If your shipping from US to Canada make sure you charge enough for shipping I hear people on here all the time making comments when people list things as CONUS only. I even received a private message saying " why would you list as CONUS when it's only a dollar or two more to send to Canada " Well let me tell you .. today i shipped 1 tub of shaving soap first class usps to Ontario Canada and the total box weight was 11oz .. here in the US i could send this first class for under $5 ... so for those of you saying it doesn't cost much more to ship to Canada i'm here to say it does !
I have been there. If you aren't careful, the shipping can be more than what the product is worth. Nothing against our Canadiahoovian friends.
If you think that is expensive, try driving it up there. HA! My last package to Canadia was $9.50. It was 5.3 oz. I tried to keep it light.
I must point out that i didn't mean this in any way to offend any Canadians, i was just pointing out that shipping an item to Canada can be quite a bit more than shipping inside the states. A while back on a PIF post someone had stated CONUS only and people were commenting saying " why cause it's only a dollar or two more to ship to Canada "
I have stopped buying US items, I keep getting hit with customs duty as well as high shipping costs...
I have heard and suffered through some ascerbic correspondence from potential Canadian buyers on Ebay. I ship US only and make that very clear on listings. That geographic line can be expensive. I don't know how vendors like Connaught do it so reasonably.
IIRC, the guy who runs our UPS store told me once that it is less expensive to ship into the US than out. This was while I was trying to avoid spending over $20 to ship a PIF up there that would have gone Small Flat Rate here for $6.
From my experience the cost depends on a few factors. A) Shipping with no tracking = decent price B) Shipping with tracking but no signature = moderate C) Shipping with tracking and signature = expensive.
I don't see what all the fuss is about...Being Canadian, sending something for $10-15 is just normal (even within Canada). So I don't really see why if Canadians are happy to mail elsewhere, why Americans have such an issue with it. I don't mean this with any contempt at all...just more stating a fact. Heck, my Aussie friends are happy to not charge extra for shipping on sales, and their postage is about triple of what Canadians pay.
Well then I guess we are spoiled. In my case we have a super under staffed PO for our growing area, and waiting in line for a half an hour or better, just to get the stupid customs forms, get out of line, fill them out and get back in line for a half hour.... so that I can pay three times as much to ship something I am either donating to be nice, or selling at a loss on top of eating shipping.... I am sorry to leave anyone out, but I have been down that road a couple of times, and am just not traveling it again. If I were a business, that would obviously be a game changer, but for a working class hobbyist it is a different story.
Canada post has an online form that can be filled in order to save time. It does depend where one lives and access to one or many post offices in the area. I found shipping tracked no signature within Canada cost me anywhere from $9-10 and $15-16 for U.S. shipping. Shipping to Europe is $15-16 no tracking and up to an outrageous $36 with tracking.
No one ever said anything about anyone being spoiled, and I'm sorry your upset. The problem with US Post is the fact it looses billions a year. Cheap shipping comes with a cost...hence the mark-up a year or two ago. From my time living in the States, I experienced mail delivery twice a day, six days a week. It was kind of overkill if you know what I mean...a needless cost. But this thread has completely been derailed from the OP. There had been Canada bashing going on, people's tempers are flaring, etc. Postage is postage. It's going to cost what it does. Speaking as someone who gets excluded from most things due to the "CONUS" claim it is frustrating when non-CONUS folks are willing to ship stuff, and others aren't willing to return the favor, if they are in a financial position to. That's why some people get upset. I write this will no intent of malice at all, just the intent of having an educated discussion, and hope to clarify a point that seems to be an issue that isn't understood by those it doesn't impact.
I am sorry, I meant that to be tongue in cheek, or humorously frustrated with the process, and it came across wrong. I am not upset in any way, just wanted to explain why so many CONUS people just don't do it. A trip to the post office to mail something International is seriously likely to take up an hour during the business week. That is a much bigger commitment than the postage. And don't mis-understand, I fully understand the cost of our USPS, hence the spoiled remark. But that goes into a much deeper discussion that probably isn't appropriate here. Again, sorry if my earlier post was mis-interpreted.
Hey no worries! That the bad thing about writing and why always try to be overkill on my expression. I fully understand they pathetically funny side of it! I'm not offended...glad you aren't either!
Im glad you posted regarding your situation. For me in small town northern Canada, I could never see what the big huff over going to the post office and filling out a form was all about. For me it takes 5 minutes to complete (that includes driving to the post office, which is down the street) and half the time the nice folks at the PO will fill out the form for me. I hadnt ever considered it being other than that, which is a bit nieve on my part. Next time I wont grumble under my breath when I see a CONUS only.
