@pierrelebel wrote:
"that offer discounted USPS postage at really great rates."
Canada is a very small country with a very small market when compared to the USA and many businesses viable in the USA will simply not work out in Canada.
Now, Canadian mail order sellers have been purchasing "discount postage" for decades. It is nothing new. Generally offered by retiring stamp collectors, accumulators, dealers, public auctioneers, etc...
At one time (*) we could find many large lots of Canadian postage stamps offered well below face value right here on eBay. That market (20% to 40% below face value) still exists but not on eBay. Folks have to look around and be prepared to invest in stamp inventory and spend some time getting the postage combinations working for their business. Many other dealers offer similar deals today. If one is willing to work a little bit and has the volume to justify the purchase - it is well worth it.
(*) About ten years ago, I regularly listed and sold $5,000 Canada postage at 25% below face value on eBay. Many went to repeat customers. In those days eBay only charged 1.25% fee on transactions over $1,000. Rising FVFs made that low margin business unprofitable. I am now retired and my discount postage inventory is gone. But, up until last year, I was still selling $1,000 and $2,000 face lots (typically 30% below face value) to Canadian sellers using the postage to save on shipping.
The size of Canada has absolutely nothing to do with it and if everyone thought that way we would have nothing in this country.
Despite Canada's smaller market, were someone able to start a business purchasing and selling discounted, bulk Canada Post shipping services it would not only survive but it would be immensely successful.
The fact of the matter is that no one will ever be alowed to open and operate such a business because the bully monopoly, Canada Post, simply won't allow it. Between the influence of the unionistas, and the lack of anything even remotely resembling intelligence on the part of the minister (Lisa Raitt) currently involved (not that she is any worse than those who came before or will likely follow) Canadians are pushed around and beaten into submission when it comes to postal services. What other business do you know of that can arbitrarilly raise rates over 25% just because they feel like it and get away with it? Only another government protected monopoly like Ontario Power or the like could pull that off.
As someone who has been involved in numerous small and medium sized business ventures I can say, without reservation, that the Canadian governments, on all levels, from municipal right to the top Federal government, do not make it easy in the least. Between every level having their hands out for their "cut" to absolutely asinine red tape and rules it is nigh on impossible to successfully run a small business in this country. Sure, you can survive but from personal experience, and the experience of many people I know, the stress and aggravation has you questioning your sanity on a daily basis. One small business I was a principle in got audited 4 times in 5 years for no other reason than the fact that during the first audit, when the CRA representative was being an absolute a$$, I showed him the door and told him not to bother coming back until he came to his senses. Surprise, surprise, we were audited every year after that until I finally got fed up and shut the thing down once I had managed to place my small contingent of staff in support roles with clients.
In the case of Canada Post, there is the absolute worst cast of "entitlement syndrome" that I think I have ever seen. With rare exception, employees are amongst the worst behaved, least productive of any it has been my displeasure to witness. Their corporate heads are the cream of the crop in that aspect with no concern whatsoever for the quality of service that they provide Canadians. Given that there is only one source of dollars in this country ie the consumer/taxpayer and we therefor 100% bankroll Canada Post, you'd think we would get a little more respect. Unfortunately, Canada Post has been allowed to run wildly rampant, destructively trampling over any semblence of responsibility to Canadians and I daresay that we may never be able to turn the situation around and worse it may simply continue to fester beyond anything we can even reasonably imagine at this time.
Rates will probably continue to soar for no other reason than to pad wages, benefits, retirement packages etc so that Canada Post employees can live high on the hog while the rest of us are eating beans, and not fresh ones either, from a can!
In the US, the postal service smartly realizes that any revenue is good revenue and instead of behaving as a protectionist, monopolistic bully, they welcome the added revenue from bulk sellers. Yes, the USPS is largely subsidized but would we not, as Canadians, who are already footing the bill for Canada Post anyway, not happily welcome paying a fraction of a fraction of a cent more, basically hidden costs, in many areas so that we could realize much more reasonable prices at Canada Post? Of course we would! Would we not welcome those tiny fractional costs, hidden away, in exchange for not worrying about losing door to door delivery? Again, of course we would.
There is no big mystery to any of this and it could be easily done save for the fact that Canada Post, financed entirely by the citizens of Canada, reprehensibly feels absolutely no responsibility to us and therefore sees no need to behave in a reasonable and ethical fashion. So long as they are allowed to behave in such a fashion why would they ever change? They won't and we will continue to suffer as a result!
Cheers
thD
