Canada post ruins the ebay experience

leogexx
Community Member

Recently I sold some items on ebay (I try this once a year usually) and with the shipping costs by Canada Post and the ebay fees ,it really doesn't seem to be  worth the time and effort to sell on ebay unless you have small envelope sized items or items you know will fetch a decent price. I find the high cost of Canadian shipping scares customers away or really effects the selling price . I have even had a customer (long time ago ) give me a negative for what the canadapost rates were.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

I've spent a lot of time in the US. The USPS is losing a lot of money. I understand why as their rates are just so low compared to Canada. No "flat rate boxes" up here!!


 


I have tried selling low ticket item to the US from Canada. It just doesn't work as the shipping costs by Canada Post are just so high the buyers balk and I don't blame them.


 


But, just this week a I sold a boxed DVD set (only 5 discs) for 19.95 to a buyer in ON. Shipping, cheapest way acording to the postal clerk, was 13.50 after taxes!


 


There's just no way I can sell inexpensive items like my used books, DVDs or CDs on Ebay. Not even to fellow Canadians let alone to other countries.


 


I have had great success selling expensive gear on ebay but I give up on the small stuff. Canada Post rates are just way too high!

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience


I have tried selling low ticket item to the US from Canada. It just doesn't work as the shipping costs by Canada Post are just so high the buyers balk and I don't blame them.


 


There's just no way I can sell inexpensive items like my used books, DVDs or CDs on Ebay. Not even to fellow Canadians let alone to other countries.



 


I think you've hit the nail on the head with these two observations, and I think this is why eBay's entire "look" is changing.  When postal rates were reasonably cheap (before fuel was $1.30 a litre I suppose), you could afford to sell knick-knacks and interesting old items to Canada and the U.S.  Now a seller has to be very selective about what he/she sells to where. 


 


IMO, the only items that are feasible to offer with true free shipping these days are things that are of moderate price, lighter than 500gms and flat enough to pass through Canada Post's 2cm magic slot.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

Yes, Yes, the entire look has changed & we have to be VERY SELECTIVE in regards to what we sell.


 


At one time we could do very well with Dollarama items.


 


Remember The Beatles Tin Signs. You could buy them at 1.00 & sell them between 15 & 20 in the "Good Ole Days "


 


The " Good Ole Days " are long gone.


 


Treat eBay as a business  & use your eBay calculator.


 


 


 


 

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

It is the new sellers that eventually run into a brick wall...


 


Know what to sell... It is  to understand the realities of ebay, Canada Post and Paypal and why certain things should be sold elsewhere... garage sales, Kijiji, local auctions and more....

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

toff3
Community Member

Has eBay fundamentally changed?


It's an interesting question. I believe it has but IMHO Canada Post's high rates are only part of the answer.


I've been a low-volume seller of earth science literature since 1999. It's very much a niche market and practically the only potential buyers I can attract are other earth scientists (geologists and paleontologists). Bidders from Canada always were and still remain few and far between but in the past there was no shortage of takers from the US and, to a lesser extent, Europe - hardly surprising, considering the huge difference in population. However, in the last year or two, the number of bidders has dried up drastically. Several of my regular customers of the old days have disappeared entirely. I can't ascribe that to today's higher postage rates or the higher Canadian dollar vis-à-vis the greenback. If someone really wants something that he can't easily find elsewhere, he'll pay the appropriate shipping charge, which in any case he can always verify for himself, thanks to the Internet.


I've noticed that several other dealers in geological literature (all US-based), who used to be very active on eBay, have cut way back or have dropped out altogether. Domestic US postage rates have not changed all that much over the years and overall USPS rates are far more favourable to traders than Canada Post's. So postage is not that big a factor.


In short, I believe eBay has changed but why, I don't know.


 


Tom 


 


 

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

therezonator
Community Member

Don't et me started...if you think that is bad let's talk currency exchange.  The exchange rate is listed in the auction in the form of US dollars = CDN dollars. Yet when PayPal (read eBay)  deducts the auction amount from your account it is ALWAYS more than the auction item actually cost you.  I've purchased items when the Canadian dollar was trading for several cents MORE than its American counterpart and still been charged several cents per dollar for the privilege.  I got the same "not our fault" reaction when I questioned them on it.  Bottom line:  Not long for eBay, this boy!  Best of luck...

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience


Don't et me started...if you think that is bad let's talk currency exchange.  The exchange rate is listed in the auction in the form of US dollars = CDN dollars. Yet when PayPal (read eBay)  deducts the auction amount from your account it is ALWAYS more than the auction item actually cost you.  I've purchased items when the Canadian dollar was trading for several cents MORE than its American counterpart and still been charged several cents per dollar for the privilege.  I got the same "not our fault" reaction when I questioned them on it.  Bottom line:  Not long for eBay, this boy!  Best of luck...



 


Paypal, just like most banks, charges a service fee of 2.5%  On listings, ebay just shows the actual conversion..not the conversion including the service fee so that's why there is a difference.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

r29b
Community Member

 


How about the detailed rating system for shipping cost and shipping time? You cannot win with this as fast shipping costs more. You get nailed bybuyers with low rating due to high cost. Cheaper shipping means long delivery so again you get nailed with low rating due to long ship time. Is the people running E bay mental? I have to wonder. I notice they are offering a lot of free listing deals probably because less and less people are listing on EBay. As a buyer I seldom find the neat old items I used to see years ago. Rally now this is an online store and really no longer an auction site. Too bad as I used to enjoy the search and whole experience. I now use EBay with a lot of care and trepidation. It's stress ful as you don't know if you'll get bad ratings and feedback unduly or if what you will lose out trying to buy something. Anyway they will probably not allow this thread.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

I sell a lot of books on Amazon and did so for years in the U.S. I moved to Canada last year for a job and have tried to continue my business here in Newfoundland. Living in Canada is literally KILLING my business. I am mortified at how expensive it is to ship from from here, even to other places in Canada. $15 to ship a a Lost season 2 DVD to Ontario (About $2.50 in the U.S.). I really would like to know how Canada Post sleeps at night. I have tried to come up with solutions to combat this issued and there really are none other than shipping a few lightweight expensive items here and there. I used to make almost $1000 a month selling books and other items in the states and now I am lucky to bring in $100 per month.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

"You get nailed bybuyers with low rating due to high cost"


 


"so again you get nailed with low rating due to long ship time."


 


????


 


I understand why some sellers have ground to complain about DSRs but, considering you have well above average ratings of 4.9, 4.9, 4.9 and 4.9, you quite obviously do NOT get "nailed" very often, do you?


 


There are many real problems for Canadian sellers to complain about on eBay.  Let us not complain about non-existing or theoretical ones.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

scorps007, you are in lower mainland in BC. Look into bookstotheborder in New Westminster. They take packages to the USA for a small fee per package to ship by USPS..


 


I live in Newfoundland. When I went home to visit family in New Jersey a few weeks ago, I stuffed my suitcase to the weight limit of items I would either ship to Amazon's warehouse or sell on eBay. Canada Post missed out over a good $100 due to their outrageous prices.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

tobyshitzu
Community Member

"I understand why some sellers have ground to complain about DSRs but, considering you have well above average ratings of 4.9, 4.9, 4.9 and 4.9, you quite obviously do NOT get "nailed" very often, do you?"


 


You can have that and be "bad" enough for ebay to jack your fees up 25%.  I had an id that displayed(with the rounding) 5,5,4.9,5 and lost trs for months.  I just moved to other ids and waited, but a 25% fee increase is very real and very valid to complain about

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

I have been using Canada Post for years and have never had anyone complain about the shipping. I first go into Canada Post and put in weight (I have my own scale) and measurements, but mainly to see whether it is going to be Small, Light or Expedited. I then go to Turbo Lister and enter this all in and the people can see how much it is going to be.

 

The people who should be complaining are the Canadians I ship to as shipping costs to Canada are usually higher than shipping to the States. What I really don't like as a buyer is the considerable difference in costs of USPS to Canada versus to the States. It can be $6 or $7 more. I also find some of the postal rates from the States are exhorbitant. An item that can go into a padded envelope, comes up as $35 or so. Ridiculous and usually because they are putting in the wrong info. I go directly to the seller to complain and they usually adjust the rate.

 

On the whole, I find Canada Posts rates much more reasonable and at least accurate than postage from the States.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

Well, I have tried calculated Postage and 90% of the time, I get errors when I enter a random zipcode. I find that frustrating, so then I have to go directly to the canada post website and I enter the same information and I get the postage. what I know is, the clerks at our post office claim that postage to the United states from Canada has almost doubled since this time last year. Its definately killing me as people just don't want to bid on an item nad pay what its worth because they know that the shipping is so high. As a result, the postage is hurting my bottom line, I don't see any way around it either. You need to ship to survive so Canada Post have you by the bag.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

I just had my first sale on ebay, I was thrilled.

Unitl I learned how stupid I was.

I put down 20.00 for International shipping.

I ship Royal Doulton figurines.

It is going to cost between 70.00 and 120.00 the more expensive 

is for double boxing.

I guess for my first I just suck it up.

 

Canada Post was the cheapest, U.P.S. was well over 100.00

 

Any suggestions, besides check my shipping online first and not with another person.

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

Agree with you. As a buyer, especially US purchases, with the new customs added feature my purchases declined about 90 percent.
Item that cost 20 dollars last year are now 40 to 50 dollars exceeding the price of the item. EBay international sales must be plummeting.
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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

edco-fine-woods
Community Member

Canadians need to know this:

Canada Post is hampering the business growth of online retailers.

 

What is wrong with this picture: I live in Northern BC and to get a good shipping rate I could travel 7 hours to Sumas USA, ship the 20 KG package destined for Greece with USPS and drive back 7 hours -- after the gas cost of $70.00, I will still make a profit of $15.40 compared to sending the package via Canada Post. That is $353.79 to ship via Canada Post Air for a 7 business day service, versus $268.37 for a 5 day business service provided by USPS… Another example: 20 KG shipment to England shipped via Canada Post Air (Xpresspost) will cost $353.79, while USPS is charging $166.02 for the same 5 day service – that is more than DOUBLE the cost!

 

I have an online business and ship wood products worldwide regularly. These are heavy products and one can see why my international customers get turned off by these outlandish shipping charges.

Since the same woods are fond in USA, one can also see how the US sellers have the upper hand and will get most of my international sales. The same is true for most anything: everything you can find in Canada you will find in USA, so how can we – Canadian online sellers – compete with USA sellers when our transactions include a shipping charge that is usually 50 to 100% more expensive? We cannot…

 

More than 50% of my international buyers are now choosing to consolidate their shipments in USA and have the orders shipped via USPS.

Can anyone blame them? Even with the extra shipping cost to USA, they are still saving – on average - $50.00 to $100.00 per shipment…

My case is not an exception: anyone who’s purchased an item in Canada from Ebay or Amazon will find better shipping costs posted by most international sellers and will completely bypass the Canadian sellers whose shipping costs make the transactions too expensive (as far as heavy shipments are concerned).

 

In this day and age when everybody can check the posted rates of nearly all postal outlets worldwide, it is hard to understand why Canada Post would think it’s OK for us Canadians to see that other countries are getting much better shipping rates for the same service done by Canada Post. Case in point would be that the same 20KG parcel will cost more to ship from Canada to England than from England to Canada, and not by a small margin either. As Canadians, we are getting charged $64.80 more for the same service (actually lees of a service from you, now that there will be no more door deliveries).  So how can Canada Post do the job for Royal Mail for $289.79 (£158.23) but when it comes to do the same job and ship the same package for Canadians, the cost jumps up to $354.59?  

This comparison is an average difference. For other countries (especially Asian countries) the discrepancy astronomical.

The best example would be my 20 KG package shipped from Hong Kong to me would cost $213.47 while I will have to pay $376.12 to ship the same package to Hong Kong.

That is a difference of $162.65 dollars!!!!

When I ship a package, I take it to a Canada Post office, Canada Post sorts it and sends it to the Airport, where it gets consolidated and flown overseas -- when an oversees package arrives, Canada Post takes it from the Airport to the local office where it get sorted and I pick it up by me -- the same amount of steps are being taken in both scenarios. Why are Canadians being charged more?

The above points are made to show you that we - Canadians - are not blind to the money grabbing practice and that much work needs to be done to repair the bully image Canada Post is projecting with these out of touch shipping costs…

 

If Canada Post would be more concerned with being competitive, versus finding short term cash grab solutions, it would usher a new era in which our Canadian online sellers would be able to compete with international sellers. By lowering the prices and allowing Canadians sellers to become competitive, Canada Post’ profit could grow alongside our e-commerce businesses.

Alas, as it stands now, we are crippled by the decision from Canada Post to increase their shipping costs by 10% every year, without fail, while at the same time reducing services…

 

Every year we get a doom scenario from a report by Canada Post claiming some colossal near future loss that will destroy their company – yet nearly every year they are posting gains (except in 2011 due to the lockout).

So let’s do the math on the things that I know:

- Every year Canada Post sees an increase in parcel volume despite its moronic decisions to make it harder on Canadian online retailers by posting inflated shipping rates. While it is true that the 60cent lettermail volume has deceased considerably, the increase of parcel delivery service with an average of $10 to $20.00 cost will more than make up for it. I use to send checks in the mail -- not anymore -- but now the cost to ship just one of my packages makes up for all the mail I would have sent in a whole year; and I send more than 5 heavy packages each day ($20.00 to $50.00 shipping cost for each package). My online business alone makes up for my whole town’s lettermail service, if they were to still send and receive lettemail. I see no loss there for Canada Post.

- Every year Canada Post increases the shipping costs of parcels by at least 10%, while cutting jobs and services. Canada Post employees do not get rises to reflect that increase, so where do the extra funds go? There is no loss for Canada Post there either, just a mysterious case of vanishing funds.

All these thing do not add up, unless you add the extra bonuses for the top executives and the over 7000 employees who received “individual incentives” as Canada Post calls it. This going on while the corporation is allegedly - as of 2014 - losing money, according to their cry-wolf syndrome induced postings.

If we add the total sum we can see the cash hungry corporation losing its value as it gets downsized and loses business to overseas competitors while Canadians look for alternatives to alleviate the pain of these high shipping costs. For all inventive purposes this may be a good thing for someone who is looking at purchasing (privatising) the giant while driving its value down, but the rest of us affected by this will have to send Canada Post back school for arithmetic lessons: high shipping costs + less service = much less business than it could have with a competitive shipping cost and a decent delivery service.

 

Please join with me and let everybody know that this treatment by Canada Post is not OK and that our hardworking Canadians deserve better than to have a big crown corporation like Canada Post hinder their growth by looking only after short term gain at the expense of loss of business for the people who are keeping them in business.

 

 

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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

I'd have no issue with Canada Post dissolving as news reports stated last year- they would be replaced with a more competitive entities.
Montreal
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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

Totally agree. Canadapost is ridiculously expensive!

That's why many successful Canadaian sellers are shipping via USPS. That's the reason why Chichat express in Toronto and
DYK Logistics in Calgary are doing so great!!

They simply help online sellers like us to ship the packages
via USPS and charge only $1 for each package. This is a great service and we can still use USPS without driving the long hours to the border, not to mention the custom clearance part.
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Canada post ruins the ebay experience

 

To any company shipping Items To Canada:

When shipping any item of value to Canada be very leery of utilizing any format that uses Canada Post as a carrier. (USA POST SHIPS THEIR ITEMS INTO CANADA UTILIZING CANADA POST TO DELIVER SUCH).

Over the past year I have had three different deliveries coming through Canada Post mysteriously disappear….The latest, which Canada Post claims was delivered, was done so when no one was at our residence to receive it (we had left our residence at 13:00 hrs. so to be at a doctor’s appointment at 14:00hrs…a 25 to 30 minute drive from my residence…. which I arrived at 13:35 hrs.) yet they incest that the package was delivered to our apartment at 13:30 hrs on the day in question……

I had ordered a Tablet from a supplier in the USA….a gift for my Grand Son. Living on a meager pension I had to save for four months to be able to get this item and when it didn’t arrive I had nothing to present to him for his birthday. I ended up spending my grocery monies so/as to get him a gift for his birthday (I couldn’t afford to purchase a tablet) but I could see the disappointment on his face when he didn’t get what I had promised him.

When I contacted Canada Post I received nothing but a complete run around.  They insisted that their driver had delivered the package to my apartment at 13:30 hours and that it had been properly received. They told me to check with my landlady to see if she had received the package and failing that to check with the other people on my floor.

I checked with our landlady and she stated that no one from Canada Post had come to her office at the time (Re: 13:30 hrs)  that Canada Post had supposable delivered the parcel) nor had she seen anyone from Canada Post go up in the elevators which are in plain view of her office.

 I checked with our neighbor’s living on the same floor and they did not seen anyone that didn’t belong on the floor anywhere near our apartment…..(Our neighbors are extreme busy bodies and don’t miss anything that transpires on our floor)…..yet Canada Post insists that they had come to our door and had delivered the package to our apartment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I guess that someone had broken into our apartment just after we had left for the doctor’s office and had received the package from Canada Post then had left locking the door behind them all without alerting our vigilant neighbors nor disturbing anything in the apartment……..

By the way if you think that this transpired then I have a nice piece of property for sale in Florida…..running water and nice pets and I will deliver the paperwork van Communist Post….that way you will be assured of receiving it!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And this is one of three packages that had mysteriously vanished!!!!!!

One, a blueberry rake ordered from Bangor Maine….something that is not available in this part of Canada…. went missing when Canada Post had stated that they had delivered it to out apartment. In Aug. I was out at Sandy Lands (A local wilderness area noted for wild blueberries) where I was picking wild blueberries. At one patch I noticed a person using a blueberry rake of the type that is used to harvest blueberries in Maine (something that is extremely rare in Manitoba). When I complemented her on such and asked her where she had gotten the blueberry rake she stated that it was a gift from her husband. I then asked her where her husband worked……she stated CANADA POST!!!!!!!! I can only guess where my blueberry rake ended up!!!!!!!

Even though I cannot prove that Employees of Canada Post are doing anything illegal (and have been informed by their UNION REP that I will be charged with slander if I even mention them in any investigation)…..and the fact that I, without catching them red handed, cannot prove any of these allegations……I can only surmise what has transpired. All I know is that I have never had any item not arrive which was shipped by a courier…..but with Canada Post……..three that I know of in one year out of seven deliveries being made!!!!!!

So, in closing, when you have to ship anything of value to Canada try and utilize a shipping method that accurately traces each and every package and insists that all items are signed for with proof of residency before they are released!!!!!!!!

Something that Communist Post Does Not Do Unless You Insure The Items In QUESTION and demand that the delivery is verified!!!!!!!!!! Using this method you just might receive the items that are shipped to you!!!!! Otherwise kiss it goodby!!!!!

 

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