Calculating shipping from Canada to US & International

[forthebubbly47]

Hello! I apologize if this exact problem has been resolved, but from searching through the community, there was no concrete answer to similar queries.

I ship from Canada and am willing to ship Worldwide. When I create a listing, I click yes to International shipping by exact cost, to Worldwide and choose Canada Post International shipping.

For piece of mind, I've always tested it with no problems -- but now once the listing is up, when I pick any country, I get the following message: "This item will ship to (Country), but the seller has not specified shipping options. Contact the seller and request a shipping method to your location." Also, when I put in '90210', my go-to test zipcode for US, I get the following message: "Shipping cost cannot be calculated. Please enter a valid Postal Code." Is the United States not included in International Shipping on ebay? All my listings are already in USD funds.

I did specify international shipping through Canada Post, so I am perplexed as to what I am doing wrong. This process always worked in the past.

Any help is much appreciated!

[pjcdn2005 · Accepted solution]

You have to choose the U.S. as one shipping location and then choose worldwide (if you are shipping to all countries) as another location.

If you are using calculated shipping rather than flat rate make sure that you are using a shipping service that applies to that location. For example, small packet USA for the U.S. and small packet international for the other countries. Also make sure that the dimensions you are entering are valid with that shipping service. Some of the services have a high minimum size so if your package is smaller than the min., the calculator won't work. That problem is the most common if you are using USA expedited parcel.

In order to specify both U.S. and separate international shipping, you have to use the 2 page sell your item form. If you are using the shorter form you can change to the longer one on the top right of the page.

If your items with packaging are less than 2cm thick you should consider using lettermail within Canada and light packet USA and international other countries for lower cost items. There is no tracking or insurance with those services but you will sell more with less expensive shipping.

[forthebubbly47]

Thank you very much for responding with this information - that makes a lot more sense now that I know you have to list US and the rest of the world separately. I had put the package dimensions into CanadaPost.ca, so that's how I was picking what method to use, so unless the requirements are different on eBay, the dimensions should be fine.

I must be using the simple form, as it did not give me more than 1 choice for International shipping. The 2-part form you mentioned must be the "advanced tool"? It's the only option I have to click on the top right.

Thank you again for clarifying all of this and the tips on shipping. It's really a shame that this information is not in the quick listing tool, as that's what eBay recommends we use! I won't be using it from now on.

[pjcdn2005]

You're very welcome. Shipping can be very confusing when you first start selling.

Yes, the advanced tool is the 2 part form that I was referring to.

"I had put the package dimensions into CanadaPost.ca, so that's how I was picking what method to use, so unless the requirements are different on eBay, the dimensions should be fine."

The requirements are the same BUT for some reason the Canada Post calculator will give you a cost for some services even if they don't match the minimum measurements. I know that is definitely true for expedited USA.  I just put the measurements for a package of 14cm x 7cm x 1cm and received a price for expedited USA but the min measurements are 21 x 14 x 0.5 CM so if you used my measurements in the ebay calculator, the buyers would not see a price and the calculator will not warn you about it.  Just for your info, expedited parcel within Canada has a min measurement requirement of 10cm x 7cm x 1 mm so that can really confuse sellers.

On another note, if you must use a service with tracking to the U.S., Tracked Packet USA is usually less expensive than Expedited USA.