Why I don't ship to Canada

[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.

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

[ryborg]

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?

Yes, I did. Paypal shipping with Priority. The tracking just ended one day for the one. It arrived to the buyer's city, but never showed as delivered, never showed as anything. The most recent one entered Canada, then stopped there according to the tracking. Canada Post is seriously seriously awful.

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

This. I live right on the border, too, and I know people who come over from Canada to mail packages literally every week. Just declare it at the border with your intentions if asked and you'll be fine.

[maxlords]

Half of the problem there is that you're shipping from a Shopper's Drug Mart. Just so you know, if it's not an actual Canada Post post office, they have contracts with whoever is running it (such as Shopper's). Part of those contracts actually allow Shopper's Drug Mart Canada Post outlets to set whatever prices they want. You may be paying significantly more by shipping there rather than going to the post office. I've seen it vary by $7 or $8 myself Fair warning!

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.

[Kitsune Sniper]

maxlords has a point. I can actually send stuff from the place where I get my mail (a private mail box) but it costs about $3-$10 more than shipping it from the post office!

Doesn't Canada Post have some sort of online postage service or something?

[brykasch]

I will send to Canada when its a private sale, and its worth the extra hassle. Most that I have dealt with want to whine about shipping , etc. Ebay I won't. Every time I did previously, all they did was whine about why it was taking so long, regardless of how you explained it, it didn't matter. Never got a neg, just got tired of worrying about it. I also send most things a flat rate, and if someone wins from outside the 48 states boom I get to eat costs. I understand its annoying as a buyer to see it. And I have being in the US as well, so I have been on both sides.

[skaar]