US/Canada customs both fuck things up - NAFTA my ass.

[c0ldb33r]

Generally Canada Post is fine, particularly within the country. Unfortunately anything from the USA is slow as hell. Honestly, I receive stuff from China faster than USA.

[megasdkirby]

I've purchased items from canadian members, and everything turned out well.

However, sometimes it takes an incredibly long time to receive, which makes me worried. Otherwise, no issues.

Oh, and shipping is always so insanely high! Normally a package sent via Flat Rate Priority Mail (around $11) could cost two - three times as much from Canada!

So I will admit, I now try to avoid getting items from Canada unless it's something I really want.

[MachineGex]

The only reason I hate shipping to Canada is because most buyers DON'T tell you up front they are from Canada when you are negotiating game prices. I had a guy who wanted a NES game that I had listed for $10. He pm's me asking if I will take $12 shipped. I say ok, and then I get his paypal with the address and it's Canadian. I dont like that and find it Shady. I assume people are from the USA unless they tell me otherwise. I have no way to tell where everyone lives unless they tell me first.

I dont mind shipping to Canada, but I dont want to pay for it out of my pocket. It is the buyers responsibility to pay shipping. I dont want to pay for it or hear them complain about how much shipping is because I have ZERO control over it.

Can you tell I have been blindsided by a few Canadians before? ;) I now try and ask if they are in the USA, but sometimes it doesnt come up. I feel they should point that fact out, since it adds to the cost. Simple as that. If all Canadians did that, I would be more excited to deal with them!!!

[dodgeme]

I have no problem shipping to Canada, I have done it a few times and without any comformation it one time ended up being cheaper then when I sent a similar package to California.

[dao2]

I don't sell much stuff, but I buy a fair bit, and while I have no problem buying from people in canada the shipping cost does pain me, and the wait, and the couple of times that customs has decided to hold my package for an extra week :| And the lack of tracking REALLY bugs me. Sometimes tracking is there cause it was cheap, but sometimes seller says it's very expensive, I guess it hinges on the size and weight of the package and all that stuff, but I hate no tracking :(

edit: us customs

[fahlim003]

So this is boiling down to ignorance of postal procedures combined with an unwillingness to put in extra effort to mail things?

The reason I started this thread is because I was annoyed at yet another seller having something I wanted and flat out refusing to ship outside of the US - with no reason given. Not unreasonable, but annoying and not the first time.

I have no objection to paying more to have an item shipped internationally, but the attitude of completely refusing to deal outside of your own country is ridiculous.

This. 90% of the time things I want, game related, must be sought south of the border. I've been buying goods from the US since about 2000, ebay anyway, and for the longest time I don't even bother using ebay.ca. Canada plain sucks for inventory, and price too in the long run. I search all the US only listing and often ask each seller if they'll ship, to which I usually get good feedback and or agreement.

Like skaar however, sometimes isn't enough. I'll come across one item and for whatever fucked up reason the dude doesn't ship north. It's annoying but at least it doesn't come up too much. Happens with Amazon.com as well, much cheaper but cannot be shipped out of the US. Amazon.ca blows ass. Thankfully I have a cousin in Jersey and I get all the Amazon crap mailed to him.

[maxlords]

Well, I'm American and I live in Canada so I've had ample experience with both postal systems. I spent years eBaying and selling stuff online in the US and another 9 in Canada and I have several things to say about this. Before I do though....I want to ask people honestly....how many of you even bother to look up a tracking number EVER unless your package is taking extra long to arrive? Seriously. I think I've ever looked up like a couple a YEAR tops.

1. The US has quite possibly THE CHEAPEST shipping in the world. This is the main reason Americans bitch about dealing with other countries....I think the only other country that has insanely cheap shipping is Hong Kong...and I'm fairly certain that all mail from Hong Kong is free. :D I've sent to Europe, Asia, Russia, the US...everywhere but Africa and Antarctica really, and received packages from pretty much everywhere, and the US is by FAR the cheapest aside from Hong Kong.

2. Canada Customs randomly holds packages an extra 1-2 WEEKS for no reason...going in and coming out. That being said...I've NEVER had a package that was actually mailed not arrive. I've had 5 people tell me that their packages I shipped to them from Canada never showed up in the last...NINE YEARS. Of those packages, 2 had no tracking and I couldn't verify that they didn't arrive (I suspect they did), 1 was returned to me after 2 months as "undelivered" and I resent it, and 2 actually did get lost and I got the full insurance money for them and reimbused the buyers. Essentially...out of literally probably well over a thousand packages...I've had two get lost. TWO.

3. Canada Post is REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY expensive! Not only have their prices something like quintupled in the past nine years, but they keep going up 2-3 times PER YEAR. Shit that used to cost me $2 or $3 to send without insurance is costing me $7-15 now. They jacked the SHIT out of the prices around the time gas prices shot up and they've never come down. That being said...tracking is available for EVERY package to the States, and above a certain weight (not all too high either) it's actually CHEAPER to send with tracking...in fact, it's the only option.

4. For ALL packages sent to the States from Canada (and everywhere else for that matter), and I do mean EVERY SINGLE GODDAMNED package, Canada Post includes up to $100 insurance....FREE OF CHARGE. Whatever you mark the value at is what they cover in insurance up to $100. If someone is sending you a package from Canada and the value is $100 or less and they charge you for insurance....THEY ARE RIPPING YOU OFF.

5. It REALLY REALLY pisses me off when people from the US (it's only US people that do this too) refuse to ship to Canada when you're willing to pay the price of postage and don't care when the package gets to you! If you're sending from the US to Canada, anythung under 4 lbs. costs almost nothing to ship if you send it via 1st Class International (which doesn't have tracking). Seriously, it's cheaper than shipping stuff within Canada. It takes like 30 seconds to fill out the REALLY basic customs form the US has (about 1/10 less complex than any other country btw), and costs nothing. Anything over 4 lbs. has to go Priority International, which can get expensive though...and there are NO other cheaper options available...period. There's really no reason not to ship to Canada. I have a SHIT-TON of feedback on multiple forums and eBay, and people are still like "waa waa tracking costs too much, I won't ship to you". I AM NOT A SCAMMER. Grrr.

6. For some reason, packages from Canada to the US and vica versa take longer than ANY other country. I've sent stuff to Britain in less than 3 days, Australia in less than a week, Russia in less than 2 weeks, etc etc. That being said...if I send the SAME package to the US...average of 2-3 weeks. I think it's mostly something to do with border security and the low priority that USPS probably puts on sorting international mail. It's just how long it takes. I expect ANY package from the US to take 2 weeks to get to me. Anyone that says that that's abnormal is LYING. For the last decade, that's how it's ALWAYS been. This is the biggest problem between the US and Canada's mail, as people in the US get their package within DAYS and they're used to instant gratification on everything. And they get all whiny, even when they have a tracking number that shows them EXACTLY where it is. Well....news flash....once it's mailed, we have no control over it! Ugh! That's just how long it takes for the most part. I've mailed 3-4 packages to the same address on the same day and had them get they spread out over a week's time. Grow some patience people!

7. Canada Customs and Revenue (IRS and Customs in one) is a SEPARATE GOVERNMENT AGENCY FROM CANADA POST! Canada Post has NO control over what Canada Customs does. If Canada Customs stops your package, they charge you a flat HANDLING fee of $5 whether they open it or not....and this is NON-NEGOTIABLE and not under Canada Post's control. On top of that $5, they charge you a % of the marked value of the package, which is why people ALWAYS ask for customs stickers to be marked as a "gift with a low value". Any gift package under $60 value is considered non-taxable. US people dont' understand this because Americans DON'T EVER HAVE TO PAY CUSTOMS DUTY! It only applies to businesses in the US. Every other country in the world, people get taxed to fuck on international packages that Customs stops. Pretty much, people who are not willing to undervalue and/or mark as a gift are douches IMO, because most all of them know it'll cost the buyer extra and the seller nothing. That being said...I get literally hundreds of packages a year....and on the average, I'd say MAYBE 1 out of every 150 or so gets stopped and taxed for duty. Most of em get marked as gifts with a low value though. I have a friend who almost all his packages get opened and taxed....I think he pissed someone off at Canada Customs or something though. I never try to get my money back from them and never complain that they charged me too much :D

8. Tracking can be more expensive from Canada Post as it's not a "tack on tracking" service like it is in the US. You can't "add tracking for a buck extra" or whatever it is now. If you want tracking outside of Canada, you have to ship via Expedited or Xpresspost. Expedited is ALWAYS significantly cheaper, but it takes the same amount of time as Airmail (which isn't tracked...but IS INSURED) most of the time. Expedited is fairly expensive on very small packages (like a single game, etc) but is actually the same price or cheaper on the average small box. Once you get up past a certain weight, it's Expedited or nothing anyway. Xpresspost is awlays ridiculously expensive, but guaranteed in like a week or something.

In short, Canada Post pretty much sucks for price and speed and their rates go up...frequently. But their customer service is AMAZING and they're super-helpful and don't dick around their customers. They don't lose packages either. USPS is fast as shit and cheap as shit within the US ONLY. It's EASY to mail packages internationally, unless you want McMail. Canada Customs (and probably US Customs) is mostly what slows down packages.

Oh yeah....and NEVER USE UPS TO SEND ANYTHING INTERNATIONALLY! It's something like triple the price of USPS or Canada Post and if I receive a package from the US via UPS and it's not marked as a gift, they charge me a SHIT-TON of "duty". One time I got a $200 package, and they charged me something like $75! ,,!,, you UPS! They're fine within the US or within Canada, but not across borders!

[fahlim003]

Well, I'm American and I live in Canada so I've had ample experience with both postal systems. I spent years eBaying and selling stuff online in the US and another 9 in Canada and I have several things to say about this.

[stuff]
Oh yeah....and NEVER USE UPS TO SEND ANYTHING INTERNATIONALLY! It's something like triple the price of USPS or Canada Post and if I receive a package from the US via UPS and it's not marked as a gift, they charge me a SHIT-TON of "duty". One time I got a $200 package, and they charged me something like $75! ,,!,, you UPS! They're fine within the US or within Canada, but not across borders!

Agreed on most points. Hong Kong mail is very cheap, and possibly near the point of being free. UPS is also bullshit and I will never deal with those shitfucks again. I too have had the $150 parcel with $50 duty slapped on. Fuck you with a hot poker up the ass UPS.

[Atarileaf]

I'm from Canada but I answered the polls question anyway - Can't find Canada on a map.

It may seem like a joke but there are many Americans that think we're SOUTH of the US like we're part of Mexico or something.

On behalf of all Canadians, that gets one hell of a facepalm.

[dao2]

I'm from Canada but I answered the polls question anyway - Can't find Canada on a map.

It may seem like a joke but there are many Americans that think we're SOUTH of the US like we're part of Mexico or something.

On behalf of all Canadians, that gets one hell of a facepalm.

I'm pretty sure that's just some popular myth you guys have up there for Americans being idiots, no one here thinks your below us on a standard map :|

[megasdkirby]

It may seem like a joke but there are many Americans that think we're SOUTH of the US like we're part of Mexico or something.


It's the same with Puerto Rico.

Many (specially on Ebay) think that PR is either near China, Australia, or Antartica and refuse to ship packages because it's not part of the US. Funny, how it's a US territory.

Fortunately, I've never had a problem on DP, as everyone seems to know this (and when they don't, they are happy to know the "new info"). But on Ebay...wow, there are some really big retards there! What's even more incredible is that, when I show them evidence (mainly about shipping rates being the same), those same intelligent Ebay sellers say I'M wrong. Or when they charge $10 shipping thinking I'm international, and only use like $2 for First Class Mail. To those that do that, I contact them once more and say "How does it feel being stupid?" LOL

Idiots. LOL

[dao2]

6. For some reason, packages from Canada to the US and vica versa take longer than ANY other country. I've sent stuff to Britain in less than 3 days, Australia in less than a week, Russia in less than 2 weeks, etc etc. That being said...if I send the SAME package to the US...average of 2-3 weeks. I think it's mostly something to do with border security and the low priority that USPS probably puts on sorting international mail. It's just how long it takes. I expect ANY package from the US to take 2 weeks to get to me. Anyone that says that that's abnormal is LYING. For the last decade, that's how it's ALWAYS been. This is the biggest problem between the US and Canada's mail, as people in the US get their package within DAYS and they're used to instant gratification on everything. And they get all whiny, even when they have a tracking number that shows them EXACTLY where it is. Well....news flash....once it's mailed, we have no control over it! Ugh! That's just how long it takes for the most part. I've mailed 3-4 packages to the same address on the same day and had them get they spread out over a week's time. Grow some patience people!


I think more people are worried over their packages not getting there, when it comes to international shipping I am extremely worried that it is going to get lost, and when it goes above the standard 3-4 days of domestic shipping it starts gnawing at me, and the only alleviation is if there is tracking I can go look at it help assuage my fears.

It may be irrational but it happens :P

I have yet to have a package lost though, but still that one that's gonna get lost eventually is going to haunt me forever :P

[dao2]

It's the same with Puerto Rico.

Many (specially on Ebay) think that PR is either near China, Australia, or Antartica and refuse to ship packages because it's not part of the US. Funny, how it's a US territory.

Fortunately, I've never had a problem on DP, as everyone seems to know this (and when they don't, they are happy to know the "new info"). But on Ebay...wow, there are some really big retards there! What's even more incredible is that, when I show them evidence (mainly about shipping rates being the same), those same intelligent Ebay sellers say I'M wrong. Or when they charge $10 shipping thinking I'm international, and only use like $2 for First Class Mail. To those that do that, I contact them once more and say "How does it feel being stupid?" LOL

Idiots. LOL

Yah that's true, if you asked me if PR was part of the US I woulda said I dunno, or no :P

[Ed Oscuro]

Hello computer! Old thread! fahlim003 gives UPS the Edward II treatment!

I missed Bratwurst's tip on the customs slip the first time around, that's good to know.

Personally I have had many fine deals with people outside the US, many in SE Asia and Europe, mainly as a buyer. With one recent possible exception I don't think I have had anything get lost in the mail, and that's over eight years ordering from some rather exotic places (Thailand, Spain, etc.)

[todesengel]

I've got no problem shipping to Canada or any other country for that matter, never had a problem sending or receiving anything from other countries.

[Sailorneorune]

No problem shipping to Canada here - only been burned once, but the other person was just a lousy trader in general. I've also been screwed over by a couple folks here in the States.

It happens, it sucks, but we move on.

I live in a small town, so I have to go to the post office regardless of where and what I'm sending, so it's not an inconvenience for me to spend an extra 2 minutes filling out a customs form.

[The 1 2 P]

Ironically I just got burnt from a Canadian buyer a few months ago. However, I also blame myself for not including a tracking number on that transaction. But the good news is that I now require tracking numbers on all international orders. This ups the shipping cost by about 60% on average but it's a neccessary increase.

[josekortez]

I don't mind trades with Canadian Digital Press members, but I don't like having to use Paypal for sales. I'm still waiting on a money order that was supposed to be coming from a Canadian Digital Press member who I won't name here. I don't even know if he changed his mind because he never said that he didn't want the item.

The customs form isn't a big deal, though. Other than having to use Paypal, I don't have a problem with Canada.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted after the bump... In my own defense, the poll is about as useful. :p

http://www.collisiondetection.net/images/why_can%27t_i_own_a_canadian.jpg

It's a shame too... The flapping heads with beady little eye market is set to go through the roof. If you can, stock up now.

[Oobgarm]

Flapping heads and beady eyes aside, I've shipped to them for years with no problems.

[skaar]

1. The US has quite possibly THE CHEAPEST shipping in the world. This is the main reason Americans bitch about dealing with other countries....I think the only other country that has insanely cheap shipping is Hong Kong...and I'm fairly certain that all mail from Hong Kong is free. :D I've sent to Europe, Asia, Russia, the US...everywhere but Africa and Antarctica really, and received packages from pretty much everywhere, and the US is by FAR the cheapest aside from Hong Kong.


I think this is probably the biggest thing I always hear. People who mail from the US are always saying "OMG SHIPPING IS INSANE" when it costs $10 to mail 15 games.

Holy subsidy, Batman.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Where the hell is the "Canada Post blows goats" option?

[obesolete]

I buy from americans and overseas ALL the time and I've only ever had a problem once where a game went missing in the mail.

I also send out hundreds of parcels a year all over the world and have only ever had a few things "go missing"

it's true about the Canadian rates vs USA rates. If I send a parcel to anywhere in the US it's $6.94 for airmail. if i send my family a parcel of the same size and weight an hour's drive away it costs me(or would if i were retarded enough to pay) $11 and change. Each province varries in price too.

What kills me is when i get charged $5 for shipping from the US and it comes with a $1.XX sticker on it. I'm PRETTY sure that envelope didn't cost you $3.
I never charge for handling, only the cost of postage and packaging.

[InsaneDavid]

I don't mind trades with Canadian Digital Press members, but I don't like having to use Paypal for sales. I'm still waiting on a money order that was supposed to be coming from a Canadian Digital Press member who I won't name here.

Remember that most banks in the USA seem to want to hold a Canada Post money order for up to 10 days to ensure it clears. Three times across two banks for me.

[understatement]

I think this is probably the biggest thing I always hear. People who mail from the US are always saying "OMG SHIPPING IS INSANE" when it costs $10 to mail 15 games.

Holy subsidy, Batman.

What shipping are you using?
The average CIB CD based game weighs 4 to 10oz. depending on the game so let’s say 6oz. per game for 15 that’s 90oz and 16oz=1 pound so 5 pounds 9oz.

Now put that in the USPS International price calculator and the cheapest is $25.60.

The shipping cost is not that big of a deal to me but if I can get it cheaper I would like to know.

What is a big deal is the insurances, 15 games at about $25 a game is $375 if they get F’ed up I’m SOL. There is no insurance through USPS, I’m not sure about the other shippers but they would be way more expensive.

[josekortez]

Remember that most banks in the USA seem to want to hold a Canada Post money order for up to 10 days to ensure it clears. Three times across two banks for me.

No, the person either never mailed the money order or didn't care enough to reply to my PMs to let me know that he sent it or didn't sent it. He seems to be M.I.A. at this point. I don't mind accepting the money order if it ever materializes, but it's been almost a month and a half. Unless the mail is handled by Siberian Huskie dog teams up there, it shouldn't take that long for it to get here.

I'll just assume he didn't want it and relist the item. :)

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

I will do it, but for the record I have indeed had my fair share of issues with some buyers from Canada, more so then buyers located in the USA. Mainly ebay related. Basically ranging from them lowering my shipping time rating, paying late, not leaving feedback or having poor communication, to blaming me they have to pay taxes because I wouldn't write up the item as a gift. I always require insurance and tracking on anything I sell, and due to that I get a lot of complaints from people in Canada. This has been going on though for me since like 2002 so I'm used to it. I'm not a moron, if I wont ship in the USA without tracking and insurance, there's obviously no chance Id do so out of the USA. Just too risky anymore. I sympathize about the tax/tariff thing, but I'm not going to commit customs/mail fraud in order to help someone get out of paying them.

[skaar]

What shipping are you using?
The average CIB CD based game weighs 4 to 10oz. depending on the game so let’s say 6oz. per game for 15 that’s 90oz and 16oz=1 pound so 5 pounds 9oz.

Now put that in the USPS International price calculator and the cheapest is $25.60.

The shipping cost is not that big of a deal to me but if I can get it cheaper I would like to know.

What is a big deal is the insurances, 15 games at about $25 a game is $375 if they get F’ed up I’m SOL. There is no insurance through USPS, I’m not sure about the other shippers but they would be way more expensive.

I've had boxed of 20 SNES games shipped to me from NY (across the continent) for 13.75 printed postage on the box from a DP member here.

Also bubble mailers with 4-5 games for < $6.

I think it's all the tracking BS. Personally if I'm buying/selling on a forum I consider it a risk much like ebay used to be - I send the money and hope for the best, and put faith in them to be honest about things based on their rep. It's all you can really do.

I see all these scams on paypal/ebay/whatever and it just saddens me.

[ryborg]

The only countries with worse post office systems than Canada (that I've dealt with) are Mexico and Italy. I've honestly had a better percentage of items arrive in disputed zones in the Middle East and rural towns in Eastern Europe than anywhere in Canada. About 5% of items arrive in about a month or longer, which is just not acceptable. I'll still ship there, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

[The Shawn]

No, the person either never mailed the money order or didn't care enough to reply to my PMs to let me know that he sent it or didn't sent it. He seems to be M.I.A. at this point. I don't mind accepting the money order if it ever materializes, but it's been almost a month and a half. Unless the mail is handled by Siberian Huskie dog teams up there, it shouldn't take that long for it to get here.

I'll just assume he didn't want it and relist the item. :)


I once waited 3 months for a SMB/DH cart with 50 CAD in it from Canada, and he HAD sent it when he said he did.


That sucked. As I had allready called him out on it, I try to stay away from deals involving Canada now, unless it's a forum member here that has been around for a while.

[understatement]

I've had boxed of 20 SNES games shipped to me from NY (across the continent) for 13.75 printed postage on the box from a DP member here.

Also bubble mailers with 4-5 games for < $6.

I think it's all the tracking BS. Personally if I'm buying/selling on a forum I consider it a risk much like ebay used to be - I send the money and hope for the best, and put faith in them to be honest about things based on their rep. It's all you can really do.

I see all these scams on paypal/ebay/whatever and it just saddens me.

yea, but as soon as the weight goes over 4 Lbs. the shipping doubles. Most of the SNES games must have been loose.

Also I would like to correct myself there is insurance through USPS but its only available to priority mail and up but not priority mail flat rate.

priority mail starts at $20+ the coast of extras like insurance and goes up in price by the pound.

Wish I knew that when I shipped that $300 Magic card up to Canada two weeks ago.

[skaar]

The thing is.... I don't care if I have to pay more. I am willing to pay more. I just want someone to actually ship something when they have it for sale rather than going OMG CANADA and saying no.

[pseudonym]

I think most Canadians know that Canada Post is slow as hell and expensive if they've been buying online for awhile. Most people are willing to wait 1-2 week for something to arrive from the US/elsewhere, it's the minority of whiners on Ebay who expect an item to arrive in 3 days and then leave negs that give us a bad rep in the US.

Italy is the worst although I've heard that it's been improving. I sold some tapes and games to a few people there and one went missing, one was MIA for 2-3 months before it showed up, and one arrived in 3-4 weeks.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I have shipped hundreds of stuff international and there have only been 2 times the item never got there.

The problem is when something it is lost it takes months for an investigation to take place sometimes.

This last time a package was lost was over this X-mas. I call USPS for an investigation. They says it will take 17-days. I call back after 17-days they tell me the French postal service has 30-days to respond. So I call back after 30-days and they tell me the French postal service has 60-days to respond. I finally after calling after 60-days they tell me they will send me my claim forms.

That's 2 months from the time a filed the claim. The claim was filed 6 weeks after shipping. Almost 4 months since it was shipped to finally get somewhere is insane.

[wallywoo5000]

Well, I like Candian bacon... does that count??

[Ryaan1234]

Italy is the worst although I've heard that it's been improving. I sold some tapes and games to a few people there and one went missing, one was MIA for 2-3 months before it showed up, and one arrived in 3-4 weeks.
I WILL NOT send stuff to Italy. I had one friend who sent a pair of brand new Bose headphones to Italy, his auction was pulled after it was sold because of some rule about selling new Bose products (long story). Well the buyer and he panicked, cancelled his payment, and then claimed that the item "never arrived". All this happened after my friend shipped out the item. My friend was out the $100 they sold for and he never saw the headphones again.

Other things have happened with shipping things to Italy, I had another friend years ago that sold an accordian on eBay and someone in Italy bought it. Same story, it never arrived.

And finally to add to this, my aunt lived in Italy for several years. She said that the post is corrupt over there and basically the Italian postal workers take whatever they want.

Anyway, on the topic of Canadian shipping, I feel comfortable shipping to Canada as long as the buyer is willing to pay the extra to cover the cost. For instance I sold a little Daiwa radio meter to a Canadian guy a few months ago for $36 and he paid $12 for first class. I've had some experience with Canadian Post (I was C0ldb33r's secret santa a while back and his package took FOREVER to get to him) so I warned the guy about how long it would take. It did get to him a few weeks later and he was happy with his item. Canada Post is slow, but at least the items get to their destinations.

[c0ldb33r]

You know what worse than shipping to Canada? If I try to sell something, no one from the states is ever interested solely because I'm from canada. It kind of sucks.

[ryborg]

... his auction was pulled after it was sold because of some rule about selling new Bose products (long story)....

I'm kinda curious about this one.

[weirdguy]

maxlords, just a quick thing : Customs and Revenue are separated now. We split in CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) and CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency).

To this day I still wonder why we were together at some points.

[dao2]

You know what worse than shipping to Canada? If I try to sell something, no one from the states is ever interested solely because I'm from canada. It kind of sucks.

well sometimes i want something, and it seems like a really good deal then the shipping gets figured in and i could get it cheaper somewhere else :< just how it is ><

[Ryaan1234]

I'm kinda curious about this one.

Well, long story short you can run into trouble if you try to sell brand new Bose products on eBay. It's a bit complicated to explain. This (http://whacked.net/2007/09/04/bose-is-in-the-business-of-being-a-trademark-nazi/) talks about it somewhat. The problem that arose with my friend is that eBay pulled his auction after it sold.

Don't let that stop you from selling used Bose stuff, though. It's just new stuff that's an issue. For instance I just sold a used Bose Acoustic Wave Radio a few months ago without any problems.

[maxlords]

Well, I like Candian bacon... does that count??

Sadly they don't have Canadian Bacon in Canada. I asked for a pizza one time with Canadian Bacon and pineapple, and they said "You mean...um...bacon?"

So frustrating :D



@ weirdguy: I didn't know that CC&R had separated....nice to know...and honestly, a long time coming. Niw I only have to hate CC :D

[weirdguy]

Canadian Bacon is called back bacon in Canada. Regular bacon should be called streaky bacon.

Back on topic. As a fellow Canadian, I ship everywhere but refuse to accept that CP has the worst post service. They are not the best, far from it, but the Italian post service is the worst to me.

It slow and expensive but you get your stuff. But it also means lost sales, as c0ldb33r said. Now I use flat shipping when I list something in a bubble enveloppe, 6.99$. Covers shipping to anywhere in North America, even tho shipping to BC is more expensive than shipping to California. It evens out in the end.

But people, keep selling to people that have the knowledge of how the customs and postal service works. We don't mind waiting for the stuff if we get a reasonable shipping price.

[jonjandran]

I shipped a Portable to Canada. Shiped it Global Priority with an estimated 4-8 days shipping.

It left the USA 2 days later.

Took 24 more days to be delivered. Really Canada Customs or Canada Post Office stinks.

[ryborg]

Well, long story short you can run into trouble if you try to sell brand new Bose products on eBay. It's a bit complicated to explain. This (http://whacked.net/2007/09/04/bose-is-in-the-business-of-being-a-trademark-nazi/) talks about it somewhat. The problem that arose with my friend is that eBay pulled his auction after it sold.

Yeah, I found that site while googling information on it earlier. I can't believe ebay lets companies like that get away with pulling clearly legitimate auctions.

Mitchell & Ness used to do that to me and fellow sellers, back in 2003-06 when throwback jerseys were really popular. I have a long series of emails to and from their brain-dead legal department. They kept pulling my stuff, even though I had all the paperwork, attached tags, and every other possible piece of evidence proving my stuff was real. They just didn't like us selling their $400+ jerseys for $150.


I shipped a Portable to Canada. Shiped it Global Priority with an estimated 4-8 days shipping.

It left the USA 2 days later.

Took 24 more days to be delivered. Really Canada Customs or Canada Post Office stinks.

I believe it. The *only* time a global Priority package I mailed got lost was going to BC, Canada.

[skaar]

Bumping to see if attitudes have changed...

[maxlords]

Heh.....Canada Post still sucks ass. They've raised their rates at least once a year for the past few years. It's getting to the point where unless you have something really good to sell ($25+), it's not worth selling it internationally unless it's DVD sized or smaller. REALLY obscenely high shipping here...and still way cheaper than UPS!

Aside from that, people mostly still ship to Canada if you ask, even sellers that say "US only" on eBay, as long as you're willing to pay the difference and don't mind the wait times. Anyone with any sense is used to em tho. I recently bought a guide from a "US Only" eBay seller after emailing them, they charged me $8 for the guide, $8 for shipping, and reimbursed me $5 when shipping was only $3 (small sized guide).

I haven't had Customs tax me on an incoming package in over a year, but most people declare them under the $60 limit for me out of courtesy.

Oh...and UPS is still complete ASS for international shipping as anyone that's tried it knows. Triple to quadruple the price.

Oh....and shipped a package surface to Mexico the other day....took a MONTH to get there for $48 (over 2 Kg). No joke...a full month. *sigh* At least it had tracking and insurance....

[PapaStu]

I've not had any issues shipping to Canada and I send stuff to Ze_ro pretty regularly. Hell, he sends me stuff pretty frequently as well. I don't have any problem shipping to Canadialand, I just have to go to the PO to do it, which can be a pain, but thats due to customs.

[thetoxicone]

I've loosened a lot on my feeling of shipping to Canada after I moved to Alaska and found how big of dicks people can even be about shipping to the disconnected portion of the USA that I figured I should go with the "if they pay for the shipping than why shouldn't I sell to them" theory.

[AB Positive]

I've still had way more problems selling/trading to US folk than Canadians.

Then again, when your shipping-to-Canada success rate is 100%, just one dipshit american ruins the punch. Still, US folk give me more runarounds than Canadians - doesn't stop me trading with Americans.

It does make me not want to deal with dickheads, regardless of nationality though. But that's just good sense :D

@Maxlords - USPS hasn't been great about prices lately. We've had a good 4-5 rate hikes in the last two years now. I'm working on a US-to-Canada sale and the quote for first class mail (4-6 weeks) for a single NES cart was $6!!!

Dammit USPS. The magic's gone now.

[FamicomFreak]

Can't say I had problems with Canadians it only costs a little bit more but it's all good.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Oh....and shipped a package surface to Mexico the other day....took a MONTH to get there for $48 (over 2 Kg). No joke...a full month. *sigh* At least it had tracking and insurance....

Yep, this is because every single package that comes from another country goes to the main distribution center in Mexico City first, and then it gets sent out to wherever it's supposed to go. Even if that location is on the far edge of the country. Canada Post is god-tier compared to Sepomex.

[The 1 2 P]

I don't have any problem shipping to Canadialand, I just have to go to the PO to do it, which can be a pain, but thats due to customs.

You can actually skip the trip to the post office if you print your labels online(which I do for all international packages). Selling on ebay makes that process alittle easier but I'm going to guess that some of the stuff you sell is directly from your collection/trade pile. However, shipping cost are very easy to calculate(regardless of country) as long as you ship in a priority mail flat rate envelope or box(which you can pick up in abundance at your local PO or have them sent directly to your house and they also include built-in tracking numbers and custom forms). Once you set the date you are going to send the package you can leave it in your mailbox and the post office will pick it up when they deliver your mail that day(or you can request online for them to knock at your door to pick it up if it doesn't fit in your mail box).

Canada is still a very easy place for me to ship to, as are most countries. The biggest pain is when the country you are sending to adds a tax to the package because of how much it cost and when you print out labels the price of the item is always right there on the label. Luckily you can scratch that off and write something else in as an alternativem which I do as a courtesy to my customers.

[ryborg]

Bumping to see if attitudes have changed...

If anything, it's been worse recently. Mailing items to Ontario seems fine, but outside of there, it's a toss-up if it'll arrive on time, or at all.

Just a few hours ago, I got two BS neutrals on ebay from a Canadian who said it took over a month for his package to arrive. I mailed it a day or so after he paid. It was going to Quebec, not the Northwest Territories. What the hell?

[ryborg]

You can actually skip the trip to the post office if you print your labels online(which I do for all international packages).

You can only do this for Priority or Express shipments, which most buyers are not willing to do. Airmail to Canada for something light like a video game only costs a few bucks, while the cheapest Priority (flat rate envelope) is ~$11. There's really no speed increase, either. I do require Priority for international users who purchase over $75 worth of items, just so I can have the tracking number for Paypal purposes.

[weirdguy]

If anything, it's been worse recently. Mailing items to Ontario seems fine, but outside of there, it's a toss-up if it'll arrive on time, or at all.

Just a few hours ago, I got two BS neutrals on ebay from a Canadian who said it took over a month for his package to arrive. I mailed it a day or so after he paid. It was going to Quebec, not the Northwest Territories. What the hell?

Quebecers are whiny by nature my friend. And I live there ! Most people from Quebec still have barely an idea of what eBay is and most people still think that things from the Us will magically appear in their mailbox after a week.

As for myself, I know I have to wait 3-4 weeks before I get something. If I want it sooner, I pay extra and that's it.

[MachineGex]

My only complaint about shipping to Canada is when the buyer/trader does not mention that they are from Canada. It does cost a bit more, so when they don't tell me, I have to adjust their shipping costs. As long as they dont mind paying the extra cost of shipping, everything is peachy.

[The 1 2 P]

You can only do this for Priority or Express shipments, which most buyers are not willing to do. Airmail to Canada for something light like a video game only costs a few bucks, while the cheapest Priority (flat rate envelope) is ~$11. There's really no speed increase, either. I do require Priority for international users who purchase over $75 worth of items, just so I can have the tracking number for Paypal purposes.

This is true but I require ALL my international bidders to have tracking numbers on their packages so priority mail international is the cheapest option for them. It may cost more than first class international but atleast this way we both get peace of mind knowing that their item will arrive.

[ryborg]

It may cost more than first class international but atleast this way we both get peace of mind knowing that their item will arrive.

....except when it doesn't. I've had a few Priorities get "lost" en route to Canada and the same has happened to colleagues of mine. I've lost hundreds of dollars because of that. Anecdotal evidence, yes, but it's enough to charge an extra handling fee on everything going to Canada.

[The 1 2 P]

....except when it doesn't. I've had a few Priorities get "lost" en route to Canada and the same has happened to colleagues of mine. I've lost hundreds of dollars because of that. Anecdotal evidence, yes, but it's enough to charge an extra handling fee on everything going to Canada.

And thats why I get tracking numbers---so that my packages don't get lost. You must not have had them on those "lost" packages, or did you? It's been awhile since I got one mailed from the post office directly but I believe if you get priority mail international you can add tracking to it for a relatively cheap price.

It's good that you put tracking numbers on packages $75 and over but I put them on everything just to be on the safe side. And theres no way I'd send anything during the holidays to another country without tracking because this is the time of year when the most packages get lost in the mail. I've only had two packages go missing over the years, one to Hawaii and ironically one to Canada. But that was before I made tracking numbers mandatory for all my buyers.

[Atarileaf]

I'll add my voice to those who've already mentioned the insane Canada Post prices. Here's the difference in a nutshell:

A youtuber I've traded with many times airmailed me a tandy coco cart. I got it in a week and it only cost him around $2.50 IIRC.

I used the same box and sent him a cart back via airmail and it cost just under $10. I even mentioned this to the cashier at the Shoppers Drug Mart I use frequently for shipping and she admitted that yes, Canada Post prices are so out of hand it isn't funny.

Yes it makes it very difficult to sell anything when your shipping charges are, by necessity, 3 or 4 times higher than US based sellers.

[c0ldb33r]

Agreed. I don't even bother selling stuff online anymore. If I can't sell it locally on Kijiji then I'll just keep it.

I live fairly closely to the USA border. Is it possible to bring something across and send it there using USPS? The border agents always ask if there's anything that I'm going to leave in the USA and it's always been a no. Is there a problem doing this?

[Retrogamecraze]

I only recently stopped selling games on ebay after 2 years of doing it. I sold mostly n64 and snes games with an average price of $7-$10 dollars. I would say a good 20% of my business came from Canada and I have sent literally hundreds of games across the border.

I have had only 2 incidents of items getting lost. I never used "tracking" due to the high cost. I mean, most people arent going to pay under $10 for a game and pay that or more to ship it. Knowing this I always kept my shipping prices fairly low ($4 first game $1 each additional) and had plenty of Canadian customers. I figured the risk I was taking that an item would get lost was outweighed by the volume of business I was doing.

That having been said, I do have to admit I would get very nervous when sending the occasional high value title to Cananda. I sold many copies of Ogre Battle 64 and Conkers and shipped them to Canadian customers! I did notice things took a while, 2-4 weeks on average to get there, but most customers know what the mail is like and were understanding, especially given the shipping I was charging.

My biggest fear shipping internationally was getting an "item not received" claim in paypal and having no way to prove I sent it. Fortunately for me, this has only happened twice, and I am assuming the claims were legit. All I can offer the customer or paypal is the customs number issued by the USPS, and that is far from ironclad proof of delivery. If I were selling higher value items then I would probably insist on having tracking in case there was a paypal dispute in the future. Anyway, just my two cents. :)

[Kitsune Sniper]

I live fairly closely to the USA border. Is it possible to bring something across and send it there using USPS? The border agents always ask if there's anything that I'm going to leave in the USA and it's always been a no. Is there a problem doing this?

Heh. Funny you should ask that.

I've mentioned that I live in Mexico. Well, I keep the stuff I sell in my home there. Whenever I cross over to the US, the agents ask me what I've got in my bag. I just say "It's a bunch of packages I have to send, they have so and so and so" and let me through, but I have to place my backpack in the X-ray scanner so they know it's not drugs, a bomb, or some food items we're not allowed to bring into the country. Then I just hop on to the local post office. A LOT of people cross over from Mexico to send stuff, it's nothing out of the ordinary considering how backwards Sepomex is. The USPS likes our business. :p

The next time you cross, ask the border agent for more info. There should be no problem unless you're sending something really valuable.