registed Canadian postal service mail screwed me

[canadian.tree]

Ok so i was shipping 3 games all over Canada pretty much from one side of Canada to the middle to the other side.

i'm new and i tried to do as much research as possible before i sold the games. looking at fees shipping time etc.

I got really messed up on shipping  even tho I some how managed to make a few $'s lucky me because i offered free shipping considering Canada post website told me it would cost 3.33$ / for my (envelopes) for each all over Canada.

But then i saw people posting saying you should ship items registed which is 9$!!! or the buyer could get the item then say you didn't ship it.

So in the end it cost me 34$ to ship 3 items in standard 6 x 9 bubble mailers ( which were all considered envelopes and the heaviest one was .101kg.. 

I don't see how people sell items for 2$ or even 5$ (games in canada [ps2 ,xbox games] when it would cost at least 9$ in shipping alone).

if you have any questions about my situation please ask I really want to sort this out to see if selling on e-bay is even worth it for the 10$ i made instead of 35$ i thought i was going to make.

[canadian.tree]

1 more thing to add was after paying the 34$ i asked the lady if the items had coverage she said no it was quite a joke to me.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

Let's start at the beginning.

How much did the games cost you? Include all eBay and Paypal fees as well as the cost of packaging.

That is the most you will lose if the item gets lost (unlikely) or is claimed as not received.

Because the profit between those costs and the selling price is imaginary until it is really in your pocket and the customer is satisfied.

Now.

Given your cost on the item, why are you tracking it?

If your game cost you (all costs in) $5, don't bother.

You should insure it against loss or damage, but not through the postal system. Cookie Jar Insurance means that every item you sell has a few pennies in the price as an insurance premium against loss. Toss those pennies into a virtual cookie jar. When and if you lose an item, pay out from the Cookie Jar.

You will probably find that you are actually making a tiny bit of money on this. Insurance companies do after all.

How often do you expect to lose a transaction?

That's the basis on which you decide how many pennies to add to your asking price for self-insurance/ CJI.

Perhaps brandeentertainment or another DVD/games seller can give you advice on that.

Further.

Never 'register' an item. For some unknown reason, Paypal does not recognize Registration as an electronically trackable service.

Within Canada, Regular Parcel, ExpressPost, Expedited Parcel and Priority Post are trackable.

Outside Canada, ExpressPost, Expedited, and Priority.

You can compare prices at canadapost.ca.

Be aware of the differences between Post Offices and postal outlets. The staff at postal outlets actually works for the drugstore or other business where the outlet is located. While most are consciencious, many are poorly trained.

Post Office workers have many years experience. Although there are some real nitwits there too. As in life, eh?

Why are you tracking in the first place?

The only time it is useful is if your customer claims the item is Not Received.

You can win a Dispute if you can show that the item has been delivered.

Otherwise it is pointless. And expensively pointless.

Most of my sales are books, postcards and dress patterns. All very low fraud categories. You are in a higher fraud category, so I would certainly self-insure.

But tracking will rarely be useful. With self-insurance you can refund the unhappy customer, asking politely that he repay the refund through Paypal's Send Money service when the item arrives. In my experience, fortunately limited, most will.

There is a learning curve to selling here. I guess you have also already learned about the 21 Day Hold.

Well, maybe I'm not a fancy gentleman like you, with your... very fine hat. But I do business. We're here for business.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

[canadian.tree]

Yes thank you for all  the help i'll give you some numbers the games aren't 5$ the ones I would be selling would range from (20-30$ Ps4 games) as the price i bought them for and selling for my prices. The items passed as envelopes in the post office so could i just ship it that way as the prices to ship as the envelope ranged for 2-3$ without the registration and all the extra **bleep** that isn't nessisary but they put in the price to make more money. Then put the extra 25$ aside in my own insurance just in case from what i would of saved by not doing it through the post office . Or do you need to ship by parcels on ebay.. because parcels are still 9.90$ in my situation when i try to use the rates on the site. 

I agree with you about the people working there I did not understand the lady and she was not explaining it very clear I was trying to get her to explain it better but eventuality there were to many people behind me so i went ahead and shipped them as registered parcels.

[canadian.tree]

not sure how to edit but the 20-30$ would be the price i'm getting them for. don't think i was clear on that.

[mr.elmwood]

You will learn, very quickly, how to make shipping efficient. Paying for upgraded services that you never use? You have already learned that one. Lowest possible shipping cost allows you to compete better.

The only time I use tracking of any kind, is when size or weight forces me up into Expedited.

Insurance? Take a dollar out of every sale and put it in the insurance jar. It will be over flowing with money in no time.

Welcome to the world of online selling.

[canadian.tree]

yup thank you for your knowledge and tips.. 

But the last thing i kneed to know is if it is required to ship on ebay as a parcel or could i ship as letter.document?

because on ebay there is no letter/document option from what i saw.

[mr.elmwood]

Some options are on Paypal Shipping, not all. You can ship any way your little heart likes.

There is no "last thing", trust us.

[pierrelebel]

"on ebay there is no letter/document option from what i saw."

That is correct.

Why?

Simple.  It is all about money.

You can purchase postage through PayPal for most postal services.  The system is managed by Pitney Bowes under contract by eBay.  Both PayPal and Pitney Bowes get money from Canada Post for providing the service at no cost to members other than paying for the postage purchased.

Some services even offer a discount from what you would pay at the post office as an individual retail customer.

However, there is no money to be made by anyone (Pitney Bowes or PayPal) selling postage for first class domestic mail.  So the service is not offered on eBay.  It is that simple.

For domestic mail, if you eventually achieve a large volume, you can easily purchase postage stamps at a discount from face value.  Easily available on eBay and from many stamp dealers.

[canadian.tree]

thanks alot you 3 were a big help!

[dinomitesales]

Don't send your video games by Registered Mail. As others have said it's a waste of money, and apparently doesn't even count in the eyes of eBay/PayPal.

For any disc-based game (i.e. PS1/2/3, Xbox/360/One, Gamecube/Wii/U, etc.) or separate cartridges simply slide it into a bubble mailer (you can find them 3/$1.00 at Dollarama, for example), slap some stamps on it, and send it off as 'Lettermail' (assuming you're shipping within Canada). You don't even need to bother with the post office - stock up on stamps and drop your packaged games in the nearest post office box. Most games fall into the 100-200 g range (yes, you will need a shipping scale - a simple kitchen scale will even suffice) and therefore cost me $3.10 to ship anywhere in Canada (taxes incl.). If you're mailing the game to the U.S. then send it as 'Light Packet' - you can print a label through PayPal (most games cost me $3.98 taxes incl.).

As long as the game is less than 2 cm thick, send it off by Lettermail/Light Packet.

I've sold hundreds of video games by this method and have yet to have a single issue.

Occasionally, if the game is a bit bulkier, or of significant value, I will send it as a parcel - even then, with PayPal's shipping discounts, the cost is usually only $10-15 and comes with full tracking/insurance.

[femmefan1946]

That's a good point about discounts.

If it's a parcel, buy PP shipping labels. There are discounts from 5% to 18% off postal counter prices and bookkeeping is all in one place.

If PP shipping labels are not available, look for discounted postage on eBay. Many stamps dealers have older mint stamps at 20% or more off face value.

I mostly use postage and that easily covers my Cookie Jar Insurance costs. Also my customers like the pretty stamps.

Also when you enter dimensions and weight for Calculated Shipping on larger items, use metric. Canada Post went metric in 1974 and every other system is guesswork.