Why does the cost of shipping from US to Canada gone through the roof lately.

[luv4orphans]

Trying to purchase a bag from the US lately and every time I spot something I like the shipping cost is $40 to $60 US which makes it $82 or so on a $60 shipping fee.  Quite rare to find shipping under $35.  $35 sounds good compared to $60 I guess.  But still $45 to $50 & up for us. 

Bags I am looking at usually are under a pound to 2 max. Why the crazy shipping costs?

I find its worse now than when the GSP was in place. One seller agreed to ship first class which gives tracking where the shipping came out to about $23.00. I did not win the auction. She wasn't aware that she could ship this way.  But if she can ship for that price why can't the rest of them also. I realize give or take a few dollars from this amount because of different weight and distance. 

Very few sellers with the lower shipping costs.  Why do we need to ask and explain about the cheaper route every time. Some won't bother they don't care.  

Cannot find similar bags in Canada so have to resort to finding one in the US. No easy task because of all this.

Any explanation for this.  US complains about our shipping costs. Imagine having to pay this. Way too expensive. An item under 2 lbs, not that large and it'll cost me $60 shipping. No choice but to pass. 

[marnotom!]

It's the same reason why groceries and a lot of other goods have gone up dramatically in price over the course of the past year or two:  fuel prices crashed when the pandemic hit while the Russia-Ukraine war has caused them to skyrocket.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Diesel-Prices-Set-to-Surge-in-2024.html

The cheapest counter rate for USPS First Class Package International is now US$17.00.  Many sellers ship by means where they can get a discount off that rate, and eIS (eBay International Shipping, the service replacing the GSP in the US) has better rates than USPS counter rates, too.  The problem with eIS, as you're no doubt aware, is that buyers also have to pay the seller's charge to ship the item to the eIS shipping hub in Illinois, and that tends to eat up (and then some) any discount that eIS offers.  I've seen listings where the seller wants more for shipping to the eIS hub than eIS wants for forwarding the item to Canada.

The good(ish) news is that eBay is making it easier for sellers to offer their own shipping method to Canada (or whatever other country they choose) while using the eIS for the other 199 or so other countries that eIS serves.  I'm now also seeing listings where buyers can choose either eIS or the seller's own shipping method, although those were for destinations other than Canada.

In a nutshell, shipping prices have gone up due to factors beyond eBay's (and sellers') control, and it's unfortunate timing that eIS was unleashed around the time that fuel prices have gone up because it makes a fair comparison between eIS and the GSP's rates pretty much impossible.

[joels-retrocade]

It's the EIS program plain and simple; there is no other reason.  Shipping costs have been pretty stable ever since I started selling (Maybe gone up a dollar or two max).  In fact since I'm selling more now than before I get a larger discount with a small business card and the cost overall has probably gone DOWN for me lol.  You are basically paying two seperate shipping costs (One to the sorting center and one more shipping cost from there to your residence).  I never buy from US anymore for this exact reason.  If they sent the item directly to you it would be way cheaper.  The program is garbage and worthless.  I actually dont mind though cuz everyone from Canada will buy from me cuz I send direct.  More money in my pocket lol

[luv4orphans]

Ok that's all good information to know. I wasn't aware that if a seller uses that EIS we would get nailed with the extra charges. I haven't been keeping up with those changes cause I don't buy much of anything coming from the US anymore. The exchange alone makes it too expensive, nevermind adding all this extra to shipping. Cheaper to buy within Canada.

This is along the same line as what the GSP was but its worse. Shipping is through the roof.  Ground Advantage I think they call it. Stay clear if you're not in the US. 

This explains what I wanted to know. I am not willing to pay an extra $15-30 to get a bag shipped here. Will now ask if something if of interest, on different shipping method if and if not will need to pass. 

[luv4orphans]

I agree. I wasn't aware of this new EIS cause I no longer buy much out of the US either. This is worse than the GSP program. I have never seen shipping costs so high to ship a small purse to Canada. Most are around $40 to ship which makes it close to $55 and lots at $60 which translates to $82 or so for us. Doesn't take long I'm way over a $100.00 depending on what seller is asking for the bag or if its an auction. 

While they have given us breaks to lower our costs from Canada to US with lite parcels and tracked parcels the US costs to Canada are through the roofs.

I am sure most of us don't mind paying a fair price if we want something but this is just ridiculous. If I could find something similar in Canada I would buy it here. I'll wait it out and ask sellers if willing to ship first class. Otherwise I need to pass. 

[mrdutch1001]

I agree shipping out of USA has gone crazy, but I also rarely buy anything through eBay anymore...

We buyers have choices and my choice is to purchase from within Canada. I haven't purchased anything directly from China in many years and refuse to purchase from any other International destination. In recent years I have also avoided purchasing anything from the USA.  During the Covid years, my "needs"/"wants"  were all sourced via AZ (and where a prime membership is well worth it!). I rarely "need" or "want" anything that cannot be sourced from within Canada.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

I agree shipping out of USA has gone crazy, but I also rarely buy anything through eBay anymore...

We buyers have choices and my choice is to purchase from within Canada. I haven't purchased anything directly from China in many years and refuse to purchase from any other International destination. In recent years I have also avoided purchasing anything from the USA.  During the Covid years, my "needs"/"wants"  were all sourced via AZ (and where a prime membership is well worth it!). I rarely "need" or "want" anything that cannot be sourced from within Canada.

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There are announcements on the US board  about rates for both USPS and UPS in early 2024 with increases and savings. Most likely from a  buyers perspective we will see 1 but not likely the other. 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/2024-USPS-Rate-Changes/ba-p/34236252

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/New-lower-rates-on-eBay-Labels-for-USPS-Ground-Advantage...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/UPS-Rate-Update/ba-p/34260242

-Lotz

[mrdutch1001]

Oh, I agree the seller's perspective is not so equally represented, but it has always been said GSP/EIS is for the benefit of the seller, so sellers take advantage of putting shipping responsibilities into the hands of others to get that more "hassle- free" shipping experience. Some of those sellers are aware of the higher shipping costs involved, others may not be so in touch or in the know about them and the resulting effects to buyers from outside the seller's country. Because I also sell on another selling site(USA based), I personally am very aware of the shipping costs faced by USA sellers.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Oh, I agree the seller's perspective is not so equally represented, but it has always been said GSP/EIS is for the benefit of the seller, so sellers take advantage of putting shipping responsibilities into the hands of others to get that more "hassle- free" shipping experience. Some of those sellers are aware of the higher shipping costs involved, others may not be so in touch or in the know about them and the resulting effects to buyers from outside the seller's country. Because I also sell on another selling site(USA based), I personally am very aware of the shipping costs faced by USA sellers.

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@mrdutch1001 

A portion of the irritant is caused by when you check many US sellers shipping is negligible or free within the continental USA and through the roof to Canada, etc. Then as a side who knows how much they are adding as a handling fee...if they are. Excessive shipping tends to make me want to run away. For many buyers they may have NO choice but to shop US if it is a hard to find item. Made even worse if it is a small, low value item with insane shipping.

-Lotz

Add on: For any buyers who shop American regularly, do you remember the last time a seller sent you a refund on shipping?

[femmefan1946]

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

It's best to use Imperial measures on this site.

I use 90210 as a zipcode because it's easy to remember.

EIS is a Seller Protection. It sometimes does lower the cost of shipping, but that's an unintended consequence of palletized shipping of parcels.

The lowest TRACKED price for a USPS service is First Class International Parcel, which USPS puts at the bottom of the list of available services, below the more expensive ones.

[luv4orphans]

I think EIS might be cheaper for buyers within the US. So sellers ship to them, much easier and cheaper rates on fees for them. Some kind of delivery service called Ground Advantage I think.  

For Canada its not. As someone mentioned above we are paying the 2 shipping costs and probably because of the distance between A&B then from B to delivery point varies and can make quite a bit of difference. Would be much cheaper if shipped directly.  I have never seen costs this high. Even in the years when sellers were gouging buyers with high shipping. 

Another thing that just caught my attention is there is no more collecting of duties & taxes at source like when the GSP took over. All blank. Just a little note underneath advising you that there might be duties & taxes to pay upon delivery.  Now we have higher shipping costs, duty & taxes to pay when delivered with no idea on how much that's going to be. But we know it will be at least $9.95 processing fee. Another extra charge we got nailed with.  

Ya I get it don't buy from the US.  Certain things sometimes you can't find in Canada. Small motor, bike parts, etc. And some older vintage bags like what I want. Much more common in the US then here. Rare you will find one here and priced well above my pay grade. Worse than with all this added up. 

[luv4orphans]

I agree but its a very hard to find item here. Vintage bags a lot more common in the US to find. So not a lot of choice on this one. I could get lucky I guess if willing to wait it out. I am going to keep on looking and hopefully something shows up on this side of the border. 

[femmefan1946]

I think EIS might be cheaper for buyers within the US. So sellers ship to them, much easier and cheaper rates on fees for them. Some kind of delivery service called Ground Advantage I think.

EIS is a forwarding service for INTERNATIONAL sales.

It is not used for domestic buyers.

Ground Advantage is a discounted service for domestic buyers.

Above all, eIS/GSP is a Seller Protection program and has no particular advantage for buyers, especially since it reduces our protections under the Money Back Guarantee.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@luv4orphans wrote:

I think EIS might be cheaper for buyers within the US. So sellers ship to them, much easier and cheaper rates on fees for them. Some kind of delivery service called Ground Advantage I think.  

For Canada its not. As someone mentioned above we are paying the 2 shipping costs and probably because of the distance between A&B then from B to delivery point varies and can make quite a bit of difference. Would be much cheaper if shipped directly.  I have never seen costs this high. Even in the years when sellers were gouging buyers with high shipping. 

Another thing that just caught my attention is there is no more collecting of duties & taxes at source like when the GSP took over. All blank. Just a little note underneath advising you that there might be duties & taxes to pay upon delivery.  Now we have higher shipping costs, duty & taxes to pay when delivered with no idea on how much that's going to be. But we know it will be at least $9.95 processing fee. Another extra charge we got nailed with.  

Ya I get it don't buy from the US.  Certain things sometimes you can't find in Canada. Small motor, bike parts, etc. And some older vintage bags like what I want. Much more common in the US then here. Rare you will find one here and priced well above my pay grade. Worse than with all this added up. 

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@luv4orphans 

For many US listings it has become an issue with lack of choice. In past years you could go to a US listing and find several options. Now it's the majority with eIS and the few straggler needle in haystack listings with 1 option of calculated shipping. Not necessarily the lowest/most economical service. Unfortunately 1 size fits all mentality of eBay is not optimum for most buyers.

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

eIS serves around 200 countries, not all of them with mail and customs services as well meshed with the United States as ours.  These countries are also more expensive to mail to than Canada is.

I don't know how I stumbled on it, but a week or two ago I found a listing on .com where both eIS and USPS First Class Package International were offered as shipping rates to a European country.  I was surprised to see that not only was eIS slightly less expensive than First Class Package International, but the estimated delivery time was a little quicker with eIS as well.  

I tried a few other countries with similar results.  Then I tried Canada and only the USPS option showed up, which suggested to me that eBay initiated this choice of shipping method for the other countries and that eIS didn't show up for Canada because it was slower and/or more expensive than USPS.

Keep in mind that when I say eIS is more expensive, I mean that the total of the seller's domestic shipping charge to Glendale Heights plus eIS's own shipping charge to the item's destination.  eIS is likely a more viable option for other destinations because USPS charges more to ship to those countries than to Canada and the size of many of these countries allows for faster shipping within the destination country.  Also, of course, these items are going to the destination country by air, not ground as they are for eIS shipments to Canada, although as only about 800 km separates Chicago from Mississauga, I can't see air shipments being a signficant time-saver over ground given all the time the item would have to spend getting prepped and released for a short plane ride.

If sales to Canada made up a significant proportion of eBay US sellers' sales, it would probably be viable for eIS to employ faster, less expensive options and handling for shipments to Canada, but my understanding from a straw poll I did on the .com discussion boards many years ago is that while sales to Canada tend to make up the greatest proportion of international sales for many US-based sellers, it's way less than 50% and definitely dwarfed by the domestic sales these US sellers get.

Having said all that, I don't agree that this is all about eIS.  Have you seen the counter price of a USPS Medium Flat-Rate Priority Box to Canada lately?

[luv4orphans]

I get what you are saying. We don't generate enough sales from Canada to make a difference. So sellers ship by whatever is easiest for them and cost savings. Some small sellers will go the extra mile and try to accommodate but a lot won't. Not worth their time. 

Medium Flat Rate Priority Box to Canada. No not aware of the price on those as I haven't purchase much of anything the last couple of years. Much easier for a seller to use those then go hunting down boxes and whatever you need to package things yourself.  Convenience I guess. Not for the buyer though. Much more expensive than first class parcel. A lot of them are not even aware of first class and that it gives them tracking. I'm pretty certain USPS isn't broadcasting that.