Shipping to Puerto Rico

[bpl521_sell]

Any issues with shipping a parcel to Puerto Rico that a seller should be aware of. Buyer made an offer and I noticed their address is in Puerto Rico. It would be shipped by Canada Post expedited so assume being a US territory all should be fine? Any gotchas I should be aware of?

[momcqueen]

I don’t ship there often but I had no trouble when I did.

[femmefan1946]

The occasional complaint that Puerto Rico shows up as International  instead of USA.

Make sure you enter the US zipcode.

No reported problems with the destination.

It's fun to Google Maps the destinations for grins and giggles.

[rosscd57]

Yep there's an issue - it costs quite a bit more money to ship to Puerto Rico if you are using flat rate. So for those of us who are using flat rate shipping. It costs more money than budgeted. That's why some sellers will put in a statement like this: "shipping costs are for the lower 48 States only" so Alaska, Puerto Rico and the 14 Territories and not included in the flat rate price. 

I have thought of putting it in myself - but it's only happened a couple of time in 17 years on eBay.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

If you are using Shippo to process your parcel to PR you will need to edit the address for your customer to  USA to get the correct rates/services to display. This is something that was required each time I shipped to PR over the past year. A glitch they haven't seemed to correct.

-Lotz

PS. As far as I recall this was never a problem using Paypal.

[femmefan1946]

I believe that is a US problem only.

Just as Canadians have parcel rates that differ with domestic destination, USPS has different rates for the 'off-shore' states and territories.

Canadians should have the same cost for Hawai'i as for New York, in my experience.

[momcqueen]

That’s true with Canada Post Tracked Packet USA but Expedited Parcel USA is based on three to five (?) different zones of pricing. There’s not a huge gap between zones though. At least in my admittedly limited experience with Expedited Parcel USA. But Tracked Packet (like Small Packet) is different: it’s like flat-rate regardless of point of origin or destination.

[pjcdn2005]

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@rosscd57 wrote:

Yep there's an issue - it costs quite a bit more money to ship to Puerto Rico if you are using flat rate. So for those of us who are using flat rate shipping. It costs more money than budgeted. That's why some sellers will put in a statement like this: "shipping costs are for the lower 48 States only" so Alaska, Puerto Rico and the 14 Territories and not included in the flat rate price. 

I have thought of putting it in myself - but it's only happened a couple of time in 17 years on eBay.

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As Mo mentioned, it should cost you the same anywhere in the US or to their territories if you use small or tracked packet. If you use Expedited USA or Xpresspost, PR will cost you the same as it would if you were shipping from Alberta to New York.   I've never seen it happen in Paypal but in Shippo, there is a problem if the buyer is in PR, you have to edit the address and change it to the US otherwise it shows you international rates rather than US.

Some of the people who write that about Alaska, Hawaii etc in their listings often do it just because they've seen other sellers do that. But right now,  usps first class is based on weight, not distance so the cost is the same if you are shipping to the next state or to a non mainland state. That will change near the end of January though.   They do have different zones for other services however, in many cases, it cost the same to ship from NY to California as it does from NY to Hawaii.

[bpl521_sell]

Thanks everyone, sounds like shipping to Puerto Ricco isn't that big of  a issue, no more than shipping to the Continental US. I have the listing on .CA as calculated shipping, and use Snap Ships so all should be good. 

[ypdc_dennis]

Country is United States.

State is PR.

Tracked Packet USA (now up to 2kg) is flat rate to USA and territories.

-..-

[bpl521_sell]

Mute point now. Buyer (who by the way is not a newbie) sends best offer. I accept, then complains about the shipping cost and asks to cancel. ummm, isn't the shipping cost plainly outlined as it's calculated. Don't have time for these buyers, granted him/her their wish and blocked. Good riddance. 

[hold.your.own.media]

Today I had a lettermail shipment to PR. To the US, these shipments have always been $5.45 (since rates with Canada Post recently went up). To PR, the cost for a same size item was literally double at $10.90. No way around it, at least at my local post office...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

It's possible your postal depot was miss-informed. According to the Canadapost website for a "letter" 100 to 200 grams rate to PR should be 5.45. See link attached. This would depend if the letter being mailed was actually printed matter or something that required a declaration. In that case, the rate would increase.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/farLetter?execution=e2s2

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/farLetter?execution=e2s3

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

This is why I prefer to research my shipping cost online and toss my stamped shipments in the postbox, instead of asking at the counter.

Of course, I'm using stamps purchased at a discount so I also don't have to pay fuel surcharges and taxes, which were paid when the stamps were originally purchased (before some of you were born).

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

I always research before applying any postage. My local depot is very good at giving out bad information regarding rates and available services. I've watched him use a measuring tape on a diagonal. And maybe only slightly before me? I still remember walking to school in -44 F weather in N. Ontario in my younger days. 😉 We never got a ride to school back then!!

-Lotz

[ichopshop]

USPS now has zone rates for First Class Mail, perhaps that affected the cost.

Ian

[ypdc_dennis]

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@ichopshop wrote:
USPS now has zone rates for First Class Mail, perhaps that affected the cost.

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USPS zones are only for First Class parcels not for lettermail.

[pjcdn2005]

If it was under 200 gr they charged you the international rate instead of the US rate. 

[pjcdn2005]

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@ichopshop wrote:
USPS now has zone rates for First Class Mail, perhaps that affected the cost.

Ian

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That wouldn’t change the published  CP rates.

[wonsxela]

I had this problem a while ago, and discovered how to get around it.

Puerto Rico is its own country, so addresses with Puerto Rico listed as the country automatically get charged the international postage rate. And yet they're also still part of the US and use the US Postal Service. So if someone from there buys something from you, and the address lists Puerto Rico as the country, just change it as if it was actually a state, and put United States as the country. For example, if the address on the person's account is:

1 Main St.

San Juan

12345

Puerto Rico

...you would get charged international rates for shipping there. But if you change it to: 

1 Main St.

San Juan, PR

12345

United States

...you would correctly get the US postal rate.