Canadian Shipping Fees VS US Shipping fees Need to Be Reviewed In Canada Fee Structure

[tinmancomith]

Every Time I ask The EBay reps how we in Canada can be competitive with the US sellers on our shipping before the fees we pay to ship being almost 3 times more expensive in Canada all I get is WOW we did not know it was that expensive to ship from Canada, I think someone should look at the fee structure we pay and try and give us an adjustment to try and get us on a fair playing field with other EBay sites from what I see and also What I complain about is the final value sales fees added to our exceptionally Inflated Canada Post  shipping Rates.

Like I have read in a lot of posts we seem to be forced to inflate our prices so bad we become non competitive to the other EBay sellers leaving us in a dead pool just like Amazon has created and all the sales go to the US sellers who may I mention love the low $5 Dollar flat rate shipping they have available to them when our Flat rate is 12.00 we need to all complain about this to get change and a fair deal as we all pay the same price for our stores and fees this really needs to be looked at to make us competitive and not out price us even before we can sell an item.

I leave feedback about this final sale fee all the time hoping someone will review it that is one way they look at an issue and have to address it from what I see and hear so we all need to keep sending feedback on our High shipping fees and the cost of shipping maybe someone at EBay will see this and make some changes. What do you all think on this matter ?? 

[doll_up_your_dolly]

I hear what you are saying.

Canada has the highest shipping rates in the world.

The reason is that it's a vast country with a tiny population in comparison to most other countries.

The only way we can compete is wait for the Canadian dollar to come down to 50 cents!

The best way to deal with this is to only sell items that one can slip through the 2 cm gage, aka, "The gage of death!"

If your item does not fit the slot, your wallet takes a hit.

Selling paper goods like postcards, stamps, sports cards and historical documents that can go letter rate works too.

Letter mail you have to state the rate you want.

The FVF is suppose to be charged on the lowest domestic rate you list with, so having a Canada Post Futures business card where you can offer Expedited rates in Canada will help bring down the FVF on shipping.

Major shippers in Canada do not use Canada Post.

They cart their thousands of packages a day across the boarder. 

Living at a border town is advantageous.  Most Canadian sellers who do, are reasonably successful because they ship cross border. 

Canadians are definitely at a disadvantage so if you can find a job that pays better, take it.

I get ticked off at the rates some US sellers charge to Canadians too. It's the same price to ship to us as anywhere in the States. They just don't want to fill in the customs forms.

Take heart, the States Postal system is upping their domestic rates just so they don't go broke.

Canada Post will tell you that the rates are what they are because they don't want to be a burden on the taxpayers.

It is one of the worst run corporations in the world btw. Shooting themselves in the foot appears to be their favorite pastime!

[femmefan1946]

The only way we can compete is wait for the Canadian dollar to come down to 50 cents!

Even at 75 cents we are doing better. I have been able to move most of my products (which are small and light enough to go Letter/Light Packet) to Free Shipping and include the cost of shipping in my asking price. (I see you can do that too, dolly.)

At the same time, the thrifts I shop at have not changed their prices, so my procurement costs have also dropped.

This is not true for anyone re-selling imported goods, of course.

It is important to remember that a dollar is not a dollar. Don't compare loonies and bucks.

$5 USD is $6.25 CDN. $12 CDN is $9USD.

Still a 33% difference, but not a seven 'dollar' difference.

That being said, my Santa list includes a cheap Delivery Confirmation barcode, like the USPS' 25 cent online service. Since LightPacket purchased online already has a barcode on the label (it's just an invoice number at the moment) it might be cheap and easy to do.

[tobyshitzu]

Not sure whee that graphic come froms, buts its wildly wrong.  USPS reported $63 billion in ;laibilities inclcuding $15B debt and $22b retiree benefit .  Plus another $46b pension defitict that isnt reflected in financail statements https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/financials/integrated-financial-plans/fy2015.pdf

[dutchman48]

Maybe Canada Post should jack the domestic rates way up and lower international drastically as well as reduce tracking costs internationally. That way their story about no domestic mail and large distances might hold water, but international would not be affected by their stupid stories. CP needs to get real with what is letter mail and what has to go as a parcel. They have the most ridiculous ideas in the world.

Or we could all lobby Trudeau to get all rates reduced drastically and let the tax payers foot the bill. He is already interfering with CP, so why not.

As far as cost, many smaller countries have also jacked up postal rates and will continue to do so. Australia wants to raise domestic to $1.50. GB just raised theirs a lot as well.

[mr.elmwood]

I deal only in US dollars. Three years ago, I was paying $8.15 US for Small Packet under 250 grams. I am now paying $6.29 US to ship to the US.

The Loonie has 40%+ against the greenback in three or so years. My profit per widget has gone way up. A sale of $50 US, after FVF and shipping, nets me $50 Cdn. Three years ago, that same sale netted me $38 Cdn.

[dutchman48]

Oh, and if there is so little letter mail, cut residential deliveries to 3 or even 2 days a week which would save a fortune in overpaid salaries.

Most residences don't need mail every day. Personally, I could get my mail once a week and it would not bother me.

[bcwet]

Im in Toronto and my lettermail was cut to 2 days a week last year. They never formally announced it but I never get mail more than 2 days a week and some weeks only 1.

[mr.elmwood]

---

@dutchman48 wrote:

Oh, and if there is so little letter mail, cut residential deliveries to 3 or even 2 days a week which would save a fortune in overpaid salaries.

Most residences don't need mail every day. Personally, I could get my mail once a week and it would not bother me.

---

I could get mine once a month.

[tinmancomith]

I do have the venture card to use when shipping but i will look into the Canada Post Futures business card thanks for the good advice. I do in fact have a good job so that's why shipping with canada post allows me to still thrive at selling online. Thanks for all the great points , I do sell paper items but alot dont have tracking and thats a trade off we take to ship cheap.

[reallynicestamps]

On Friday we had FOUR deliveries.

The usual lettermail (bills and admail), a Priority Post box of Sparks Auctions catalogues for distribution, a parcel from China with a dress bought on eBay and a flyer telling us that we would be getting a bike lane and won't have all those trucks parked outside the house.

That last one was a handout from the municipality.

I prefer to get paper bills, but many are happy with electronic. And most of the admail goes directly into the trash.

If you collect stamps check out Sparks, it's online and pretty fabulous.

The new government should be looking at the claim that Canada Post is losing on lettermail and consider reduced home delivery instead of community mailboxes, which strike me as pretty insecure as well as really really ugly. Did anyone else see the article (Globe and Mail?) about the designer and how his original design was changed by Canada Post? He is not happy with the result.

The minister is

The Honourable Judy M Foote

Minister of Public Services and Procurement

House of Commons

OTTAWA ON

K1A 0A6

The envelope does not need a stamp. Just write OHMS in the top right corner.

We do need an inbetween rate for small shipments that are too thick for LetterMail (I understand that the 2cm is the result of the processing machinery) but under the 500 gram maximum.

And something like the Delivery Confirmed service on everything as an option. USPS can do this for a quarter when postage is purchased online.

I do have the venture card to use when shipping but i will look into the Canada Post Futures business

They are the same program with the same discounts.

You get much better discounts from using PP's shipping labels on most services. Between 5% and 17% off counter prices.

[durstfanatic]

I try to be very fair in my shipping costs and refund buyers when they paid more than what it cost me.

To not have bad rating in my DSR by USA citizens who found that shipping is higher that in USA, when I printed my Packing Slip, i indicated the amount they paid and the amount it cost me to ship.

My estimations are pretty close to reality because I weight and measure carefully all items.

As I sell in US dollars (easier for US citizens I found) but printing labels are done in Canadians dollars, it often cost me more that what I ask, probably than Paypal money exchange took me more than the shipping estimation.

My big question is why eBay took fees on shipping ???  I made absolutely no money with shipping,   I don't understand their point.  Paypal already took 2.5% fees on the money transfer.

Another example,  if I ship to Europe and that the buyer chose an expensive insured shipping method instead of Small Packets, why I will have to give more and more money to eBay for their Final Value Fee on Shipping.  Example instead of 3$ on 30$ shipping, I will need to remit 6$ for the Final Value Fee on Shipping if the buyer chose the Xpress Post service at 60$.  This is a non-sense, for exactly the same service I did to the buyer : my free time to pack, free packaging materials. 

I think it is something that eBay can do to help us.  Abolish their Final Value Fee on Shipping for canadians! 

[snoopwiz]

Another example,  if I ship to Europe and that the buyer chose an expensive insured shipping method instead of Small Packets, why I will have to give more and more money to eBay for their Final Value Fee on Shipping.  Example instead of 3$ on 30$ shipping, I will need to remit 6$ for the Final Value Fee on Shipping if the buyer chose the Xpress Post service at 60$.  This is a non-sense, for exactly the same service I did to the buyer : my free time to pack, free packaging materials. 

I was under the impression that sellers are charged a percentage of their domestic shipping rates, no matter where the item is shipped. Not the usually more expensive upgraded International shipping choices a buyer may choose

Or, maybe I am wrong?

[durstfanatic]

I was under the impression that sellers are charged a percentage of their domestic shipping rates, no matter where the item is shipped. Not the usually more expensive upgraded International shipping choices a buyer may choose

Or, maybe I am wrong?

Yes you are right on that,  I just check in my fees and fees are based on domestic shipping.

But why did they take fees on shipping?

[snoopwiz]

But why did they take fees on shipping?

They have been charging a fee on shipping for a few years now.

Apparently (or so we are lead to believe), it was implemented to put a stop to the sellers who were offering their items for 1 cent with $100 shipping, therefore only being subject to final value fees on the penny.

Or, as others may say, Ebay discovered an additional revenue stream by doing so.

Feel free to choose either.

Or both

[pierrelebel]

"Ebay discovered an additional revenue stream by doing so"

Unfortunately, while attractive that is not correct.

eBay lowered FVF on all fixed price transactions when they incorporated a fee schedule on the amount of the transaction (including shipping). 

The net results should have been a 'wash" for most sellers.  Sellers who were offering "free shipping" all (without exception) realize lower fees!

In addition to minimize fee avoidance, the policy change was to encourage "free shipping".  It has worked as over 60% of all transactions on eBay currently offer "free shipping"

[73rhc]

"which would save a fortune in overpaid salaries"

What is your definition of "overpaid salary"? And would you like your job cut from 5 days a week to 2 or 3?

[pjcdn2005]

I agree that they did this to encourage free shipping and perhaps they had other reasons as well. But not all sellers ended up paying the same or less in fvf. I can't remember the exact details now but I know that my fvf went up even though I already offered free shipping on a number of items.

[hlmacdon]

"The net results should have been a 'wash" for most sellers. Sellers who were offering "free shipping" all (without exception) realize lower fees! Smiley Happy

In addition to minimize fee avoidance, the policy change was to encourage "free shipping". It has worked as over 60% of all transactions on eBay currently offer "free shipping"

Except the problem with this is that any savvy buyers know that sellers are padding shipping costs into "free shipping", and this translates into a lower attach rate in many cases. I'm sure there are other categories which have very low attach rates which benefit from it.

Personally I have no issues with FVF on shipping, as long as the buyer can't rate the seller in any fashion because of it.

[hlmacdon]

"Major shippers in Canada do not use Canada Post.

They cart their thousands of packages a day across the boarder.

Living at a border town is advantageous. Most Canadian sellers who do, are reasonably successful because they ship cross border.

I get ticked off at the rates some US sellers charge to Canadians too. It's the same price to ship to us as anywhere in the States. They just don't want to fill in the customs forms."

This is factually incorrect. I can tell you that having worked for a Canadian ecommerce business that routinely ships 1500+ packages a day, a majority of those via Canada Post (contract rates are better than FedEx, and only slightly higher than UPS for many weight classes) and a reasonable amount of which were multichannel sales such as ebay.

The root problem is people are in categories that are niche, with low average selling prices. Of course going to have a problem as nobody wants to pay $10 to ship a $20 item. Gaming the lettermail system or relying on the untracked light/small packet is an option, but is problematic for any business related activities. Any retailer that wants to maintain a merchant account does not send untraceable shipments.

US sellers have the same problems shipping internationally as Canadians. Delivery confirmation for cheaper services is limited, and many of the countries which are delivery confirmation eligible routinely do not scan packages. US shipping to Canada is definitely not the same price as within the US. If a seller will not ship to Canada that is because they are uneducated on the E-Delcon program or have had bad experiences with Canada Post failing to scan packages upon delivery.

US sellers who try to game the lettermail system to send merchandise are subject to the same problems as Canadians. Packages get crushed, buyers end up with surprise COD fees when the mail gets reclassified, etc.

The real question Canadians should be looking at is why Canada Post can not send small packages via registered mail, as many other commonwealth countries do, effectively allowing small businesses a reasonable method of shipping internationally. I suspect this is largely down to sorting infrastructure. Canadians should also be asking why the tracked packet rates negotiated with the Universal Postal Union are so poor. I suspect this is because the volume is extremely negligible relative to most countries.