Canada Post Strike
Summary: salvadord is concerned about eBay maintaining a 'ship by' date for sellers in Canada during a Canada Post strike, which prevents mail delivery and pickup. mrdutch1001 suggests using bulk editing to change handling times, while lotzofuniquegoodies recommends that eBay should inform buyers of the situation. There are discussions about using other carriers like UPS or FedEx to ship items, and musicyouneed and others share their strategies for dealing with the strike, such as using 'time away' settings or alternative platforms like Facebook Marketplace. axmim details challenges in shipping a laptop during the strike, seeking advice on potential resolutions.
I am a little confused as to why eBay is still showing a "ship by" date for sellers in Canada, shipping via Canada Post. First off, the suggestion that we update our listings to show a longer "handling time" is not realistic. Most seller have hundreds, if not thousands, of listing, and they expect us to change those listings?
Second, since eBay is well aware that there is a postal strike with no pick up or delivery of mail, why are they not eliminating the "ship buy" until this issue is resolved? Many sellers will not want to drop envelopes in mailboxes that are not being serviced, and often these mailboxes become overloaded. It would be much safer to drop your mail off at a postal outlet, once the strike is over. However, then a seller will be penalized for not meeting their "handling time" - "ship by" date. Why is eBay not taking action to protect sellers from being penalized for not meeting shipping times?
I will be inclined to mark my sold items as shipped, even though they are not shipped, and once the strike is over, drop the mail at a postal outlet.
hansatrade
·1 year agoIt starts again in 6 weeks? 🙄
Update on the Industrial Inquiry Commission and negotiations with CUPW
Your business is important to us, and we value the trust you put in us to deliver day in and day out. We know last year’s national strike was a challenging period for your business. We understand the significant impacts this type of service disruption can have on a business’s operations.
As we continue to face labour uncertainty with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), we want to be as transparent as possible about the potential for a labour disruption later this spring. This is not the message we hoped to be sharing at this time. But we recognize how important it is to give you the information you need to make business decisions.
Current labour uncertainty
The Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) has been under way since the beginning of the year, with hearings held in January and February. Hearings have now wrapped up, and the Commissioner will present a report and recommendations to the Minister of Labour by May 15.
As you know, the national strike at the end of 2024 was paused for the IIC work to take place. The existing collective agreements between Canada Post and CUPW were reinstated and remain in effect until at least May 22, 2025.
This means a labour disruption could happen as early as May 22, but not before. We will keep you informed about any important next steps in the process.
Providing you with the information your business needs
While reaching a resolution remains our priority, we are preparing for a number of potential outcomes, including the possibility of a labour disruption on or after May 22.
We are committed to providing you with the information you need, and supporting your business operations to help you prepare and adjust through this process. We will work closely with you to understand the potential impacts and determine whether your business has any special requirements.
Why we need change
We are committed to securing the future of the postal service by modernizing our operations and enhancing service. During the CUPW negotiations and IIC hearings, Canada Post put forward urgent changes that are needed in the way the company operates and delivers.
The changes we have proposed are critical to better supporting customers over the long term with more affordable, consistent and reliable service.
Committed to reaching a resolution
While we are not where we want to be in the negotiations, we are seeking agreements that reflect the critical changes needed to improve our services for years to come.
We know this ongoing lack of certainty is challenging for your business. We had hoped new agreements would be reached by this point – and providing you with this certainty remains our priority.
Keeping you informed
We will make every effort to be transparent and let you know if there is a risk of a labour disruption. We continue to deliver and we remain operational – ready to support your business.
alykat777
·1 year agoWell, you have more "heart" than eBay. They have favouritism and it's not to the buyer. They lied to me continuously during the strike. The 'not scanned for 10 days' means nothing now. They forced one seller to pay me back 2 days aftr the strike while another one - they are making me wait 3 months YES THREE MONTHS MY CASE IS ON HOLD to get a parcel i paid way too much in eBays 'international shipping ' charges. And there goes two birthdays and my christmas. They just 'changed' the hold period again pushing me to wait into the new year. When IF EVER i get the parcel it better be bloody awesome and i will be closing my account with eBay they can kiss my . . . . . . . . This is BS.
dobo5250
·1 year agoi have just left them now having redone over 1650 of my listings taking every day for two weeks to do 4 hours a day -- when they order i tell the situation and then go form there only one insisted that it be deliveried so i put as my refusal non deliverable as the fee to delivery it turned out to 5 times the cost of the item - good luck we all have a bumpy ride as can post seems to be inplying that a after xmas settlement is more likely unless someone breaks at the table or the gov't steps in -- which is possible but then work slowdowns would insue-- so we are all in a pickle- no matter what
fergua3
·1 year agowell, i'm not sure about work slowdowns if the gov't steps in. There will be a little bit of it but i think most of the workers will be delighted to get back to work and working overtime.
Last Christmas strike, after they were ordered back, there was a period of 'peaceful civil disobedience' called for by the union bosses. And some participated, walking slowly back and forth on the sidewalks, blocking exits form postal facilities. Police were called and they were moved. It lasted a few days but fizzled. It started to fizzle when Canada's Communist Party showed up to help.....CUPW didn't really like the neg. publicity of that.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoIf you have 1650 listings, you might be wise to get auction software (I use SixBit). I can do revisions in a few days on 12,000 listings. It might take an evening to do 3000 listings (making a change and applying it to a bunch of listings at once).
It does have a cost, I think it's like $30 USD a month. I use it to save time. I figure my time is worth money, and if I can spend 1 hour doing something that would take all day, the cost of the subscription is money well spent, I can get more stuff listed. Probably the only way I can handle so many listings is because of the software.
C.
axmim
·1 year agoI bought a laptop. Now the seller can't ship because the shipping on my order is "USPS" and export to Canada are suspended because of the strike. I've asked the seller if he could ship with other broker like UPS or Ebay international shipping, but he say he can't because ebay's interface won't let him change. What should be done? Is there a way to contact ebay to unlock other shipping broker on pending shipping order?
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@axmim
Ask seller to refund. Use problem with address. Then he can make a special listing for you with corrected shipping. Please note, there "can" be problems with any tech that has ion batteries shipping with eIS. UPS is usually more forgiving when it is installed. Then you can repurchase.
marnotom!
·1 year ago@axmim
You’re probably aware of this, but for the benefit of others following this thread quietly seeking advice, keep in mind that the “to Canada” ground services of UPS, FedEx and the like will slug you with some pretty stiff charges for customs clearance and handling tax payments in addition to the taxes due. Those charges won’t be included with the shipping charge unless the seller sets up the shipping that way and will instead have to be paid just before or shortly after delivery unless you are able to opt to do the customs clearance work yourself.
Ancient but still somewhat useful thread on this subject:
https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Archive-1/UPS-quot-hidden-quot-brokerage-charges-rip-off/td-p/111957
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoIf you have already paid, eBay's payment mechanism has no way for him to change the amount he charges you for shipping. The transaction is set in stone.
Ask them if they print their labels directly on eBay. If they do, ask them to tell you how much more you would have to pay them for a UPS or Fedex label. He can simply open the print label page and get a quote without actually buying the label.
If you have ALREADY paid, eBay does allow you to exchange Paypal info for purposes related to the transaction like this. You could Paypal him the difference. Or, if you guys aren't comfortable with that you could instruct him to make a generic listing in the amount you would owe him for the shipping upgrade. So if it will cost $20 more with Fedex, he can make a $20+Free shipping listing (or $25 if he wants you to cover the eBay fees) and call it something like "Private Listing For Axmim - Fedex Shipping Upgrade". You simply buy that listing, and he will then have the money for the shipping upgrade.
The other option would be that they cancel the order and relist it with Fedex or UPS shipping as an option. You re-buy it.
The third option would be to ask them how long they would be willing to wait to see if the strike ends. If they are willing to wait a week, maybe things resume this week.
reallynicestamps
·1 year ago@axmim
Too late now but-- they can't change the eBay label, but they can buy a different label - off eBay say from pirateship or directly from UPS- use that one , and eventually get refunded for the unused USPS label.
BUT
"Eventually" refunded.
The new label may cost more than the first one (which, again, will not be refunded immediately).
The cost of shipping privately can be 300-500% higher than shipping through the postal services.
faerieguts123
·1 year agoIt's in eBay's interest to pretend like it's business as usual (with a few caveats) so that they can continue collecting revenue from sales. The burden will fall on sellers who have to deal with buyers who aren't happy that their item hasn't arrived or they have to pay more for shipping. I primarily use lettermail for my sales, so I made the decision to take down all of my low-price listings (under $50) and then changed the carrier to UPS or Fedex in the listing. I'm glad this is just a hobby for me. I sympathize with people who count on CP to make a living.
mrdutch1001
·1 year agoI have never seen so much angst against eBay with regard to the Canada Post strike and yet the UK Royal Mail Strike that went on for 18 months seemed to go relatively unnoticed here on eBay Canada...
Yes, I know the UK Royal mail strike was not a complete shut down, but still rotating strikes and such that sellers there had to work around for months and months and months....
Accept, adapt, adjust and carry on!...or don't ....we all have to make choices around this situation.
Not all sellers only list and sell on eBay...Many sellers have other selling sites, their own websites for their businesses and all these sellers must work with whatever is available to them.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year agoAnyone know what CP muckity mucks and others are doing during the strike? How they are keeping busy? One used to be able to think they were qualified to do some of CP's required tasks in getting "some" mail moving. Considering to a google search there are approx. 13,000 of them. Being most likely former CP employees that moved up the ranks to get where they are now. Hmmmm.....Maybe just having safety meetings. No one move. No one gets hurt!!!
fergua3
·1 year agoi believe they are not allowed to sort or deliver mail during strike action, except for gov't cheques.
canadianglassmountain
·1 year agoThere needs to be a "Shipped By Date" no matter what platform you sell on, except FBMP. Since the strike I have created a new shipping bus policy..... all my listings are to be delivered via UPS & FedEx. My customer base is 99% USA, which for the most is cheaper than CP except for items under 900 grams. So no matter where or how you sell you still need a Ship by date via platform policies.
"Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed"
reallynicestamps
·1 year agowhich for the most is cheaper than CP except for items under 900 grams.
Thank you for clarifying that point.
I rarely sell anything over 500 grams (and many are under 30 grams) so those are not useful for me, but I think you are the first to mention a breaking point for choosing courier over postal.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoSome Possible Help For Canada Sellers Not Near Border Services
Maybe this will save you from wondering what to do with your store or your eBay listings. Earlier in this thread @byto253 made this suggestion which might present possibilities;
"If you have Stallion, Chitchat (Select service) or Sendle available to you and do not require Canada Post. I have that option, so there is no way I want eBay to show buyers that I may not ship until who knows when.
For some sellers who do not, or rely on lettermail, the strike is a real problem and I think most have put their listings on time away. "
SENDLE Here in Kelowna we don't or didn't have any of those services and too far for viable borders trips. the last time "Sendle" was brought up there were none here. I just did a check and one Dollar Store across town now offers Sendle dropoffs. I know nothing about the service. Maybe it could help you, maybe not. I attached a map of their drop off locations. Thank you @byto253.
UPS I've had a direct account with them for a long time. I have used them for big heavy shipments (drum sets and xylophones etc) I've never had a complaint and I recommend them however:
eBay is to UPS like eBay is to Canada Post. You can print labels with very few options. Being a bonafide frieight company UPS has all the options.
I have seen some very good UPS rates on eBay labels. In the 4 categories Expedited Parcel, Expedited Lite, Tracked Packet USA and Expedited Parcel USA the only UPS eBay labels I found competitive were in the under 200 gram category and sometimes UPS competes price wise with Tracked Packet USA but only sometimes. If you sell under 2Kg shipments to the USA (Tracked Packet) and are not near the 49th parallel I suggest using caution unless your shipments are of higher value. In that case an extra $10 for shipping can be absorbed.
If you are a high volume seller using Canada Post and this drags on I recommend you talk to the UPS business rep and see if setting up a direct account offering full access to all their features would help you.
UPS eBay Labels
Today at 3:30 I drove over to the UPS Store in Kelowna. It's not close to me like Canada Post. Most of my packages for Canada Post I deliver on my bike. I specifically went at 3:30 to see if UPS was busy due to the strike. I told @lotzofuniquegoodies I'd post a picture. To my surprise the UPS Store was gone. There was another parcel drop store in it's place. Inside there were 4 staff and only 1 customer. At the counter I explained that I sold on ebay and asked if it was OK for me to drop off packages with UPS labels printed on eBay. She said, "No Problem."
Summary
If you sell domestic or USA via Expedited Lite (under 200 grams) lower value items (under $50) I recommend checking into using UPS ebay labels and then find your nearest droppoff.
If you sell heavier items (over 2Kg) either domestic or USA I suggest you contact UPS for rate discounts that apply to your volume. Of course check the eBay discounted rate first but remember you may also need insurance, signature (over 18/under18), destination confirmation without Canada Post as the last mile etc etc. If your merch is scientific agricultural or medical etc UPS has a much better tariff system because, and I'm guessing here, they depend on their trucks crossing borders and not simply a Canada Post handoff to USPS.
I thought this would be over soon but am beginning to think otherwise. BC Global covered the strike yesterday but nothing today. the net just says the parties are very far apart.
Here's a photo of the Western province Sendle locations and another of the defunct UPS Store in Kelowna that is now a "SHIP PARCEL" who must be getting another piece of a very dissected pie.
Your customer's freight cost =$UPS/$eBay Label/$ShipParcel .
What ever happened to a hustified handling charge? An LP box costs $2.50!
I hope this helps any seller who doesn't live near the 49th.
Best wishes to all eBay Canada Sellers! Remember the immortal words of Chubby Checker
"Let's list again like we did last summer,
and poke the eBay algorythm
with sales we may just cancel
Let's list again.... OK maybe not."
Peace & love
mrdutch1001
·1 year agoThankfully, I am not in need of, nor do I want to engage in shipping any packages with these alternate carriers that may or may not be prepared for the influx of additional volumes of mail due to the Canada Post stoppage...I am quite content to let this all get sorted before I resume actively selling...
If I have to wait until January, so be it....
alacar-8
·1 year agoSellers are looking to other carriers than canpost to make their deliveries. Instead, I tried listing on MP and got a surprise. I listed an item in my ebay store which received 2 views over 2 days. I listed it on my local MP and received 266 views in 2 hours and sold it right away. Full asking price, no fees, no shipping, no problems. Just a thought.
mrdutch1001
·1 year agoOh yes! FB MP is great for selling some categories of items as there are various groups dedicated to specific categories and these groups have a great following of serious buyers...another member of this household has had great success on that site for a few years now...
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoIf the strike is long term it wouldn't be a surprise to see temp "brick & mortar" MPs pop up in larger centres. We already have it here on a small scale Sunday mornings in a community hall. For myself, unfortunately, music collectibles sell mostly in the US. It gives them a place to gather, show their listings and not have people coming to their homes.
hansatrade
·1 year agoHow is the Canada Post strike affecting you? The Globe and Mail wants to know...
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@hansatrade
It would be interesting to know for anyone who wants to make purchases from US sellers what carriers they is their replacement after USPS? With eIS it may be mostly a lottery for the current future. You usually don't find out until it processes at the hub. Surprise!!!!!! In doing some research it appears the #2 choice for most eCommerce businesses is UPS. Followed by Fedex, DHL and Amazon logistics within the USA. Biggest drawback when it comes to couriers and international shipping would be that surprise customs clearing charge. Knowing in advance of committing to buy would be good info to have. (That is if any Canadian buyers are chancing it.)
blurl
·1 year agoI'm in Canada. An item I ordered from a US seller on Nov 9 arrived at the Ebay shipping hub on Nov 18, then was turned over to USPS, which shipped the item to Canada Post on Nov 20. The tracking status per Canada Post is "Waiting for item".
Why would eBay knowingly ship an item to a carrier that is on strike?
mrdutch1001
·1 year agoI would guess at this point that USPS has NOT halted the shipment of mail to Canada and therefore the persons working at the HuB are "doing their job" and the shipping process continues as usual...
recped
·1 year agoThere hasn't been a peep out of USPS about service to Canada.
I just checked the service alert page and still absolutely nothing! The last update on the 15th was a notice that USPS is not accepting mail destined for Haiti. The one before that was on Nov. 8th stating that they are not accepting mail for Iran.
Canada? What's that?
recped
·1 year agoUpdate to my previous post......
I just received a DMM Service Update message from USPS.
They have announced a suspension of the Service Guarantee for Priority Mail Express International to Canada, no mention of suspensions for regular Priority International or First Class International Package which are the two main services US sellers use to ship to Canada. fwiw there is still no update posted on the Service Alert page.
fergua3
·1 year agoEbay didn't make the decision. They leave that in the hands of the third party they hired to handle EIS. Most likely it was DHL's decision. The more expensive items go to Canada Post, the less expenisive items are delivered by UniUni or Intelcom. It's not quite that cut and dry but that is usually the way it goes.
As to why they did it? Who knows, maybe the lesser couriers are swamped with extra business so items have to be sent to CP. Or maybe whoever sent it to CP was just unaware of the CP strike or goofed.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@fergua3
@blurl
According to the dot com announcement on the CP strike it mentions pivoting. Pivoting is not explained. See attached.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are on strike as of November 15, 2024. This will disrupt normal delivery schedules throughout Canada.
If you use eBay International Shipping, you are automatically protected from late or no delivery claims and your seller performance standards and service metrics won’t be affected by international shipping. Any negative or neutral feedback from handling during international transit will be removed from your account.
As eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada at this time.
blurl
·1 year agoThanks. That's what I would expect, i.e. eBay using other carriers. Although tracking of my item shows up on the Canada Post website, I hope it will be diverted to another carrier. Otherwise, I wait.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoYou can change your listings in bulk either using the shipping policies and the batch listing editor.
Top left of the screen where it says "Hi, Your Name". Drop down to account settings. Click business policies, then shipping, and edit your policies so they have an extended handling time. Depending on how many policies you have, this should only take a few minutes.
If you need to create a brand new shipping policy, you can do the above and then use the "reassign listings" button to move the listings over, or use the batch listing editor to change all the listing policies at the same time.
mattsfinds87
·1 year agowhat if i never made a shipping policy before , i make a new one but i dont see where i can select my current 400 listings ? is there a away
pjcdn2005
·1 year agoIf you dont already have shipping policies set up you can change the handling time in bulk in sellers hub. I would probably do 100 at a time and it shouldn't take very long for 400 listings.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi @mattsfinds87
I use shipping policies for everything from a guitar pick up to a complete drum set. If your items generally are about the same size and can use the same service it's easier but you still need to have different ones for extra insurance on the more expensive items like that Moody Blues collection you sold. You may need a few of them such as one for shipping posters in mailing tubes to collect that extra fee etc.
Policies are great however they can be complicated to set up. As well Ebay also has a nasty habit of creating copies of your new policies.
I recommend taking your time to make sure they are functioning the way you want for combined shipping, type of service and insurance etc. There is a learning curve. You should check them periodically to make sure no new ones have magically appeared.
Once you perfect them they can really save you a lot of time.
byto253
·1 year ago"Policies are great however they can be complicated to set up. As well Ebay also has a nasty habit of creating copies of your new policies"
I do the same with business policies, and when I was setting them up I had a lot of eBay auto created policies showing up. I kept deleting them and now that I am basically using the same set of policies, the auto creation of new ones seems to have stopped. It was crazy for a few months and I still keep an eye on it. It was really whack a mole for a while.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi @byto253
Thanks. Nice to hear from you. I agree fully.
According to the San Jose "powers at be" the gliche was fixed. That being said, depending on a seller's size of inventory/variety of dimensions/weights/values and services, Biz Policies could be a blessing or a curse during the learning curve.
I recommend them after a seller obtains a complete understanding of their account settings including combined shipping and shipping preferences. Always best to start with one policy and see how things go.
This strike is a good time for eBay Canada to offer eBay Canada's hard working Sellers who in turn support them to offer a reasonable discount on fees .
eBay Canada, Please consider SUPPORTING YOUR EBAY CANADA SELLERS!
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoFrom what I see, eBay has extended delivery times on sold items as of the strike. It is unlikely that this strike lasts long being nation wide, but who knows. My concern is for the 30 plus items I have sitting in Limbo right now. But you know they are working on something in case the strike doesn't end soon. Think of the mail nation wide not being processed right now, eBay items alone would be an astronomical number.
I tried to change my timelines on all my items, but it kept saying 'there is a problem'. Couldn't load them all at once and I am not doing 20 pages of changes. So I am banking on the strike being a quick one.
Yes, marked shipped when it says to and drop off when the strike is over. Be prepared to stand in line! The postal and retail outlets will be bombarded with mail drop offs. I think the only way you get penalized for late shipping, is if the buyer says it was late when leaving feedback. I have forgotten to mark items shipped, and there is red text telling me I have, but I don't see a strike against me on late shipping. This could be an issue with buyers that do not understand or care that there is a strike. But again, I think eBay is likely to work on this and extend existing mailed item delivery times.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoThey instructed sellers specifically to edit their handling times for Canada Post. If you are offering Canada Post without extended handling time, you're not going to be able to fulfill orders on time. If you do fulfill the orders and wait to drop them off, there is a small risk that a buyer could open an INR when it is in transit and before it arrives.
There is no reasonable way for them to suspend the ship by time. I think extended handling time+offering alternate carriers is a fairly responsible response. Imagine the position that no ship by time puts buyers in if they cannot technically cancel an order, but their item they ordered is in limbo for perpetuity. At least with extended handling times of 20 or so days, they see that it might not ship for almost a month.
If you forgot to extend your handling time, I would just message the customer and let them know that you printed the label or marked it shipped but it won't go out until after the strike. If they want to cancel, cancel for them. Or, you could ship it with a different carrier if you have one available to you at a similar price.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year agoFYI from dot com announcement board.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Canada-Post-Strike/ba-p/34781531
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are on strike as of November 15, 2024. This will disrupt normal delivery schedules throughout Canada.
If you use eBay International Shipping, you are automatically protected from late or no delivery claims and your seller performance standards and service metrics won’t be affected by international shipping. Any negative or neutral feedback from handling during international transit will be removed from your account.
As eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada at this time.
If you have already shipped or are shipping directly to Canada, you are protected from late delivery claims as long as you meet your stated handling times.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust estimated delivery dates for Canadian buyers as needed.
You can monitor updates on the Canada Post website.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
The Shipping Team
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoLotz, I think when you put your store on vaca your private messaging also went down.
"You have reached the limit for number of private messages that you can send for now. Please try again later."
l followed your link ... Quote: "If you have already shipped or are shipping directly to Canada, you are protected from late delivery claims as long as you meet your stated handling times. "
It's not possible for us on this side of the line to meet our handling time if we can't ship. I've kept in contact with my customer in Ontario. She chose for me to hang on to the item and she would cancel the order.
She ordered it yesterday. No label has been printed. I have a 2 day handling time & eBay says to ship before Tuesday. the buyer msg'd me and said "When I tried to cancel the order an eBay error message appeared. It said "It Is Too Late to Cancel This Order." It hadn't been shipped and no label had been printed.
Under their system any order can be cancelled until the label is printed (shipped) . It looks like I'll have to cancel it at my end using "Problem with address". she doesn't want an alternate shipping method. I looked into UPS anyway. Its $9.00 more than Expedited Parcel. I won't make any money on the item. If sellers use UPS or Fedex to substitute for CP eBay makes more money on fees as the shipping is higher.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@intimewithmusic
For sellers switching to alternate methods even if that includes UPS there can be issues with residential deliveries. They tend to drop and dash. According to their FAQ items are supposed to be dropped in a secure location. That doesn't always happen from personal experience. Apparently if you want a signature for secure delivery with eBay labels if additional 6.30. (UPS)
As for shipments from US sellers eIS may have other couriers they can access for end of road deliveries. No guarantees they will work in all situations. Examples: PO boxes, apartments, condo complexes with secure entry or anything rural. I have heard from others buying from Amazon that Intelcom will not deliver in some smaller outlying towns. They have to make alternate arrangements to pick up...usually somewhere not convenient. Will eBay sellers/eIS be passing on any of these additional costs?
As for my away message settings buyers should still be still able to message. Bizarre if they can't. It appears all they get is the standard away message which a seller cannot customize. Only other possible way it to redo your about message. You only have visibility if you list using auctions. My listings are all BIN. Alternative is 15 days extended handling as per below.
Buyers can see that you are on time away but they can still purchase your items.
Not really an perfect alternative.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoGood luck with your strategy Lotz. Sorry that you ended up closing down for now. I know what that means for you. My Ontario customer got back to me. She knows I was a music teacher for 35 years and her son is a young adult music student so we are on the same page. She let me know on her 2nd attempt she was successful in cancelling her order. I refunded her so that one is saved (or at least on hold).
Let's hope for a very very very short strike.
IT
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoWhy didn't you just tell her you would ship it when the strike is over?
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi @cardcentral_ca @lotzofuniquegoodies
Thank you for the note @cardcentral_ca . My appologies for the confusion. Last night we were scrambling for solutions and after a message or 2 with Lotz the eBay forum's private messaging went down. See photo. It must have been a gliche but it lasted for awhile. As I couldn't finish the conversation there I tried his store which turned out to be closed so I finished our conversation here as a reply to his post. In retrospect I understand it may have caused some confusion. Sorry about that.
To answer you I had offered her the alternative you suggest. If this strike drags on I may follow the direction of Lotz put my store on vaca. In the meantime this is what I have in my store "About" section currently. Once again, sorry for any confusion....
"Notice Regarding The Canada Post Strike effective Friday November 15, 2024 and it's effect on our eBay orders;
Our time limit to ship out your order is 2 business days. After that we are penalized for late shipments.
We use Canada Post exclusively because they service our area and all of our buyers' locations. We like to offer the best service possible and do not normally have problems with loss, breakage or late shipments with Canada Post. For some buyers alternative couriers may be an option if they are in their service area however, the alternate courier's insurance, tracking and delivery times are not familiar to us at InTimeWithMusic. The excess volume caused by the strike and the seasonal rush may cause those couriers to be overloaded causing delays in delivery and their necessity to find secure temporary storage for packages. Canada Post has claimed their packages caught in this strike will be kept on hold in secure storage until there's a resolution.
ORDERS RECEIVED BY US BUT NOT SHIPPED YET:
Our first priority is to ensure your order is safe and secure. I have your order at the ready. The options for you are;
1. Cancel the order via your "My eBay" list of Purchases in your online account. The buyer will be fully refunded. This can be done if the item hasn't been shipped out and the buyer no longer wishes to receive the item. It will be relisted publicly.
2. I can HOLD your order here for you and wait until Canada Post resumes delivery. The seller and the buyer should confirm this choice via eBay messaging. The order will be temporarily cancelled and held here. Any payment made by the buyer will be fully refunded to them via eBay. The item will not be relisted. When Canada Post's delivery resumes the seller will notify the buyer their item is waiting to ship. Instruction will be given to the buyer on how to re-purchase via an eBay private listing. No one else will be able to make the purchase other than the original buyer.
3. ALTERNATIVE COURIER SERVICES: An alternate courier (UPS or Fedex )could be used. The buyer and the seller need to communicate ASAP to confirm this choice and that the buyer is serviced by the courier. We are unfamiliar with rates, insurance, tracking, quality of service or delivery times for UPS or Fedex. Generally their prices are higher than Canada Post. We do not know if they offer residential door delivery to your area or if you have access to their pickup centre. If an alternative courier is your choice please advise and I will do my utmost to get the answers for you.
Please let me know your choice of path during the strike. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by Canada Post.
Thank you for your patronage and your patience!
InTimeWithMusic
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHey folks, all of this posting might be redundant.
If you follow the link this 2018 CP strike the OP received 600 replies over 31 pages!
PS These sample comments are anonymous but many of us are in the list. Are you? LOL
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Original Poster
"What happens now that orders are in the mail with a possible expected delivery date of September 30 and early October, what happens if not received there is no way of knowing whether these items will be received after strike is over. Will eBay delay delivery date?"
600 REPLIES
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This looming postal strike is really throwing a wrench in our plans here in Canada.
We are closing our store on Friday even though our postal carrier advised us nothing will occur til after July 8.
Who knows what will happen.
See you all soon
Let's enjoy our break !
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Don't have a clue but thanks to the uncertainty with Canada Post I too put my store on vacation today. Too bad I have actually had a pretty good June for sales. Hope the strike/lockout does not last too long as we still have to pay the fees but no sales!
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Relax... Business as usual.
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I plan to alter nothing until I hear there are firm plans for a full strike or lock-out, and I certainly would not have turned away a 25-item sale to a Canadian buyer; are you sure you wouldn't rather create an account with a courier than say goodbye to a $500+ (guessing) sale? Even if there is a strike or lock-out it doesn't mean that my world stops turning.
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Store was put on vacation... September 17 at 4:40 PM Winnipeg time.
Not happy... with no sales..... but not traumatized with many parcels in the mail.
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Just had a question from someone, who lives in Toronto and may want to buy up to 25 books .
I suggested that we wait and see what happens with the possibility of a strike.
My store will be going on vacation on September 19.... most likely at HIGH NOON
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While the workers were on strike in 2011, the mail kept moving because those were rotating strikes, often as little as a single shift. It was nerve-wracking but workable. The mail didn't stop until management locked out everybody. If you think Canada Post rates are high, compare them to any courier. And remember, those couriers pick and choose where they are willing to deliver. If they get a shipment for somewhere that they are not going to make enough profit to service, they sub-contract to a cheaper shipper....And that shipper is Canada Post.
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For me it was the 2011-2012 strike.... and the uncertainty of two months, July and August in 2016.... and it will be much easier to deal with this situation in 2018. Things were not perfect, but it was easier to put the store on vacation than suffer through the day-to-day occurrence of sales and the possibility of a strike in 2016. Each Canadian seller that uses Canada Post must make their own choice. Vacation time will give me time to list, list and list more inventory... and then there is also a lot more to do
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Is Canada Post an essential service?If the answer is YES... then if the government declares Canada Post to be an essential service... this will mean no strike in 2018 or at any other time in the future..Then will come the question of privatization....... we shall see.
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Click here for the other 31 pages of posts!
https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Canada-Post-Possible-Stike/td-p/409045
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@intimewithmusic
Interesting that post 601 mentions health & safety. If you go thru the guts of the current dispute and what is being mentioned on the news, it's still a concern.
https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Canada-Post-Possible-Stike/m-p/413711#M100329
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi @lotzofuniquegoodies . I think you may have quoted the number 601 by mistake as that is the total in every post. Your link takes us to Page 23 which covers the mid 445 numbered posts addressing health and safety.
So many things have changed since 2018 that add severity to Canadian eBay sellers with this 2024 strike.
Two big changes I can think of that weren't part of ebay life just 6 years ago;
1. Todays reliance on eBay by seniors, work from home folks and others using it as a side hustle to offset todays massive cost of rent and food wasn't as dominant then as it is now.
2. The algorythm changes made by eBay over the last two years is forcing sellers to keep their stores very active. It 2018 the well known podcast "Scavenger Life" described selling on ebay this way: "It's like a huge pipe you stuff collectibles in and money pops out the other end. List it and forget it."
With the 2018 strike the worst that would happen is you lose sales during the duration of the strike. With ebay's new algorythm, if you put your store on vaca and stop listing and other activity mid strike, your store will go dormant. The algorythm will forget you. We've all probably experienced this already.
When the strike ends it will take weeks of listing, end/sell similar, updating item specifics etc or whatever it is you do to tease and stimulate the eBay algorythm into recognizing your store again. There is no more "list it and forget it". Of course the lag will differ from seller to seller due to niche demand but there will be a lag which could ruin what's left of the Christmas rush.
My business plan isn't seasonal but tomorrow I'm starting to build a bank of unlisted drafts until I see if this looks like it could continue. Once there's a sign of it ending I'll schedule the drafts. Things have changed.
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoYou can say that the 'Buyer Asked To Cancel', as that is what happened. The reason the buyer got that message is because they tried to cancel after the 1 hour window they have to request to cancel.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoYou may want to check the update on Cancelling Orders. To my knowledge buyers now have up to the time of actual shipping or eBay label printing to cancel orders. That went into effect in October I think.
needsmorerobots
·1 year agoMy understanding is (at least if no label is printed), a customer has 24 hours from date/time of purchase to cancel the order. After that, they can't.
flipistics
·1 year agoI thought they had recently changed it to allow a buyer to cancel up until the time the item is marked as shipped?
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHello @flipistics and @needsmorerobots ,
Thank you for your comments. Yes, you are correct. To my understanding those are the new terms for cancelling. However we have possible human error or else eBay gliches to factor in to the mix AKA "Murphy's LAW"
This is her msg from her 1st attempt to cancel. It was within 24 hrs of her ordering it and no label had been printed.
"I just tried to cancel the order but got the message "it's too late to cancel this order, please contact the seller." My apologies if that is because I didn't do it earlier today! I only just got to my computer.Please let me know what's best at this stage and again, sorry for. my delay. thanks for the Jazz notes!"
She tried again the next morning and the cancel went through just fine.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoeBay International Shipping refers to the shipping program where US sellers send international packages to eBay's shipping facility. eBay then forwards them internationally. Ultimately, any changes to that program are more eBay saying that they won't blame themselves if a package is late (lol), because once a package gets to eBay's shipping facility in the USA, the seller's hands are clean in relation to INRs.
So I don't think this is relevant to Canadian sellers unless you're near the border and can use a US address to opt into the eBay International Shipping program, which would require you to bring your packages to the USA, and drop them off with USPS to be sent to Kentucky, and then to Canada.
musicyouneed
·1 year agoI just put all my listings on time away until Nov 30. This way most of my US customers will still be sent their parcels. Everyone in Canada I contacted over the past few weeks before the strike just told me to put it in the mail. They fully understood that there will be delays. Now if the strike goes on past Nov 30 I will have to put on a new end date. Too bad that this is all happening at our busiest time, but that what the PO is counting on to make a deal.
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoThere will be a lot of unhappy Canada Post employees if a nation wide strike goes to or past Nov. 30. I know I would be p*ssed at the union powers that be. That is money they will never see again. Or would take one very long time to recoup lost wages.
I honestly think it would be smarter to strike in the summer. Last time they did the rotating strike this time of year, they were forced back to work a month later. The mail was still getting delivered.
mrdutch1001
·1 year agochanging handling time is easy...bulk edit and you can get them all done in very short time...
BTW, It is pointless for anyone, not just sellers "to drop envelopes in mailboxes" as there are NO CP mailboxes being serviced...and most if not all drop off locations are NOT accepting pieces of mail at all...
eBay has no control over this CP strike...so why should eBay be held responsible for it?
all eBay can do is ADVISE sellers what they can do and offer options...and eBay has done that...
salvadord
OP1 year agoI understand that quite well, however, I do not understand why eBay still insists that we have a shipping date to ship by when they know we cannot ship at this time. They should suspend the "ship by" requirement until the strike is over. That is an option eBay HAS NOT OFFERED.
byto253
·1 year agoI assume that is because there are other shipping options for a lot of sellers, if you have Stallion, Chitchat (Select service) or Sendle available to you and do not require Canada Post. I have that option, so there is no way I want eBay to show buyers that I may not ship until who knows when.
For some sellers who do not, or rely on lettermail, the strike is a real problem and I think most have put their listings on time away.
ehpluscollectibles
·1 year agoyou have that option but who is expected to shoulder the added cost? It's near impossible to match the CPC lettermail price on any of the third party services.
pjcdn2005
·1 year agoWe are each responsible for our own business. If we cannot ship within our handling time than eBay expects us to either change our handling time or use an alternative service so that the item is shipped on time. Some sellers prefer to deal with it on different ways such as putting their stores on time away or accepting pick up only.
I doubt that it it is possible for eBay to eliminate the ship by date for some sellers and keep it for sellers using alternative methods. If there is no ship by date there is no arrive by date and most buyers, especially at this time of year, want to have an idea of when to expect their item.
A banner as suggested by @lotzofuniquegoodies is an interesting idea but since not all sellers are in the same situation or coping in the same way, the banner might only apply to some. It is just a bad situation.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year agoeBay in the recent past is routinely more proactive when it comes to dot com issues. Look how long it took for the last quarters shipping supply coupon issue to get fixed. It never did include an explanation or any sort of an apology for the inconvenience.
pjcdn2005
·1 year agoWhat does that have to do with the topic?
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoI have never tried that coupoon. Keep meaning to try it.
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi @pjcdn2005
" We are each responsible for our own business. If we cannot ship within our handling time than eBay expects us to either change our handling time or use an alternative service so that the item is shipped on time. "
I think Lotz was referring to a general banner advising potential buyers, particularly US and International buyers that Canada Post is on strike. It would help deflect the blame to CP instead of sellers.
Most of my customers are Americans and they have no idea we have a strike going on. So far eBay has only advised sellers of the strike. Only US dot com sellers have been offered special protections. I would agree with Lotz that a general banner about the strike could help. Possibly one will appear or possibly eBay may consider an advisory banner would be a negative impact on the Christmas customer. I think the international buyers should know what is going on in Canada regardless.
With respect to alternative couriers generally their prices are much higher than CP for low value shipments. Many eBay Canada sellers don't have access to 3rd party forwarders like Chit Chats. No one is going to want to switch to UPS if they have to pay up to a third more for shipping, drive long distances and stand in a line to drop off a $25 item only to lose money for the sale. To my knowledge none of these couriers offer lettermail so what alternative do those sellers get?
I think before the bulk of us change our handling times or start adding couriers with no knowledge of their idiosyncracies we are just going to go day by day and see if this strike is brief. In the meantime I hope eBay will address the Canadian sellers and not just the USA sellers as Lotz has pointed out with his link. I think it's the Canadian seller who should have ebay handling and delivery protections. If the strike continues and eBay expects sellers to add 20 or 30% to their shipping via UPS or Fedex as you suggest possibly some sort of subsidy would be worth considering to keep "low value/high freight ratio" items worth selling.
There is also the problem of sales stats crashing when sellers stop listing and tweaking their stores. It takes a long time to recover from the slump in store sales for even a dormancy lasting 1 week. Even if the strike ends quickly unless sellers keep their store active via listing or at least draft accumulations they could miss out on the entire Christmas rush.
pjcdn2005
·1 year ago@intimewithmusic
In the meantime I hope eBay will address the Canadian sellers and not just the USA sellers as Lotz has pointed out with his link. I think it's the Canadian seller who should have ebay handling and delivery protections.
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If you are referring to the link below that Lotz posted there are no extra protections mentioned there for US sellers that I can see. That same protection always exists for EIS sellers. And both .ca and ,com sellers always have protection from a late delivery claim if they have proof of acceptance.
As you said, we can't mail within our regular handling time if our only option is CANADA Post and I'm not sure how eBay will handle a late delivery and a late shipping time. Hopefully there will be some leniency but it's always best to be proactive and pre plan as best we can. My guess is that they expect us to figure out how we can work things in each of our own businesses. I suppose if the strike goes on for a while they 'might' come up with some perks but I am not counting on it.
As far as a banner for buyers, I also wonder if it might serve as a deterrent for sales but perhaps a deterrent is better than having a buyer make up their mind to purchase an item and then finding out there may be a problem. Thats one of the reasons I choose to close for now as most of the alternatives for my items sent via lettermail aren't realistic for me to use.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Canada-Post-Strike/ba-p/34781531
intimewithmusic
·1 year agoHi PJ,
Thanks for the response. According to your "solds" you have only 1 sale dating back to August 6. If that's an accurate representation of sales closing your store at Christmas time is probably your best choice. Of course the stakes are different for everyone.
Rather than post the link here is the content of the link as it was posted by eBayUSA on Nov 15. FOR YOU AND FOR THE REST OF US I hope this answers your question.
"TO USA SELLERS USING THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING PROGRAM"
11-15-2024 02:19 PM
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are on strike as of November 15, 2024. This will disrupt normal delivery schedules throughout Canada.
If you use eBay International Shipping, you are automatically protected from late or no delivery claims and your seller performance standards and service metrics won’t be affected by international shipping. Any negative or neutral feedback from handling during international transit will be removed from your account.
As eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada at this time.
If you have already shipped or are shipping directly to Canada, you are protected from late delivery claims as long as you meet your stated handling times.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust estimated delivery dates for Canadian buyers as needed.
You can monitor updates on the Canada Post website.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
The Shipping Team " :end quote
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As well as the protections it appears eBay US is automatically diverting American shipments to Canada on behalf of their sellers via UPS or Fedex without any seller intervention. eBay Canada hasn't made a statement since Nov 12. They instructed Canadian sellers to do it themselves with no mention of protections. Due to complications many Canadian sellers are closing their stores or biting the bullet.
I don't know. am I misinterpreting this?
It feels like more unfair competition between the two platforms similar to the US access / Canadian exclusion to the German market via the ISP.
....
"eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada"
mrdutch1001
·1 year agothe days of "fairness" between eBay.CA and .COM disappeared many,many years ago already, and .CA has been shafted ever since,(which is why I have been saying for many years now that.CA should be eliminated and Canadian sellers allowed to freely sell on .COM without consequence...
but no, we will continue to be treated second-rate and will continue having to work with a site that has been "broken" for years, with NO fixes intended/forthcoming or any such "improvement", as eBay gives ZERO priority to .CA...
pjcdn2005
·1 year agoThank you for checking out my sold listings but the majority of items that I sell are listed with multiple quantities. You would have to click on each actual listing to see how many have sold as they don't show up on the sold item list as a single sale each time. Also, I use the OOS option so even when I sell a single listing item it will often not show as a sale until I physically end the item and I usually wait a while to end it just in case I can restock it.
I do admit that my sales were also slower than usual in September but were starting to pick up. Usually my best sales are from November to the end of January so closing now is not a good thing. Lucky for me
I'm not dependant on the income and didn't think the various options would work well enough to make it worthwhile for me to use them. Thats how I looked at it and I don't expect eBay to somehow make it 'better' or more worthwhile. I do have tons more that I can list too but am low on the ambition (for various reasons) to do so. But who knows how I will feel next week!
The link that you are quoting and that I referred to earlier is basically eBay reminding sellers of how eBay 'protects' them. Once again, sellers using the eBay international shipping program (EIS) are always protected from late delivery and many more things once the item reaches the eBay once. This is not something put in place because of the strike.
I am not sure why you think that eBay is diverting sellers to other carries because of the strike. The EIS has always chosen which carrier is going to be used once the packages reaches the EIS hub. They use what works best for them. I believe that in that in the majority of cases they do not use any national postal services. I know they use DHL for Canadian shipments fairly often. I don't know if they ever use Canada Post although it's possible that they do in some cases. I have read a few posts about the EIS not shipping to PO Boxes but I couldn't find that in the help pages to confirm it. But whether or not they ever use it, it's nothing new for eBay to send packages from the hub using various carriers. Sellers who use EIS choose only which service they use to the hub. After that, it is always eBay's decision. There are lots of benefits that US sellers have with EIS that we do not have but none of those are due to the strike.
If a US sellers ships their international packages directly to the buyer, eBay has nothing to do with how those packages are shipped. There are no extra protection for them. I suspect that some of those who do ship directly using USPS/Canada Post have blocked Canada for now.
femmefan1946
·1 year agowhy eBay still insists that we have a shipping date to ship by when they know we cannot ship at this time
Well, acktually....
We can't print eBay* labels for Canada Post . That service has been closed.
BUT
We can print UPS and FedEx labels through eBay.
It's a lot more expensive but it is available.
Since I have noticed that when I don't list, I don't get sales, I'm trusting in Cookie Jar Insurance and leaving my listings open, hoping that I get very few sales over the next week and that my customers will be comfortable with it.
*ShipShape still is allowing us to print Canada Post labels, as of this morning. But they too are more expensive than the deeply discounted labels we got from eBay.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoFriday afternoon
leaving my listings open, hoping that I get very few sales over the next week
Monday afternoon.
Welp, that didn't work.
Poot.
drop off when the strike is over. Be prepared to stand in line!
Why?
If you have a printed label, you can drop the parcel into the nearest mailbox. You already have the receipt.
You might want to wait until just after the marked pickup time, because the box is likely to be very full
Or some Post Offices may do what mine does at Christmas and have a cart for parcel dropoffs so businesses (and observant private senders) can avoid that sweet old lady who can't believer there isn't a special rate for her Christmas cards and hasn't been since 1963.
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoYou can change your shipping time to a ridiculous amount of days, DO IT! You may not sell anything though.
eBay is waiting to see what happens with the strike. Which will likely and hopefully be short lived. There is no point in changing all that info, just to have to change it back.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@mrdutch1001
What might be helpful was if eBay were to advise BUYERS of this current situation. It should not be too difficult to add some kind of banner to listings on dot ca. (I agree buyers should know what is going in Canadian news like strikes or weather situations but that may be being overly optimistic.) Banners have been added on dot com listings for various reasons in the past. I think even direct mail to buyers in olden days. Basically best surprise is no surprise. As per another post, eBay is adding an extended window for delivery times. In reality that may window may be complete optimism. First who knows how long it will take for the CP situation to be resolved and secondly once it is, it will take time to clean up any backlogs and then the sudden surge of new packages.
mrdutch1001
·1 year agosellers have options to extend handling times and adjust their shipping options, which is not overly difficult IF they want to put themselves at ease and/or put their buyers at ease...it is all doable...but sellers do need to accept, adapt, adjust and carry on with whatever shipping strategies work for them.
I have done what I feel is necessary for my online selling...other sellers will have to do what is best for them, but all sellers need to work with the situation as it is, not with the way they want it to be...
Best wishes to all...
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoThis would deter people from buying, that is bad for business. Extending delivery times behind the scenes is better.
cardcentral_ca
·1 year agoeBay can, has and will do more to protect their sellers. They are not going to walk away from the dollar amount of eBay items currently in limbo.
Anonymous User
·1 year ago