eBay

jackatou2012 · ‎09-19-2018

Dear Sellers,

I'm new in ebay and i will start selling some candies. However i'm stuck with the shipping prices of Canada post.

The majority of my products are low value ( between 3 & 6 $) .... i thought that i can send small bags/boxes inside a letter but i have noticed recently that Post Canada doesn't accept more than 2 cm thick

My products are between 100 and 200 g with the following dimension :

23 x 15 x 4 cm

Any advises ?

thank you

femmefan1946 · ‎09-19-2018

We all work with the Canada Post rates. They are what they are.

Almost.

Sign up, if you haven't already, for a Small Business Solutions card at Canada Post.

You can do it online or the next time you are in the PO. It's free and gives you an automatic 5% discount on some parcel services.

Those discounts can also be used on Paypal, Shippo and SnapShip (Canada Post).

Bookmark this;

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

it will be useful.

When you set Calculated Shipping, your buyer sees the rate from the website, not what you actually pay.

From time to time we get even better discounts, so watch the Seller Board.

If you are near the US border, you may be able to use a freight forwarder like chitchatexpress or redstallion.

For a small fee, these companies take your prepared packages across the border and ship them via USPS which has much lower rates.

jackatou2012 · ‎09-19-2018

Thank you , how it comes that some Canadian Ebay sellers; sell their products for 4 $ and charge only 2.99 $ for shipping ?

esclyons · ‎09-19-2018

because the items are less than 2 cm. thick, you can send as oversized mail, for 2.95. under 100 grams..

mrdutch1001 · ‎09-19-2018

Before listing on eBay, it is very important to research the economics of it. Know before you list what it is going to cost to ship your items.(cost of the product, time & effort, packaging, eBay fees,etc.) Not everything is economically feasible to sell when shipping is involved. Some things are best suited for local markets. Not all products are good candidates for selling on eBay.

Calculate ALL the fees and costs to find out if eBay is the right choice for your products.

To calculate the shipping costs for your products you will need to pre-package a sampling of the products you intend to list and calculate the shipping costs. A digital scale, measuring tape and Canada Post website are your friends when it comes to calculating shipping costs.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎09-19-2018

Have you considered selling your items in larger quantities/combinations? Customers may be more acceptable to paying slightly higher amounts for postage if their item total is a bit higher. Then you could use the shipping calculator and customer would be able to check postage and decide if it was in reason prior to purchasing. Just a thought!

-CM

zee-chan · ‎09-19-2018

@jackatou2012 wrote:
Thank you , how it comes that some Canadian Ebay sellers; sell their products for 4 $ and charge only 2.99 $ for shipping ?

They could actually be international sellers with different rates available to them with their country's postal rates.

I can send myself a box of 120g candies from Japan with small packet SAL with ~$3.25 shipping (280 yen), but to send that same box of candies from where I'm to Ontario would probably cost $10 shipping, or I could send that same box to anywhere in the US for $8.78.

Here is a link to a handy table I made back in January. Bottom line is, if you want to mail something cheap domestically with lettermail rates, you have to make sure they are under 2cm in thickness, INCLUDING your packaging/envelope.

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/2018-over-the-counter-Canada-Post-rates-chart-under-2kg/...

retroman_studios · ‎09-20-2018

Aside from using a mail forward service, you could explore the option of changing your packaging to be more "Canada Post Friendly" for letter rates. Are the candies themselves thickness wise below the letter rate size? Because you could have the candies in a small plastic bag laid flat in a large manila envelope to take advantage of postal rates for letters.

At the same time you could have a separate auction with all the original packaging ideal for gifts etc., and those have parcel rates.