ChitChats to USA After August 29th without a SKU?
Summary: A discussion took place about shipping items to the USA using ChitChats without a SKU after August 29th. Several participants, including pseudonymity and sapphyres-designer-jewellery, engaged in the conversation, each bringing up various points or questions relevant to the shipping service. Although the content of each post isn't disclosed, it's clear the topic was explored over multiple days with inputs from other participants like hold.your.own.media, recped, and hansatrade. The thread continued actively, suggesting a common interest or concern regarding the shipping process.
I used to use ChitChats extensively to the USA, but have not post August 29th. I switched to Zonos afte August 29th and have had good success. Now that Canada Post is no longer an option, I'm wondering about switching back to ChitChats again. Right after the switch, I heard it was a disaster, but I hear they are back on track now. What I'm wondering is, if I create a shipment and enter the manufacturer information, and the HS code, and the item ships to the USA duty free, (sports cards), do I still need to create a SKU? I would ask ChitChats support, but I figure I will get a faster response here. Thanks in advance!
hansatrade
·9 months agoI finally decided to (partially) reopen my store. I got my first US sale yesterday. I drove to ChitChats and ... no one there, the US container - usually containing 100-200 packages - was empty! I didn't expect it's that bad ... 🙄
I will post here the full tracking shortly, so you can see, how (and IF) my parcel crossed the border.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoThanks for sharing. Which Chit Chats is this? Is it possible they were bagging the packages quickly enough the bin stayed empty? In Burlington where I used to drop off the bin was often empty because they were always grabbing them and scanning them in.
I'm using Stallion and my stuff is getting over the border in about 2 days, but I'm having to provide Manufacturer information.
I saw on eBay they now have a Country of Origin field, but SixBit doesn't seem to have that in it's software yet (so I will have to add it on the site, but every time I sync my listings I'll have to update). I think I'll just put Canada for the Country of Origin of everything just so it's filled in. Stallion is charging me the tariffs and the buyer pays that through shipping costs that are increased. I see no reason for the COO to matter to the buyer if they don't have to pay tariffs on delivery.
C.
hansatrade
·9 months agosapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoWhen I go to Stallion, it's usually within 15 minutes of them opening, so I have no report on how full the boxes are, but one time I went in at 5pm and she told me "see people are shipping again because of CUSMA" (that as after they put self declaration on their platform for us to ship things with CUSMA).
Stamps are not supposed to have a tariff but Stallion charges it (the IEEPA one) anyway. I wrote to their help to ask about that and they said IEEPA applies. From what I could get doing an AI search online, the tariff free applies specifically to postal imports, other methods of import don't qualify for tariff free.
I have lots of manufacturer information for places that no longer exist (although most have been out of business a whole lot more recently than 1910).
Good luck with your shipment, hoping it clears fast, but I guess if it's dropped off in Montreal we need to wait 2-3 days for it to reach Burlington before it crosses the border.
C.
hansatrade
·9 months agoIt seems it worked! No tariff! 😀
musicyouneed
·9 months agoI sent a CD made in the US down with Chit Chats and it is stuck at the border. Mine is OK but depends what else is on the truck. I don't know if I will use Chit Chats in the future because of the border thing and the mixture of packages.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoLet us know how that resolves. My packages (with Stallion) are taking about 2-3 days to clear from the time I dropped them off.
Pre-Aug 29, the normal would be I drop them off, they get to Mississauga later in the day, and go across the border the next day. There are two things going on right now I think, one Stallion is vetting all the packages before they get on the truck, and two Customs is taking their time opening and checking stuff on the truck (even if it's not my stuff).
When I ship with USPS it seems to show up in the US pretty quickly because it will turn up in NY. The US Economy service I use that's cheaper for many zipcodes shows the first US scan in York PA, so sometimes it travels for a whole day before the first US scan. I'm using Stallion tracking on eBay for my packages so buyers can see they've been mailed.
Previously I used USPS tracking with a NY location for my items, but people often contacted me with "why haven't you shipped yet", now that it's taking so long for packages to get across the border I'm more comfortable sharing Stallion tracking.
C.
burning_moon_video
·9 months agoDo you still need manufacterer info/address for vintage items, items made in USA and shipments that are duty free (DVDs, books, etc) ? I can't see most sellers having that information if the item is old or doesn't have the manfacterer/COO marked on the product.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoStallion Express says if you don't have that information (either because it's not available or the item is vintage) they don't want you shipping with them.
I have a lot of vintage items but the thing about Mints as many of them have been around for decades, so even Canadian coins made 100 years ago were made at the Royal Canadian Mint.
C.
vahoota
·9 months agoLots of Stallion replies here, (thanks for that, I am talking to them tomorrow). Does anyone have an answer to my question about using ChitChats without a SKU? I talked to them today at the branch and they seemed to say yes, but you never know until you actually try. I'd like to know if anyone else has tried.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoI'm not familiar with the portal anymore, I haven't used them in 2 years.
You could try to set up a shipment (costs nothing to create an account and then you have it if you need it), then try to see if you can set up the shipment without the SKU.
They will for sure want manufacturers info. So while they might accept it without a SKU, you need manufacturer's information to ship to the US.
C.
hansatrade
·9 months agoI just tried, and it works. However, the result is too good to be true, so I contacted their CS and am waiting now for their explanation since Friday.
I will let you know, once they respond.
I didn't reopen my store after the Aug 29 disaster and still looking for a working solution.
mrdutch1001
·9 months agoFrom discussions on my other selling site, the consensus seems to be thus:"As long as you have your manufacturer/COO info, which is the main thing, you should be good."..
However, it seems Most of the sellers there are working with pre-approved SKUs...
hold.your.own.media
·9 months agoCan maybe be fleshed out more since Stallion has done an awful job of informing shippers on the process. After entering the 'Name' and hitting save after the MID is verified, the product now shows in my list. I clicked on 'Submit' where it then said 'cross border status: approved'. They auto assigned a new HS code different than the one I provided as 9903.01.34. I assume I need to click on the button to 'Approve Classification' but when I do it says an Error Occurred'.
So how does this product now link to me processing a shipment? I still see no link or options/rates for being able to ship this item.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoYou process the shipment as you would have before, but instead of filling out all the fields you fill in the SKU and the country of manufacturer (price and description if you want to change it from what's on the SKU) and then just proceed.
You have to classify your item, Stallion told me if something else keeps coming back (not what I provided) to go with what they suggest and use that code. Apparently there's some hiccups in the process.
What you can do is send screenshots of how you're filling things out to Stallion's email, and someone will get back to you to tell you what's wrong. I've had lots of issues with this new process (usually with confirming the manufacturer) and they've been pretty quick at answering and fixing my issues.
C.
pseudonymity
OP9 months agoI did set up a Stallion account recently and it looks as if the options are UPS only? Though I haven't actually tried to ship anything yet. Maybe I'm doing something wrong in the workflow.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoStallion I can help you with.
Go to your Orders tab, and select Products from the top menu. Then you want to create a new Product. Make up a SKU (something that means something to you, but won't mean anything to USPS in case it's on your label, they told me the SKUs get printed on the label but I haven't seen that yet).
You will fill in the description, price, weight and size of your item/package. Stallion says don't click the override button or it will override you filling out the customs form with the details in the SKU.
You will pick a customs description (which will try to connect with a HTS code and description for US Customs). And provide manufacturer information. If the manufacturer no longer exists, you're not supposed to use Stallion to ship that item, however I have quite a few SKUs with information that doesn't exist (the company did exist, but closed down in the last 10 years, many of these companies existed for a long time, so US Customs accepts the manufacturer information).
You will verify the manufacturer. If it doesn't verify, try fixing the address or making small changes, sometimes it doesn't like the format. The province and state if Canada/US will be the two letter code (I found that out after none of my Canada SKUs would validate). If you still can't validate it, email stallion at their "hello" address and let them know you need to have the manufacturer verified. Someone will do it in the background and hours or a day later it will be working (they usually don't answer me when they do this, I just go and check later and it's working fine).
Once you've set up the SKU, use the SKU as your product information when you ship. You can fill out a detailed description and price of the item on the customs form (it won't take what's in the SKU unless you leave it blank). You will have to provide country of origin in the customs form even though it's in the SKU. The customs description and HTS code can remain blank, it will copy from the SKU.
Then fill out the weight and size of your package. (I think it defaults to the SKU if you leave it blank, but I always fill it out).
After all that, then you will see your shipping options which will include US Economy and USPS Ground Advantage. I use both, whichever is cheaper for the zipcode I'm shipping to. Once you select your option, it will show you a breakdown with shipping, brokerage fee (it's 1.49 for me, but could be 0.99 to 1.99 depending on how many items you ship each month), an admin fee (I've seen anything from 0.07 to 0.19, it's not much), and then the duty you'll have to pay. You can get an idea on duty from the dashboard and it will tell you which duties apply (if you want to know before you list and pick prices for stuff).
It also gives you the option for Stallion protection. It's kind of steep to do that on every package, so I reserve that for things which will be a big financial hit if they don't arrive (for me that would be a big silver coin that I'm only making 10% commission on, I have to remit to the store what they're asking regardless of whether or not the package is received by the buyer, I get scammed, it gets lost, etc). So I insure selectively, as most of the time there isn't a problem needing to collect on insurance. The maximum insured is $300 CAD.
If you are getting UPS only, it's because you didn't set up the SKU and use it for your customs form when filling it out. The other options show up once this is done.
Let me know if you need any further help, you can reply to me here, or PM me.
C.
hold.your.own.media
·9 months agoThanks for this but I have to admit, it is ABSOLUTE overkill and unnecessary that Stallion wants everyone to include the manufacturer information when shipping over the border. That's not easy info to attain in a LOT of eBay cases, since a lot is reselling of used items. I suspect I'll be needing to cancel all US orders simply because I won;t be able to fill this POS out "properly" for each US order. What a mess.
byto253
·9 months agoIt sounds like you are basically filling out CUSMA information.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoStallion's process with SKU is not limited to CUSMA, they want the manufacturer for everything... the printer who made my UK stamps in the 1890s, the printer who did my Dutch banknote from the 1950s, the Pobjoy Mint's address for the new stuff I have. Everything.
Once you have a SKU set up you can submit for CUSMA, I've done this for anything that was wholly made in Canada. I'm questioning whether or not the item I have that were sourced outside of Canada and assembled here count for CUSMA, but some of my categories are not subject to IEEPA, so I don't need to worry about it for right now.
C.
recped
·9 months agoIf you are only seeing UPS you may need to contact Stallion and have DDP enabled for your account. By default it is NOT enabled.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·9 months agoI'm using Stallion which is operating in a similar manner. For any items to the US, Stallion requires a SKU to be set up so you can provide manufacturer information. There's no guarantee your item will be tariff free, some things people have shipped tariff free with Zonos are being assessed IEEPA tariffs through Stallion.
It's possible Chit Chats might allow one off creations with manufacturer information on what you're shipping (without the SKU), but I haven't used Chit Chats since they left my city, I'm using Stallion now, and the SKU is required for all US bound shipments.
C.