Canada into the USA letter mail is extremely slow!! Tracked packet is not an option!

I never had issues sending lettermail into the USA from Canada. This last 2 months I have received numerous requests for refunds!! I havent had to do that in the last 15 years!!! My items are paper thin and only sell for $15-$20. So tracked packet is not an option. If I charge more I put myself right out of the market. I am based in Winnipeg, no chitchats, etc... What do you do? Please help! Im loosing money now!!  TYIA

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Answers (4)

 

The listing that I looked at with shipping to the US showed the service as 'economy shipping '. That is actually a service that US sellers use so I always recommend that a seller in Canda listing on .com use one of the generic options "shipping from outside of the US".

 

Using that is another reminder for the buyer that you are shipping from Canada and in some cases it gives you a longer eta.   If you used standard shipping from outside of the US it would only give you an extra day.  Economy from outside of the US would give you a lot longer estimated arrival time.   I wouldn't recommend using the 'shipping from Canada" options that are available on the listing page.  The times given on the listing page don't seem to match up with what the buyer sees when they look at your listing. But you can experiment and see how they work for you.

You cannot ship merchandise via the letter post system to the USA it is illegal & you have to have a customs declaration on your package.

 

Customs declaration

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All mail containing merchandise must have a customs declaration form completed when sending the item to the U.S. or an international destination (see Completing customs documents).

 

The customs declaration is part of our shipping label and also includes the addressee and sender names and addresses.

 

It’s your responsibility to make sure you provide all customs documentation and item content information and certificates for the goods you ship.

 

You must also make sure that the documentation and information is complete, accurate, and legible. Failure to do so may cause us to return the item to the sender at your expense. It could also result in delays, non-delivery, voided guarantees, or fines or customs seizure in the international destination (if applicable).

 

If you "Sold" it on eBay it's "Goods" aka "merchandise" and is not "Letter Mail"

 

This is why Canada Post has a website that very clearly explains ALL the rules for Letter-Post to the USA...

 

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/letter-post/overview.page

 

Required customs documentation

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All services  

Online transactions

You can produce labels using Electronic Shipping Tools (EST) or a customer-developed or third-party shipping system. You must also complete a Customs Declaration CN22 or CN23, depending on the value of the item. 

At the post office (automated only)

The post offices RPS system prints an indicia and a barcoded label, which we use in combination with a 43-074-253 CN22 Customs Declaration for items with a declared value of less than CAN$500. For items with a declared value of over CAN$500, you must complete and affix Customs Declaration 43-074-172. 

Priority™ Worldwide

  • Document
    • Priority Worldwide shipping label (43-074-277)
  • Non-document
    • Commercial Invoice or Invoice Declaration (33-081-002)

Xpresspost™ – USA

  • Xpresspost - USA Shipping Label 43-074-281 
  • Xpresspost - USA shipping label 43-074-236 (includes the Customs Declaration) 

Xpresspost™ – International

  • Xpresspost - International shipping label 43-074-244 (includes the Customs Declaration) 

Tracked Packet™ – USA, Tracked Packet™ – International, and Small Packet™

  • 43-074-253 (includes the Customs Declaration - CN22). For items with a declared value of over CAN$500, you must also complete and affix a Customs Declaration - 43-074-172. 

Expedited Parcel™ – USA

  • Expedited Parcel-USA shipping label – 43-074-243 (includes the Customs Declaration)

International Parcel (Air or Surface)

  • International Parcel shipping label – 43-074-172 (includes the Customs Declaration)

Letter-post (includes letters, postcards, and Literature for the Blind)

  • Documents of no monetary value 
    • No customs documentation required

The ONLY thing you can ship to the USA without customs documentation is Documents of no monetary value...

First,  international mail is subject to the rules of the Universal Postal Union and have been since 1874.

Those rules do not allow "goods" to be shipped by lettermail internationally*.

 

So when we do this we are breaking the rules.

 

Since lettermail cannot be tracked, we are also gambling,

not that our items will arrive  since the postal system is very good at what it does,

but that our buyers are honest and will not open an Item Not Received claim since they know that we cannot prove delivery.

And that comes down to your customer demographic.

Do the buyers of your decals fit the "criminal demographic" of 15-35, male and probably not formally married?

If so, you are going to have a higher percentage of fake INR claims than someone selling say, dress patterns or scrapbooking supplies.

 

FWIW eBay currently has a more than 50% discount on Tracked Packet USA and has had for some months.

But even $7-8 is more than a $20 sale is worth.

 

Some sellers use the slightly cheaper Small Packet USA, which is not tracked, but which does have a barcode and may appear to be to a mildly sketchey recipient.

 

You can use either Tracked or Small Packet with discount postage stamps purchased here on eBay for 20% or so off face.

 

You can raise your asking  prices or your shipping price.

 

You can use Cookie Jar Insurance , which is adding a small amount to every asking or shipping price as a premium against INR claims or other problems.

 

You can move to Free Shipping, which means putting your shipping costs (including Cookie Jar Insurance ) into the asking price.

Don't Panic!
Which is cheaper -- a $20 item with $10 shipping or a $30 item with Free Shipping?

 

 

 

 

 

*Canada Post allows domestic shipping of goods by LetterMail.

Tracked Packet is ALWAYS an option if a seller values his items,  rather than disguising these GOODS/MERCHANDISE as the lettermail that they ARE NOT....

I ship EVERYTHING to the USA TRACKED! (whether it has a value of even $10...USA buyers put a high expectation on receiving their items in a timely manner and will not hesitate in filing INR cases, especially so IF they KNOW items are NOT tracked!