Canada Post - No Flat Rate Shipping Makes eBay HARD! RANT/QUESTION!

[easycanadianitems]

So, if you're a Canadian eBay seller, you know that Canada Post does NOT offer a flat-rate shipping method. This makes selling in Canada extremely frustrating. The rates aren't even reasonable. In the United States, USPS offers many flat-rate programs and encourages eCommerce, where as Canada Post discourages it. They wonder why they get no business...

"Canada Post - Delivering the online world."

Sure. 

These are their crackhead rates:

Within Canada shipping a light, average video game would cost about $9 CAD or $7.50 USD. To ship a video game to the United States, it would cost about $8.25 CAD or $6.50 USD. The real kicker is that it costs LESS to ship to a different country. 

CANADA POST, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!?

So, my question is for all the Canadian sellers. I ship only to Canada & US. Shipping worldwide would be absolute chaos. How can I get a cheaper rate then what Canada Post is giving me? I usually send smaller stuff, like video games, CD's, movies, iPods, etc.

Many thanks! 🙂

[dinomitesales · Accepted solution]

Stop shipping Expedited. It's simply not possible to do so with the sorts of things you are selling (i.e. media), and expect to make a profit. Your video games and CDs are less than 2 cm thick. Simply place them in a bubble mailer and send them off using Lettermail in Canada (get stamps from the post office), or Light Packet to the U.S. (print postage on PayPal).

I can ship the vast majority of video games within Canada for a flat rate of $3.10, and to the U.S. for a flat rate of $5.00 (taxes incl.).

Yes, there's no tracking and insurance, but you'll have to live with that. I've sent out hundreds of packages without tracking and have yet to have an issue. Unfortunately, it's just the cost of selling on eBay in Canada.

[easycanadianitems · Accepted solution]

I have never realized that Light Packet USA is cheaper than Small Packets! I also like the idea of Lettermail. It's a bit slower, but it's cost-effective for both the Buyer and the Seller. This will definitely help me in future sales. Thanks. 🙂

[kruisingsam · Accepted solution]

Everything is a rip-off in this country (Canada). The shipping rates can be outrageous. No flat rates in Canada. Canadapost charges more than $3 for a large envelope (same size as a Flat Rate priority mail envelope in the US), while the USPS gives to you for FREE, by the dozens if you need them! It's just so frustrating and infuriating. It really is hard to make money selling online if you're in Canada because of all the high fees....

Now, I'm new to Ebay (selling) and would like a clarification on what exactly it means when they say "flat rate" when shipping. Does that mean you just set your own price for the shipping? If that's the case, I'm assuming you need to find out exactly how much a certain item will cost to ship before you can set the rate. Am I right?