Been hearing rumors of Canada Post increasing prices, is it true?

[ccrrefills]

Normally at the post office at least weeks before a price increase they let me know and have the brochure with the new prices.

Now for over a month they've been telling me the small packets to USA that are now $3.79 are going to be "over $5" and I think they said this was happening on January 12. They still have no information at all and I can't find anything about this on the Canada Post website.

I'm really hoping this is a false rumor as they already increased the prices dramatically a year ago and going from $3.79 to "over $5" is an even bigger increase than last year.

Does anyone know anything about this, the majority of my packages are small packets to USA and international so I will have to update all my prices if this turns out to be true and it will make it very hard to compete with sellers in USA.

Thank you

[recped]

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/business/productsservices/rates.jsf

[cumos55]

Every year... January...second Monday.

Also make adjustments for the exchange rate.........

I use the following link...

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

[ccrrefills]

Those documents don't mention anything about the small packet prices but I found another discussion with links to documents with those prices. It's true, it' going from $3.79 to $5. I simply won't be able to compete with USA sellers anymore.

I'm going to find someone in USA and ship hundreds of my items to them for them to reship which I beleive costs 68 cents instead of $5. Not only will I make more profit, but someone in the USA will profit from my business too while allowing me to have lower prices.

I'm also going to try Fulfillment by you know who.

[38e_avenue]

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@ccrrefills wrote:

Those documents don't mention anything about the small packet prices but I found another discussion with links to documents with those prices. It's true, it' going from $3.79 to $5. I simply won't be able to compete with USA sellers anymore.

I'm going to find someone in USA and ship hundreds of my items to them for them to reship which I beleive costs 68 cents instead of $5. Not only will I make more profit, but someone in the USA will profit from my business too while allowing me to have lower prices.

I'm also going to try Fulfillment by you know who.

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I think you mean the LIGHT packet?

The price increases 64 cents: from 3.79 + tax (4.36) to 5.00 (no tax). 

[dutchman48]

In Alberta the increase is from 3.98 to 5.00, a 25% increase which in my eyes is a gouging rip off

[ccrrefills]

Yes, the customs forms say Small Packet but on the receipt it says light packet.

However, I never paid taxes on the light packets, so for me it's a $1.21 increase.

How do you pay for your light packets for there to be taxes on them?

I bring my packets to the post office and do and pay everything there, I never buy my shipping online, I think because they charge taxes if you do it that way.

Thanks

[pierrelebel]

Taxes are charged at the Post Office depending on the applicable rate for each province (from 5% to15%)

When shipping to the USA or overseas, taxes apply (GST or HST) except if the postal charge is $5.00 or more.

So, even in Alberta, you will be charged GST (5%) if you only send one parcel and the postage charge is less than $5.  However, if you send many parcels at the same time, then the total amount will exceed $5 and no tax will be charged.

Now, if your business is registered with GST/HST, it makes no difference whatsoever as you get 100% refund of the GST/HST paid on postage.

[38e_avenue]

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@ccrrefills wrote:

How do you pay for your light packets for there to be taxes on them?

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I print one by one online, so I am taxed for each of them. A Canada Post truck pickups all packets from my home 2-3 times a week, so I never go to the post office (I would save on tax that way). 

[vintagenorth]

Well, I guess what you save in gas driving to the post office then offsets the taxes that you pay. Unfortunately here in Ontario I don't know of any trucks that will pick up my mail for me! Would be nice, although sometimes my post lady will drop off a pkg. at my home instead of making me drive to the post office in town.

[rose-dee]

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@vintagenorth wrote:
Well, I guess what you save in gas driving to the post office then offsets the taxes that you pay. Unfortunately here in Ontario I don't know of any trucks that will pick up my mail for me! Would be nice, although sometimes my post lady will drop off a pkg. at my home instead of making me drive to the post office in town.

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I think the pick-up service is only available in certain areas (probably urban or suburban only).  I'm on a RR in Nova Scotia, just 9 kms from town, but they won't pick up from me.  

The $Cdn exchange rate will help to offset any Canada Post increases for me, at least as long as it remains under $0.90 US, because I use Light/Small Packet Air a lot to the U.S.  

I had a faint hope that the lower gasoline prices might help Canada Post to hold the line on increases this year, but alas -- I can't remember a January in the last 10 years when there wasn't a postal rate increase of some kind.  

[femmefan1946]

I found another discussion with links to documents with those prices. It's true, it' going from $3.79 to $5. I simply won't be able to compete with USA sellers anymore.

That $5 Cdn is $4.25 USD or a bit less.

When the $3.79 came in last year , the exchange was 94 cents US to the loonie. Today it's just about 85 cents.

In addition, that fuel surtax should have dropped with the cost of fuel ($1.019 /litre here in Victoria).

If you bought P stamps, you can use them on domestic parcels at the current LetterPost rate of 85 cents each, even if you bought them before the rate went up. You may even be able to buy them from eBay stamps dealers.

And of course there are the tax breaks on exporting by mail (no sales taxes on postage purchases over $5) and refunds if you are doing well enough to register to remit PST/GST/HST. 

Yes. It is a rise.

No. You should not panic.

[pjcdn2005]

Have you considered using letter post instead of light packet?

Those prices are not going up.

[pjcdn2005]

This is interesting. I don't think that it will affect me much as I don't send a lot of large packages but it may some affect some sellers.

2. Changes to dimensional weight factor for specific product types
The factor (divisor) used in the formula to calculate the dimensional weight of a parcel will vary depending on product type, where dimensional weight is calculated as:
o Length x Width x Height / Dimensional Weight Factor
 For Priority, Xpresspost and all USA/International Parcels, use 5,000 when measuring in centimetres and 139 when using inches.
 For Expedited and Regular Parcels, continue to use 6,000 when measuring in centimetres and 166 when using inches.
This change will align Canada Post with the standard industry practices used to determine the dimensional weight of a package.

[pocomocomputing]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

This is interesting. I don't think that it will affect me much as I don't send a lot of large packages but it may some affect some sellers.

2. Changes to dimensional weight factor for specific product types
The factor (divisor) used in the formula to calculate the dimensional weight of a parcel will vary depending on product type, where dimensional weight is calculated as:
o Length x Width x Height / Dimensional Weight Factor
 For Priority, Xpresspost and all USA/International Parcels, use 5,000 when measuring in centimetres and 139 when using inches.
 For Expedited and Regular Parcels, continue to use 6,000 when measuring in centimetres and 166 when using inches.
This change will align Canada Post with the standard industry practices used to determine the dimensional weight of a package.

---

This includes Expedited Parcel USA so it is a sneaky way to increase the rates if a package volumetric weight is larger than the actual weight. By using a smaller volume of 5000 instead of 6000, then volumetric rate will be used more often than actual weight. So sellers will see an increase in Expedited Parcel USA costs if they use EP often. Expedited Parcel Canada and Regular Parcel still use 6000 so not sneaky increase on those within Canada services.

Here is the postal guide where I confirmed that Expedited Parcel USA is using 5,000. (page 2 of the document)

https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/prices/SBParcels-e.pdf

Here is a copy of what is written:

Volumetric Weight

The volumetric weight (dimensional weight) of an item is calculated by applying the cubing rule; the rule ensures that the price charged for lightweight packages (low-density shipments) adequately covers the cost of transportation for the space occupied. The cubing rule is widely used in the transportation industry. As per the International Air Transport Association (IATA) cubing rule, all charges are based on a minimum density of 1 kilogram per 6,000 cubic centimetres (10 pounds per cubic foot) for Expedited Parcel™ and Regular Parcel services (<--- the EP and RP is for Canada - my comment here) and 5,000 cubic centimetres (12 pounds/cubic foot) for Priority™, Xpresspost™, Priority™ Wordwide, Xpresspost™ – USA, Expedited Parcel™ – USA, Xpresspost™ – International and International Parcel™ (air or surface). The shipping price is based on the greater of the volumetric weight or the actual weight. (The actual weight cannot exceed 30 kg, but it is possible that the volumetric weight could exceed 30 kg.)

[dutchman48]

It is another cash grab by CP to support their fat paychecks and pensions at the expense of the consumers who use their services.

They like Ebay need to learn that if rates keep going up and small internet businesses stop using their service due to cost, they will have even less income to pay their fat salaries and pensions.

[rose-dee]

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@pocomocomputing wrote:

This includes Expedited Parcel USA so it is a sneaky way to increase the rates if a package volumetric weight is larger than the actual weight. By using a smaller volume of 5000 instead of 6000, then volumetric rate will be used more often than actual weight. So sellers will see an increase in Expedited Parcel USA costs if they use EP often. 

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Thanks for posting all that information, 'poco'.  I still have trouble determining what the volumetric weight of any given parcel will be, but I imagine the Paypal label system will be retooled to automatically calculate it.  

This will have an impact on many of my shipments, as the boxes I have to use tend to be rather large and the contents rather lightweight, and most go to the U.S. by Expedited.  Sneaky indeed. 

[lukey9]

Since I closed the Store at the end of the year, I'm selling off items that I could not sell locally at all & all at Free Shipping with of course the profit built in. Price increases the first of the year with Canada Post are like you know Christmas comes every year. It is going to be a Challenging year for Sellers in Canada and should be interesting when the Spring Updates come out but I will be retired again by then.

[pjcdn2005]

Yes, thank you poco.

[recped]

I don't really see the dimensional weight adjustment to be all that sneaky. I'm sure that many mailers who do not send out bulky low weight items are not interested in subsidizing those that do.

I hear a lot of screaming for fairness, that is exactly what the dimensional weight pricing does, it more accurately aligns rates with costs.

The last similar type of increase was the reduction in the minimum weight charge from 1kg to 750gm 4 or 5 years ago.

Is the minimum charge for expedited still 750gm?

What I'm waiting to see is how they deal with the Fuel Surcharge. If gas drops another 3 or 4 cents per litre that should be enough to eliminate the surcharge completely on Expedited (it would still be 5% on Xpresspost). I do wonder what Canada Post will do if the national average goes below 87/litre, at that point the surcharge starts to go into the negative, what are the odds they will pass that along?