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2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎07-18-2022

Since the cost of shipping especially in Canada has become ridiculous lately I have been buying up the Small Canada Post Flat Rate Boxes at the post office. Before to ship a small bubble envelope with some jewelry costs me $25.00 & up from B.C. to other provinces. With the prepaid box it costs $18.49 plus tax to ship anywhere in Canada. I know it is overkill with a box just for a small item but it is worth it when you compare the cost difference. For larger items the post office has a medium size box ($23.49 plus tax) & large size box ($29.99 plus tax). Thought this might help other sellers out if looking for a cheaper way to send across Canada.

doc_scribe · ‎07-18-2022

@2nd-time-around-jewelry

These Prepaid XPressPost padded envelopes are also worth considering, especially regionally.

Like you, I am also in the Western Region, so these prepaids are coming in handy for speedy, dependable, tracked service across a swath of this country: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario (postal codes P7A-P7L, P8N, P8T, P9A, P9N, P0T-P0Y).

Bonus: Next day (or so) delivery between major cities, and available online in 4-Packs.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎07-18-2022

Some of those envelopes sound good for flatter items up to 1.5 cm thick. But I put my jewelry in a small gift box so the thickness is usually up to 4-5 cm.

flipistics · ‎07-18-2022

I don't THINK there's actually a thickness limit on them, but I'd love for someone to verify that.

doc_scribe · ‎07-18-2022

That 1.5 cm height restriction is for the cardboard XpressPost prepaids @2nd-time-around-jewelry .

No maximum height for the bubble XPressPost prepaids though (the first link posted). If your jewelry box falls comfortably within the 247 mm long x 190 mm wide dimensions of the envelope, its height can expand up to at least 5 cm. Recently I shipped 3 stacked Blu-rays sandwiched between cardboard top and bottom and there was still enough headroom in that envelope for another Blu-ray. Just before posting this, I tested a stack of 3 DVDs and those too fit snugly in the pack without straining the bubble (just a hair under 5 cm).

Also, if I recall correctly, our Venture One / Solutions for Small Business cards snag a discount (GST or something), even when purchasing over the counter individually.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎07-18-2022

That's great! I will get some of the prepaid Xpresspost bubble mailers next time I'm at the Post Office. Can they be used all across Canada to Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes & Northwest Territories?

doc_scribe · ‎07-18-2022

Like everything else, there are Regional and National versions with different pricing @2nd-time-around-jewelry . For my stuff, only the small Regional prepaid XPressPost bubble envelope provides any cost benefit; Nationally the better deal is still that small Flat Rate Box.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-19-2022

@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:
That's great! I will get some of the prepaid Xpresspost bubble mailers next time I'm at the Post Office. Can they be used all across Canada to Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes & Northwest Territories?

You might want to look online first. I haven't looked lately but at one time if you signed in with your small business number you could buy groups of 5 for slightly cheaper.

reallynicestamps · ‎07-19-2022

Here are the quantity prices for Canada Post with SfSB card

https://store.canadapost-postescanada.ca/store-boutique/en/8/c/flat-rate-prepaid-products.

It's hard to tell if "quantity of 10" means the price is for 10 items or that the price is for each item in a quantity of 10.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎07-19-2022

I bought 20 of the small Xpresspost bubble mailers online yesterday. Was able to get free shipping & they gave me the Small Business Solutions discount too. The mailers are normally $15.05 each. Got them for $14.30 each. So I saved $15.00 on all of them. That paid for the gst tax charged. I'm happy about that. Just have to figure out what provinces are covered now as these are mailers are considered Regional. (I'm sending from B.C.)

flipistics · ‎07-19-2022

@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:
I bought 20 of the small Xpresspost bubble mailers online yesterday. Was able to get free shipping & they gave me the Small Business Solutions discount too. The mailers are normally $15.05 each. Got them for $14.30 each. So I saved $15.00 on all of them. That paid for the gst tax charged. I'm happy about that. Just have to figure out what provinces are covered now as these are mailers are considered Regional. (I'm sending from B.C.)

I think for you it covers BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Western Ontario. There's a region chart on the Canada Post website somewhere.

doc_scribe · ‎07-19-2022

@flipistics wrote:
@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:
I bought 20 of the small Xpresspost bubble mailers online yesterday. Was able to get free shipping & they gave me the Small Business Solutions discount too. The mailers are normally $15.05 each. Got them for $14.30 each. So I saved $15.00 on all of them. That paid for the gst tax charged. I'm happy about that. Just have to figure out what provinces are covered now as these are mailers are considered Regional. (I'm sending from B.C.)
I think for you it covers BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Western Ontario. There's a region chart on the Canada Post website somewhere.

This *.PDF (also linked above) shows the Regional and National definition for Prepaid products.

alacar-8 · ‎07-19-2022

Believe me, there is no such thing as overkill according to your buyer! When the box shows up they will be overjoyed at the care that was spent by you and your attention to their order. I use the flat rate boxes often and the built in tracking is a huge bonus. Keep figuring out new ways to better things, just saying....

byto253 · ‎07-20-2022

You would think that on a page selling regional boxes CP would put a link to the page describing what the regions are.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎07-21-2022

Map for anyone interested for regional.

-Lotz

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-01-2022

@doc_scribe wrote:
@2nd-time-around-jewelry

These Prepaid XPressPost padded envelopes are also worth considering, especially regionally.

Like you, I am also in the Western Region, so these prepaids are coming in handy for speedy, dependable, tracked service across a swath of this country: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario (postal codes P7A-P7L, P8N, P8T, P9A, P9N, P0T-P0Y).

Bonus: Next day (or so) delivery between major cities, and available online in 4-Packs.

Just following up since this was originally posted, Has anyone recently using the Xpresspost (National/Regional) cardboard CP services had issues(gotten grief) sending non paper matter in these envelops or do you need to upgrade to the bubble type? I have something to send that would be borderline 2 cms thick but very low value.

From a description I found:

Product Details

Ship documents at a moment's notice with this value pack of Xpresspost Regional Letter Envelopes. The flat-rated, postage-included, prepaid envelopes offer a convenient way to ship parcels while managing costs at the same time.

Sounds a tad contradictory.

-Lotz

As a side Staples carries a small assortment of prepaid envelops in 4 packs..... online only.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-01-2022

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@doc_scribe wrote:
@2nd-time-around-jewelry

These Prepaid XPressPost padded envelopes are also worth considering, especially regionally.

Like you, I am also in the Western Region, so these prepaids are coming in handy for speedy, dependable, tracked service across a swath of this country: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario (postal codes P7A-P7L, P8N, P8T, P9A, P9N, P0T-P0Y).

Bonus: Next day (or so) delivery between major cities, and available online in 4-Packs.
Just following up since this was originally posted, Has anyone recently using the Xpresspost (National/Regional) cardboard CP services had issues(gotten grief) sending non paper matter in these envelops or do you need to upgrade to the bubble type? I have something to send that would be borderline 2 cms thick but very low value.

From a description I found:

Product Details
Ship documents at a moment's notice with this value pack of Xpresspost Regional Letter Envelopes. The flat-rated, postage-included, prepaid envelopes offer a convenient way to ship parcels while managing costs at the same time.

Sounds a tad contradictory.

-Lotz

As a side Staples carries a small assortment of prepaid envelops in 4 packs..... online only.

@2nd-time-around-jewelry

In checking with a full service SD canadapost outlet in a busy mall (over the phone) was advised cb xpresspost mailers are documents only. That particular depot was out of mailers so went to a smaller SD that had stock of both. They allowed me to send in the CB mailer. Alberta price with SBC was 21.56 plus tax 1.08.

So maybe luck of the draw or you chance filling it in and dropping in red bin. Hopefully you haven't missed the daily pickup for scanning.

-Lotz

doc_scribe · ‎08-01-2022

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
Just following up since this was originally posted, Has anyone recently using the Xpresspost (National/Regional) cardboard CP services had issues(gotten grief) sending non paper matter in these envelops or do you need to upgrade to the bubble type? I have something to send that would be borderline 2 cms thick but very low value.
From a description I found:
Product Details
Ship documents at a moment's notice with this value pack of Xpresspost Regional Letter Envelopes. The flat-rated, postage-included, prepaid envelopes offer a convenient way to ship parcels while managing costs at the same time.

Sounds a tad contradictory.

-Lotz

As a seller who had ignored XPressPost entirely for more than a decade, it actually took a bit of friendly nagging by my local postmaster to even consider using these prepaids. And my very first question to her was, "Isn't XPressPost a "Documents/Paper Only" service?" Without hesitation, her answer was "No," and no such restriction or caution is printed on the envelope either.

From a practical standpoint, the 1.5 cm max thickness allowed for the XPressPost cardboard prepaid envelope isn't much good for anything other than paper anyway, so possibly a moot point. On the other hand, the bubble version - expandable to roughly 5 cm with up to 500 g weight - has quickly become my new best friend for zippy tracked shipments...especially regionally.

marnotom! · ‎08-01-2022

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
Product Details
Ship documents at a moment's notice with this value pack of Xpresspost Regional Letter Envelopes. The flat-rated, postage-included, prepaid envelopes offer a convenient way to ship parcels while managing costs at the same time.

Sounds a tad contradictory.

I'd chalk that up to an editing glitch on Staples' end. The equivalent description on the Canada Post website doesn't make mention of parcels at all.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎08-01-2022

@marnotom! wrote:
@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
Product Details
Ship documents at a moment's notice with this value pack of Xpresspost Regional Letter Envelopes. The flat-rated, postage-included, prepaid envelopes offer a convenient way to ship parcels while managing costs at the same time.

Sounds a tad contradictory.
I'd chalk that up to an editing glitch on Staples' end. The equivalent description on the Canada Post website doesn't make mention of parcels at all.

I noticed that discrepancy too. My guess is if you asked at each location or called in you would get a variety of answers. Sounds like another company but the name escapes me right now. In one of the other posts they mentioned no issue with slightly oversized non paper items.

-Lotz