canada post international small packet -insurance coverage

[luckytreegreen]

I printed a canada post international surface small packet shipping label thru paypal today. I read news that canada post has removed insurce coverage from international small packet effective Jan 2013. but the paypal transaction detail has below infor:

Included Insurance Coverage: Up to $100.00 CAD. i am confused - do I still get insurance coverage on my small packet shiipment? thx.

[i*m-still-here]

I know.......... isn't that annoying and confusing?

I hate that!

There is no longer any automatic insurance on small packets.

Paypal has not updated the info.

........... but .......... really.......... they should have to honour that mistake in the same way we have to make good on our errors when we make a mistake in a listing.

But they won't.

[femmefan1946]

It doesn't answer your particular question, but given the low value on your current listings, why are you bothering with insured services at all?

If you have some difficulty with "losses" then self insure by adding a tiny amount to each S&H charge as a premium against loss.

If you charge a dime on each shipment, then you can ship 100 parcels without losing money on one $10 claim.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Paypal shipping is not Canada Post. What Paypal does is simply their ham-handed interpretation of what they want to think.

I ran into this last fall trying to ship a parcel to Russia. I ended up calling Paypal and they simply told me to go to a PO. The service Paypal listed did not exist. They had taken two different services and combined them into one. One that would not work.

Never, ever, go by what Paypal says.

[pierrelebel]

There is a huge misconception here.  The postage calculation and label printing program paid through PayPal for eBay listings is administered by Pitney Bowes.  It has been that way since the inception of the program seven years ago.

Background information:

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2006/2006_feb_news_ebay.jsf 

Yes, the same Pitney Bowes running the Global Shipping program for eBay.com

And yes again, the same Pitney Bowes who administers the USPS label printing program invoiced through PayPal for eBay.com listings.

[recped]

If you have a spare moment have a look at the Pitney Bowes 10 year stock chart, it's pretty dismal in spite of the 10% dividend yield.

They are a company on life support!

[pierrelebel]

Here is the 30 year chart:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=PBI+Basic+Chart&t=my 

The last five years (downhill):

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=PBI&t=5y&l=on&z=l&q=l&c= 

[ninth89]

The removal of insurance from Small Packet really screws all Canadian sellers over. 

I understand they now have Tracked Packet but it's not available to all countries. Just a small number, which is ridiculous since before the changes there was insurance coverage for all countries with small packet. 

I've been trying to look for an email to complain about the changes. 

From the CanadaPost site I've only been directed to either call them or send them a letter via snail mail.

Does anyone if there's a CanadaPost email address I can write my complaints/rant too?

[pierrelebel]

"CanadaPost email address I can write my complaints/rant too"

Go to the Canada Post website.  Near the bottom, you will find a link "contact us".

You can complain as long as you want but, at the end of the day, Canada Post will not change its policies.

Canada Post is trying to break even.  If they made money offering free "insurance", they would provide it. Obviously the "insurance" was expensive to them and possibly abused by many.

Nobody can force anyone to provide free insurance or even insurance at a price.

The "parcel" service of Canada Post is not a public service.  Lettermail is.  Canada Post competes with many other carriers for parcel delivery.  Anyone who does not like the service offered by Canada Post is free to use another parcel delivery service.

Good Luck with that. 

[ninth89]

I've seen that link already, eventually it just gives you the option to call or use snail mail.

I don't think the insurance was 'free' it was built into the price they charge. But now they've removed the insurance and increase the price. 

I think the least they could do is provide optional insurance for small packet at a cost as Tracked Packet isn't offered for all countries. 

And I think anyone who does not like the service offered by Canada Post is free to voice their opinions/concerns. CanadaPost profits are affected by Canadian sellers who choose to use their service and if they want to meet Canadian sellers needs they have to understand their concerns.

I understand that it may seem pointless to send CanadaPost an email with my complaints.

However if you don't let them know what the problems are how do you expect them to see where they can possibly make changes or improvements. 

[pocomocomputing]

I can see Small Packet USA Air being discontinued completely next January or the year after in favor of Tracked Packet USA.

Not good for Canadian sellers but good for Canada Post to remove low cost services that do not make much of a profit.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Your post, i would think, would not be a surprise to anyone.

Hopefully it doesn't happen. That would put the final nail in the coffin for a lot of sellers.

We are moving towards the Law of the Jungle mentality on eBay.

For some sellers it has already arrived.

[toff3]

Ninth89,

You're correct to point out, in reply to Pierre's post, that the former insurance coverage on Small Packets was not free. We all paid for it when we paid the postage. That's why Canada Post, in their never-ending quest to cut costs, eliminated it in 2013. In contrast to Pierre, I doubt that it cost CP very much and I doubt even more that customers made an excessive number of claims because losses in the mail are negligible.

Where I take issue with you is your reference to Canadians choosing to use Canada Post. Very few of us have the luxury of choosing a delivery service. The post is the only practical shipping service for the majority of the population, no matter in what country you live. Pierre likes to parrot the Canada Post line about all the competing delivery services available to Canadians but that's hogwash, pure and simple.

Tom 

[chris-tor]

I have stopped using Canada post and now ship everything through ChitChat in the Toronto area. All my packages are driven to Niagara Falls, NY and shipped by USPS for a fraction of the price. ChitChat adds 1 dollar for each package as their cost.

Can't beat it. 

[rose-dee]

---

@bb_cool_stuff wrote:

Hopefully it doesn't happen. That would put the final nail in the coffin for a lot of sellers.

---

Yes, the end of Small/Light Packet service would be the "last post" for me (pardon the pun).  I hope it doesn't happen for a while, but you're right -- I wouldn't be surprised either.  

On the other hand, I see today that Amazon is introducing a drone delivery service within 16km of its warehouse (you get your order within 15 minutes - OMG, no, don't tell eBay!).  Maybe somebody will come up with another "out of the box" idea that will replace the small packet services offered by CP.  Kites perhaps?  Carrier pigeons?  Mule trains?

[femmefan1946]

Sixteen kilometers? That's about the distance from Parliament Hill to the Ottawa Airport. A good walker could cover that distance by lunchtime starting at nine.

(Not me. A good walker. )

That sounds like a publicity stunt. Also if you watch "Castle" (which you should because... Nathan Fillion) you would know that drones make interesting and unusual murder weapons.

[toff3]

Rose-dee,

Why would you shed a tear over the loss of the Light Packet service? You'd just use Oversize Letter-post and pay less (except in the 200-250 g range) - what you should have been doing all along, if Canada Post were operating a rational pricing scheme.

I wouldn't lose too much sleep worrying about loss of the Small Packet service. It's recognized worldwide as part of the letter (or first-class) mail stream and I'm pretty sure not even Canada Post would have the gall to eliminate it.

Tom