*JMHO* - to be taken with a grain of salt!
My only neg is from a Canadian. Some of my most painful experiences have been with Canadians...and it's annoying that it costs MORE to ship to Canadians!! aargh!
I always groan when I have to ship across the country. Less than 5% of my customers are Canadians, so I just use a fixed rate for US and Canada...and always go a little in the red when shipping within Canada.
I always groan when I have to ship across the country. Less than 5% of my customers are Canadians, so I just use a fixed rate for US and Canada...and always go a little in the red when shipping within Canada.
I put a flat rate for shipping within Canada or the US right in my Auctions. I am not interested in nickel and diming every auction and I usually make money on every shipment. It's called being in business. I have never heard a complaint but if I did I would refund some money because I am in a service business too.
If suddenly one shipment goes over I don't go nuts either. I am covered.
If I see a .ca in an e-mail address I always invite the buyer to come and pick up their item if they live in Toronto and save the shipping. Some do, some don't. They do appreciate me asking though.
One thing I have noticed about eBay (and I am no expert, I have been at this just over a year). The buyers do not seem to think they have the same responsibilties/ obligations/courtesies required for retail. And they should have even MORE because they are dealing with a human, not a conglomerate. They would never pull HALF this crap with Canadian Tire, Holt Renfrew or Chapters! The price stated is the price stated. End of story.
And don't they realize there is feedback on the other side?
If suddenly one shipment goes over I don't go nuts either. I am covered.
If I see a .ca in an e-mail address I always invite the buyer to come and pick up their item if they live in Toronto and save the shipping. Some do, some don't. They do appreciate me asking though.
One thing I have noticed about eBay (and I am no expert, I have been at this just over a year). The buyers do not seem to think they have the same responsibilties/ obligations/courtesies required for retail. And they should have even MORE because they are dealing with a human, not a conglomerate. They would never pull HALF this crap with Canadian Tire, Holt Renfrew or Chapters! The price stated is the price stated. End of story.
And don't they realize there is feedback on the other side?
Deltone, if we are going to continue having these online liasons, you must get my name right - BID, not BIRD.
I look forward to a long, long relationship!
I look forward to a long, long relationship!
95% or more of my sales go into the USA but my biggest hassles come from Canadian bidders. I determined some time ago that I needed to buy better so I started a legitimate business that requires I charge applicable taxes to Canadians. With 95% of my biz coming from south of the border, my GST rebate on a quarterly basis is like that extra paycheck I used to get twice a year when I had a 9-5 job. Too much money not to claw it back even with the reporting requirements.
I did a quick check and, of the last thirty Canadian buyers, only one added the tax. Most will make a quick PayPal payment and ignore the taxes even though my auctions are quite clear (as is my end of auction email). It is a constant frustration that I have to refund the PayPal payment and send an invoice for the correct amount. I get regular grief from buyers because of this. I even changed my auctions to US bidders only for awhile but the nasty grams and hate mail I got as a result drove me to accept Canadian bidders again. It appears that even though all of my auctions were listed through the USA site (and shown as "Will ship to the USA only"), eBay.ca was still making the auctions readily visible to all Canadian bidders... even when they specified "available to Canada" in their searches.
S/H is also a major difficulty. I can ship a small item (under 250 g) all over the USA for $2.80 but it costs me $5.22 to Toronto for the same item - and the GTA is only an hour from me!!! How can you explain something that whacked to customers?? I don't understand it either!
Yes, I also get the regular requests for pick-ups but I decline every one. I sell relatively inexpensive items and a pick up consumes far too much of my time. I don't want to be unreasonable but a pick up always leads to a general discussion about eBay in general and I can't afford to take an hour out of my day for a $30 sale.
One of my other frustrations is that most of my very slowest payers have been Canadians for some reason. I haven't figured this aspect out yet.
Whew.... sorry about the venting but it's been building for a few years. I'm glad there is now a Cdn. PS board and I'll try to keep my griping to a minimum in future. :<)
I did a quick check and, of the last thirty Canadian buyers, only one added the tax. Most will make a quick PayPal payment and ignore the taxes even though my auctions are quite clear (as is my end of auction email). It is a constant frustration that I have to refund the PayPal payment and send an invoice for the correct amount. I get regular grief from buyers because of this. I even changed my auctions to US bidders only for awhile but the nasty grams and hate mail I got as a result drove me to accept Canadian bidders again. It appears that even though all of my auctions were listed through the USA site (and shown as "Will ship to the USA only"), eBay.ca was still making the auctions readily visible to all Canadian bidders... even when they specified "available to Canada" in their searches.
S/H is also a major difficulty. I can ship a small item (under 250 g) all over the USA for $2.80 but it costs me $5.22 to Toronto for the same item - and the GTA is only an hour from me!!! How can you explain something that whacked to customers?? I don't understand it either!
Yes, I also get the regular requests for pick-ups but I decline every one. I sell relatively inexpensive items and a pick up consumes far too much of my time. I don't want to be unreasonable but a pick up always leads to a general discussion about eBay in general and I can't afford to take an hour out of my day for a $30 sale.
One of my other frustrations is that most of my very slowest payers have been Canadians for some reason. I haven't figured this aspect out yet.
Whew.... sorry about the venting but it's been building for a few years. I'm glad there is now a Cdn. PS board and I'll try to keep my griping to a minimum in future. :<)
Here's how I handle pickups.
I ask for payment first, then on the day they want to pick up I put the pkg outside my door and give them the address.
works like a charm, and no hassle for me.
I ask for payment first, then on the day they want to pick up I put the pkg outside my door and give them the address.
works like a charm, and no hassle for me.
Deltone, there is no question that USPS has it all over CanadaPost in terms of economy of scale. But that is only part of the reason for the difference in postage costs.
Keep in mind that a ten fold larger population only means that USPS can send ten trucks from point A to point B whereas CanadaPost would send one. Many costs of moving the mail are fixed (wages, fuel, vehicles, etc.) whether north or south of the border so I wouldn't rush to use that as a defence for the astronomical postage we are required to pay for service within Canada.
I stand to be corrected, but CanadaPost also employs many private contractors to reduce it's costs in moving the mail. I believe much more so than USPS.
No much of the high cost of moving the mail within Canada must fall at the feet of the postal unions that work so diligently to protect their membership. Although fewer in recent years, Canada has always suffered postal disruptions that wind up raising the costs of a basic stamp. I'm trying to remember when I last heard of a general postal disruption on the south side of the border but it just isn't coming to me.
The introduction of the Expedited Parcel-USA service is a perfect indicator of how our system has gone wrong. Bravo that we can finally secure DC and for just a 20% increase in rates.
The use of the word Expedited to describe the service was obviously determined by a marketing type because the service is far from that. I am currently trying to explain to a customer in California why her package (shipped Aug 29th) still has not reached her. In fact, the DC # does not yet appear in the USPS system. A quick check reveals that CanadaPost scanned the item in Kitchener/Waterloo on the 29th and next in Mississauga on the 6th of Sept. (an hour away). A call to CanadaPost gets the response that if I wanted it in California sooner I should have used ExpressPost.
No, I'm afraid that much of the reason for our extremely high postage costs are as a result of too many inefficiencies in the system and the prevailing attitude within the rank and file of CanadaPost that customers can like it or lump it. The unfortunate part of it is that Canadian business has to compete in a world market when we already have so many millstones around our neck. CanadaPost just happens to be one of the larger ones.
Keep in mind that a ten fold larger population only means that USPS can send ten trucks from point A to point B whereas CanadaPost would send one. Many costs of moving the mail are fixed (wages, fuel, vehicles, etc.) whether north or south of the border so I wouldn't rush to use that as a defence for the astronomical postage we are required to pay for service within Canada.
I stand to be corrected, but CanadaPost also employs many private contractors to reduce it's costs in moving the mail. I believe much more so than USPS.
No much of the high cost of moving the mail within Canada must fall at the feet of the postal unions that work so diligently to protect their membership. Although fewer in recent years, Canada has always suffered postal disruptions that wind up raising the costs of a basic stamp. I'm trying to remember when I last heard of a general postal disruption on the south side of the border but it just isn't coming to me.
The introduction of the Expedited Parcel-USA service is a perfect indicator of how our system has gone wrong. Bravo that we can finally secure DC and for just a 20% increase in rates.
The use of the word Expedited to describe the service was obviously determined by a marketing type because the service is far from that. I am currently trying to explain to a customer in California why her package (shipped Aug 29th) still has not reached her. In fact, the DC # does not yet appear in the USPS system. A quick check reveals that CanadaPost scanned the item in Kitchener/Waterloo on the 29th and next in Mississauga on the 6th of Sept. (an hour away). A call to CanadaPost gets the response that if I wanted it in California sooner I should have used ExpressPost.
No, I'm afraid that much of the reason for our extremely high postage costs are as a result of too many inefficiencies in the system and the prevailing attitude within the rank and file of CanadaPost that customers can like it or lump it. The unfortunate part of it is that Canadian business has to compete in a world market when we already have so many millstones around our neck. CanadaPost just happens to be one of the larger ones.
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