Q~~_7.JPG "rainbow71113"){kind=avatar}
@rainbow71113 wrote:Something else that cc offers which I have not yet tried is sending Canadian lettermail through the USPS system, one advantage is that some rates are tracked. The disadvantage is that you have to remember to mark it coming from and going to Canada and hope that the buyer doesn't get charged any duty. I would probably use this when I have something to ship that is thicker than 2 cm but relatively cheap so that the buyer doesn't have to pay expedited rates. For instance a thick book worth $10 going to Ontario. I tried one around 13 oz and it would be $5.83US whereas through Canada Post it would be $11.25-that's about $4.00 cheaper than going through Canada Post- now I don't think this price was tracked but still it would save the buyer a couple of dollars after I include cc fees.
I think you are mistaken, $5.83 is the price for Large Envelopes / Flats which have similar size restrictions as Canada Post domestic Lettermail. A 13oz First Class PACKAGE from the US to Canada has a retail price of US$15.50.
What you are describing DID work up until about 5 years ago and really worked 15 years ago but no longer.
No idea where you are seeing $8.88 there is no rate of that amount for any USPS service for any class of mail or destination domestic or International.
http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf
@rainbow71113 wrote:I see it as first class mail international package to Ontario- are you looking at cc's site because they do get cheaper rates than regular usps customers on some categories.
go to this link
http://chitchatsexpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CCE-Rate-Card-2016-Ontario-Rev-4.02ON.pdf
and down under international where it says weight in red on the left side- zone 1 -16 oz shows $8.88 to Canada
Ah yes, USPS Commercial Base rates for First Class International Packages do offer some good discounts (you can get pretty much the same discount using eBay/PayPal or Stamps (not the free account).
Still when you take US$8.88 + the CC fee there really isn't any saving and there is additional delivery time.
Years ago I used to do what you were describing but back then the retail rate for a 1lb First Class Package to Canada was only $5.25 and when the CAD was +/- par is was a reasonable (albeit slower) option to ship say from Ontario to Vancouver or northern Canada.. Today the savings are pennies so it's not really viable.
What is too bad is that CC's International service (I think it's through B-Post these days) will apparently not ship items back to Canada, that would be cheap especially for really light weight packages over the 2cm CP limit for Lettermail.
Lots of tricks out there and always has been, I know someone who back in the 80's were mass mailing catalogues within Canada, They were printing them in Mexico, trucking them to Panama where they would get on a plane back to Canada and Canada Post would have to handle them as First Class mail under the UPU agreement.
@rainbow71113 wrote:I'm actually more concerned about my buyers getting dinged for duty and then getting a negative saying "seller is in Canada, why am I paying duty"
Yeah that's a problem as well of course you can make sure that doesn't happen by using an appropriate declared value or if you are registered for GST in Canada indicating properly that the taxes have already been billed to the recipient.
@rainbow71113 wrote:ah, I didn't know you could do that...but I don't think there's anywhere on stamps.com to put notation like that....one day I'll have to look into it further if I run across something that qualifies. I tend to stay away from listing things that need to go expedited.
and "really" we are talking about sending a package from Canada back into Canada using USPS, that's why the discussion about duty since Canadians don't have as high a threshold before being charged duty.
Yeah it's not really something worth bothering with anymore. Even 10 years ago when it did work there was only a tiny sweet spot where the small reduction in cost was worth the potential delays and customs issue. Now you would have to find just the right combo of weight & dimensions plus sending and receiving locations to make it viable. When I was doing it the "sweet spot:" was still small but you could at least generalize that anything "x" going further in Canada than "y" would be cheaper. Today it's much like finding the sweet spot that makes Small Packet cheaper than Light Packet.
The two things that really did this in was first the big increases in USPS rates and then recently the elimination of the many weight breaks and moving to 1 - 8oz, 9 - 16oz etc instead of the old 4oz breaks.
As far as the customs thing, even if you make a notation on the customs form and include an invoice with the GST info on the outside of the package there is still a risk that customs will incorrectly assess taxes. While buyers can get a refund on this most would be very upset and in many cases refuse the shipment.....that would be really ugly for you and simply not worth the effort. The only feasible thing is to undervalue and even that is risky if you are shipping items which are clearly over the maximum free limit.
Years ago I was using USPS to ship overseas, back then there were a couple of weight points were it was actually cheaper to use Canada Post. In the shipping business there are always a few "tricks" or inconsistencies that can make for exceptions, I appreciate those who can figure out these "glitches" and use them to their advantage. Unfortunately the one you are considering doesn't provide enough of an advantage anymore to be viable unless you were shipping high volumes of packages which fit the mold and of course it's not the 1990's where extended delivery times where accepted by buyers as "normal".
In my fantasy world Canada Post creates a First Class Package service for items under 500 grams but more than 2cm in thickness.
Remember.....I said fantasy world!
In the real world they will probably just continue to lower the minimum weight/charge for Expedited from 750 grams to 500 grams and then to 250 grams and exclaim they have a provided such a service (or course the charges themselves won't go down).
You should contact them directly for their fee schedule. It is not something that can be posted here on this board (against policy)
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