I think I'm going to stop shipping to Canada.

[Cmosfm]

Well, in the past I've always ran my auctions with shipping to both Canada and the United States. I always felt that it was nothing big to ship to Canada, it's really not a big deal.

But lately, shipping to Canada has been a huge pain in the ass, it used to take a week to get an item there....now it's 2-3 weeks....and people are getting mad, jumping down my throat, threatening me, demanding refunds.

I sign online today to get this e-mail...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MESO:IT

it's been almost a month. could i please have a full refund for the game, including shipping and handling please? i dont want to go to ebay about this. or leave negative feedback, but ive been waiting long enough..if the game comes at a later date, i will gladly return the cash, but for now id like a full refund please

So yeah, so the item doesn't get there, the fellow wants a refund. It's not my fault the item doesn't get there. You can't add Delivery Confirmation OR Insurance to an item going to Canada as well, so there's no tracking number, there's nothing I can do unless they are willing to pay for international insurance...which is HIGH...and they usually aren't willing to do.

So I decide to check Paypal and eBay and see if it's really been a month, I always e-mail my buyers when the item ships. This particular item shipped on April 4th...it's only been TWO WEEKS AND THREE DAYS!

I know, don't let one bad egg ruin a batch, but this isn't the first time a buyer from Canada has gotten mad due to the slack shipping as of late.

So as of now, I'm debating on whether dumping shipping to Canada all together or not.

/rant

[Player-2]

I have suffered from this same hassle for a while now...and I would like any info to help avoid this in the future. I wish I had any ideas. The loss and pissed off customers negates any profits/sales made there. I too am cosidering no Canada sales.

[VACRMH]

While some bidders will always be a problem, maybe you should just put more detail into the auction, that is if you really want to keep selling to them.

Something like, "Shipping to canada is this much more, please be aware it may take more time to arrive"

And then maybe send an email to the bidder when you ship.

[The Brown Eye]

I've had the same problem. I had a $200 dollar package disappear going there as well. I really, absolutely, totally despise shipping there because it takes so long. I won't do it on Ebay, but on message boards (like this one) I make an exception, because people here are a little more patient.

[v1rich]

I always ship air mail parcel post or air mail letter post if using usps, and a lot of times I use fedex. That takes care of the ground shipping delay.

[Griking]

I feel for you. The larger problem is that Paypal will almost always refund the customer's money if they ask for it unless you can provide delivery confirmation which as you said isn't affordable for international shipments.

Did you ship surface mail or air mail?

[Darth Sensei]

Why not simply put in your auctions that you will require the buyer to pay for the insurance?

What percentage of your auctions are being won by Canadians?

[suppafly]

I understand your point. Maybe you should mention in all your auctions that shipping to canada takes up to 4 weeks. And if the buyer wants it faster, he needs to pay for express shipping....

[SKVermin]

It's unfortunate that you've run into a problem like this. As a Canadian, I often find it frustrating with the number of great deals that I have to pass up because sellers are unwilling to ship to Canada. I understand that that's their own choice, I would never pressure somebody to ship up here. I'm just saying that it's frustrating to miss out on some great buys.

Maybe the guys at ebay should explain to this newcomer that he's jumping the gun here. I remember my first ever ebay transaction took about a month and a half to complete. Now I get some that are finished up from payment to receipt in just three days! People need to understand that delays occur, and just keep their pants on.

If you do opt the "domestic shipments only" approach, maybe you could make exceptions for fellow DP members?

Good luck sorting this out.

[Bighab]

When shipping to Canada/overseas you should state in your auctions that if insurance/tracking isn't bought then you are not responsible for items that are lost. Or you can insist that if they purchase EMS shipping. Being a Canadian I have had a few sellers insist I pay for EMS shipping. I have also agreed to get only airmail shipping and not hold the seller responsible for lost items. Its too bad you can't get insurance on airmail packages. Here in Canada we get free insurance on airmail and expedited packages to the US. I have even made a successful claim for a lost package before.

[Cmosfm]

DP Went down last night while I was posting this, I didn't think it even got posted, then I went to Buying & Selling (For some reason, I have no idea, I'm pretty out of it this morning) and posted it again this morning not thinking it got posted at all.

SO I guess my brain farted or something, and I feel stupid.

[machine.slave]

Trust me, no one is more frustrated with the Canadian postal system and customs than we, the Canadians. Here's a few examples I've personally gone through:

1) It costs more to ship within our own country than it does to ship to the US.

2) Items shipped from BC to Ontario have taken longer to arrive than they have from California.

3) I've had items arrive from London, England in 3 days! And that's standard airmail, and shipping only cost me $7! (It was a boxed Microvision). The same item, to ship to Montreal, would cost me about $12 and would take 3-5 days.

4) Our customs dept. picks parcels at random, opens them, and charges a handling fee and taxes on them. I had a $120 item coming in from New Jersey.. they opened it pretty violently, tearing the box and everything, taped it back up and charged me over $50 in duties.

5) Just this week I had a package returned from the border to the sender in Missouri because it didn't have the guy's name in the "sender's address" field! WHAT?!

6) in 2004, our postal service went on strike.. DURING CHRISTMAS!

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Basically, the guy you sold to seems to me like he's worried.. and he's a newb, so he has a right to be. He's also obviously not used to Canada Post. Just explain to him that it's probably stuck at the border and that he should wait at least until next week. I'll bet it'll be there by then.. hell, I'm still waiting for items from late March, and I'm not worried.

As a Canadian, I appreciate that you've been sending here.. though, as others have suggested, strengthening your disclaimer might be in order. Also, maybe only sell to international bidders with a 10+ feedback count? That way they'll at least have a feel for how the shipping thing works..

[suppafly]

Trust me, no one is more frustrated with the Canadian postal system and customs than we, the Canadians. Here's a few examples I've personally gone through:

1) It costs more to ship within our own country than it does to ship to the US.

2) Items shipped from BC to Ontario have taken longer to arrive than they have from California.

3) I've had items arrive from London, England in 3 days! And that's standard airmail, and shipping only cost me $7! (It was a boxed Microvision). The same item, to ship to Montreal, would cost me about $12 and would take 3-5 days.

4) Our customs dept. picks parcels at random, opens them, and charges a handling fee and taxes on them. I had a $120 item coming in from New Jersey.. they opened it pretty violently, tearing the box and everything, taped it back up and charged me over $50 in duties.

5) Just this week I had a package returned from the boarder to the sender in Missouri because it didn't have the guy's name in the "return to sender" field! WHAT?!

6) in 2004, our postal service went on strike.. DURING CHRISTMAS!

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Basically, the guy you sold to seems to me like he's worried.. and he's a newb, so he has a right to be. He's also obviously not used to Canada Post. Just explain to him that it's probably stuck at the border and that he should wait at least until next week. I'll bet it'll be there by then.. hell, I'm still waiting for items from late March, and I'm not worried.

As a Canadian, I appreciate that you've been sending here.. though, as others have suggested, strengthening your disclaimer might be in order. Also, maybe only sell to international bidders with a 10+ feedback count? That way they'll at least have a feel for how the shipping thing works..

Its the same in Mexico. It takes 2-3 weeks, costs more than shipping within the US, and some items pay 23% taxes...

[Cmosfm]

If you do opt the "domestic shipments only" approach, maybe you could make exceptions for fellow DP members?

Oh of course! I'd never exclude a DP member.

Why not simply put in your auctions that you will require the buyer to pay for the insurance?

What percentage of your auctions are being won by Canadians?

I was told by my local post office that I couldn't insure a package to Canada.

The percent of my auctions being won by Canadians are probably 10%

Did you ship surface mail or air mail?

Air Mail, Surface takes way too long, Air Mail takes long enough as it is.

I'm going to consider making a longer disclaimer, but either way, this guy is being a real jerk. I've done nothing but explain that shipping takes longer, and he's not happy, he claims he bought a CD from the UK and it only took 5 days to get there.

I've just got a real sour taste in my mouth over this, I'm just lucky my paypal account is empty at the moment.

[Jumpman Jr.]

"All I hear is.... I'm to fat"
/goes off and eats ice-cream/


Whenever my packages come from the U.S. through deals on DP, they always arrive in about 2 weeks. But for some reason, whenever its through ebay, it takes about 3-4 weeks.
The thing is though, I don't mind the wait. I think you just had an inpatient person.
If you stop sending to Canadians, we'll stop giving Homer Simpson free drugs....
I mean it....

Oh yeah, and don't listen to that "machine.slave" guy, he's shiffty-eyed in my opinion

[Lost Monkey]

6) in 2004, our postal service went on strike.. DURING CHRISTMAS!

That did not happen.. sorry... there was no strike at Xmas 2004..


There does seem to be some kind of "problem" with the transfer of packages between the USPS and Canada Post, and it goes both ways.

I have had packages take 10-30 days going to the US and I've also experienced the same thing with packages coming from the US.

I don't know why, but it is much faster for me to send and receive from the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and even China than it usually is to go to the USA.

I think what you need to do, CMOSFM, is just add a disclaimer to your auctions stating that delivery times to Canada may take up to a month and that should take care of things. I have shipped about 15,000 packages in the last few years and have only had a few items lost, but there have been a lot of delayed packages.. letting the people know that there can be delays due to customs etc, usually is enough to calm their jitters, but if it isn't, then you are dealing with an "exception" and you may have a scammer on your hands.

[machine.slave]

6) in 2004, our postal service went on strike.. DURING CHRISTMAS!

That did not happen.. sorry... there was no strike at Xmas 2004..

Eh? Hmm.. I must be mistaken, then.. though I'm positive there was at least a THREAT of a strike.

Wasn't our customs dept. on a work-to-rule during that period as well?

And dammit, Jumpy! I didn't mean to sneak into your washroom while you were in the shower! I told you, it was a one-time deal! :P

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, it does seem shipping to Canada is ass slow for some reason. I'm not really sure why this is, although as others have mentioned it seems like they are being held up at the border.

I ship worldwide, and it often seems it takes anywhere from 10 to 30 days for something to get to Canada. Anything coming down here only takes about 6-10 days.

By compaison, I just mailed two Alone in the Dark books by AirMail to England last week, and they showed up in three business days!

I agree that it probaly would be a good idea to add into any future auctions that mailing to Canada is ass slow for some reason and give the option for international tracking if the buyer wants to pay for it. And E-mail the buyer, apoligize for the delay, explain what is going on, and ask them to be patient for a little while longer.

[jajaja]

I wouldnt recommend you to ship Worldwide then hehe.
I live in Europe and once I waited about 8 weeks for a package from USA. It was sent as surface mail.

I e-mailed the seller a few times over the weeks and he said he had sent it. Then he stopped to reply to my mails. One day I sent him a e-mail and told I had to police report him if he didnt refund my money, was over $200
Had to say this because I was afraid I had been scammed, he also got his account closed by Ebay, no idea what the reason was.
1 hour later I get the package in the mail hehe. Sent a mail back and said I recived it and it was all good

This have happend recently too. Waited about 2 months for a package from USA sent with surface mail.

So if you send with surface mail it can take damn long time.
I would take a friendly tone to the buyer no matter what.
Just say that it can take up to 1 month and tell him to e-mail you the if he havnt recived it.
Hopefuly it will all turn out good.

[Cmosfm]

Well, the package was sent back to me for an "incomplete address", even though the address matched the one he gave me perfectly.

Well, huh, let's see what happens next.