Current Canada Letter Rates
Summary: The discussion revolves around the recent increases in Canadian letter mail rates, causing frustration about the challenge of using the right combination of stamps. lotzofuniquegoodies highlights the difficulty, comparing current rates with historical pricing. brettjet38 comments on the evolution of Canada's postal services, indicating a shift towards parcel systems. Meanwhile, ilikehockeyjerseys suggests using P-stamps and offers strategies for cost-efficient mailing, like utilizing Costco discounts, while acknowledging the unique Canadian market challenges. Participants discuss the practicality of using 'P' stamps for oversized letters and recommend buying stamps in bulk or combining pre-sorted stamps for savings. The conveniences of printing labels at home and using services like eBay's Tracked Packet USA are also noted. The conversation touches on the value of P-stamps and differences in Canada Post's pricing, with some confusion over official rates, highlighting disparities among postal employees' knowledge.
Anyone else in agreement that the recent rate adjustment for Canadian letter mail, regular and oversized was a bit excessive? Used to be stick a 2.09/3.43 and good to go for anything slightly oversized. Now it's become a challenge mixing and matching up stamps to get to the right number. I was optimistically hoping 100 discounted stamps would last awhile. It's not looking promising!!!
mrdee4097
·1 year agoAfter receiving an oversize letter in the mail with only two P-stamps, I called Canada Post about the value of a $1.24 P-stamp and was transferred to a special department where I was told, in no uncertain terms, that those P stamps you buy for $1.24 in bulk or 10-packs are worth the standard going letter rate of $1.44 . So you can use two permanent stamps (worth $1.44 each, a total of $2.88) for the $2.61 oversize letter rate.
recped
·1 year agoThe "standard going letter rate" is $1.24 not $1.44
The Special department you talked to either didn't understand your question or you didn't understand their answer.
If you go to a Post Office and purchase a single stamp this is what you get.
This stamp IS worth $1.44 and can be used in combination with others stamps to come up with enough to cover an O/S letter or USA/International.
The value of a P stamp is $1.24, the current standard RATE for a letter.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoThe reason that you can use two P-stamps for 100g is because there is a specific rule in the Canada Post handbook that allows for a buffer between the cost of oversized lettermail $2.61 and two P stamps $2.48. Not every post office employee will know about this rule, and they might request that you pay the difference. But it does exist, I have seen it in the booklet myself courtesy of the employee who told me about it, and I believe someone who posts here has also posted a photo of the exact page.
Unless Canada Post changed the rules, P-stamps should be valued at $1.24 not $1.44. I don't believe they have ever been valued at the single stamp rate. For example, if you wanted to pay for $12.40 of postage using P-stamps, it would take 10 p-stamps (10 x $1.24 = $12.40). I saw the rule back when the short-change between two P-stamps and the OS 100g rate was 10 cents - but I believe the way it is worded is that OS 100g mail can be accepted 10 cents short if it has 2 p-stamps. Not that p-stamps are worth the inflated single stamp rate.
dinomitesales
·1 year agolol just goes to show that even the employees in the "special department" have no idea what they're talking about.
If that's true then ask them whey their own postal guide documentation says a Permanent stamp is worth $1.24 (page 12, bottom). And then ask them why, if a Permanent stamp is already worth $1.44, they bother printing/distributing/selling an entirely different stamp with a printed denomination of $1.44 (as @recped showed, and can be verified by going to any post office in the country and asking for a single stamp).
femmefan1946
·1 year agoCostco is one business that have offered a discount on P stamps for several years.
busybeas_books
·1 year agoI was at the Costco in Halifax on Friday (March 21), They still had rolls of the P stamps for $94
snoopwiz
·1 year agoNot sure if it is common knowledge but for an oversized. under 100 gram letter, you can use, and they will accept, 2 "P" stanps. I think (but will circle back if wrong) that you can use 4 "P" stamps when the weight is 100 grams - 200 grams. If you hoarded "P" stamps from the previous years, even better.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoYou're correct about the 2 P stamps thing. With the only note being, some Canada Post locations may refuse to accept it because the rule doesn't seem to be universally known. In that case, I would just let it be and either pay the 11 cents or whatever it is now, or drop it in a box.
P-stamps are worth 1.24. 100-200 costs $4.29. While you can use 4, you would be overpaying by 67 cents, which can add up over time.
My advice for high volume lettermail sellers would be to use 2 P-stamps for 100g, and then find a bulk stamp seller who will sell you pre-sorted bulk unused postage in mid-range denominations. Pre-sorted is important, because your time is valuable. Meaning, an envelope with 100 43 cent stamps instead of an envelope with $43 of postage of various denominations. Depending on your volume, you may be able to get 20-30 percent off. If you figure out combos that work and everything is pre-sorted, it is still time consuming, but you can do a months worth of mailers at the same time while watching TV. If it's unsorted, it will take forever.
If you don't want to look for stamp dealers, you can probably figure out what combos of P-stamps and USA or international stamps work to get up to each price level. https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/lettermail/pricing.page
It's not always possible to get something like 4.29 on the dot. I wouldn't freak out about overpaying by a cent, but 67 cents is a lot unless it's a one time thing and you're overpaying for the convenience of getting out it out in a mailbox.
lotzofuniquegoodies
OP1 year agoYou can also get a combination of smaller denom stamps from some but not all postal outlets or get direct from CP to make up the difference. Minimum order required for free shipping. My only observation it just takes more stamps now than it used to make up that diffence. Especially if you shipping items 200 to 500 grams by letter mail.
@femmefan1946 As a side question if you are paying using stamps for a tracked service how are you getting a tracking number without dealing with a postal agent?
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoI think that they are saying even know they can use discount postage to get a better rate in person for Tracked Packet - they opt to print an eBay label because it is more convenient to drop it in a box.
On a side note, there is a way to get tracking with discount stamps on lettermail sized items without going to the post office. You can get a free stack of registered mail slips that have a tracking number. If you put the appropriate postage, it will activate when it is first scanned at the sorting centre. I find that I almost never use them now with Expedited Lite and extra-small Flat Rate boxes, but it is a good tool to have.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoI go to the PO counter and ask for one. It is slow and I have to remind every clerk that the parcel is prepaid with stamps, because most of the labels they make up that way, which is many in our highly residential neighbourhood , are usually paid in cash.
I make up for it by knowing the slower times for them and by offering my SfSB card number to people shocked by the cost of sending a parcel. The clerks think I am a nice person for doing that.
lotzofuniquegoodies
OP1 year agoI print all my labels from home. Have stamps already on package when I arrive. If i go first thing in the morning I am usually in and out very quick
Regarding the letting someone use your card, there are "certain" clerks that have been told that was not permitted. Unsure if that is an actual policy or bad training. @dinomitesales I have done in the past, when it wasn't an issue and majority of customers are very appreciative. Especially expedited vs regular when they would like something there fast but don't want to pay an arm and a leg.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoI haven't worked in a Canada Post Outlet since 2007, but when I worked there I wouldn't have objected to a customer sharing their card with another customer who didn't have one. I got paid an hourly wage, if sharing the card made a customer want to come back to our outlet and it helped increase our revenue, i was all for that.
C.
dinomitesales
·1 year agoThere is no official statement on the matter. But Canada Post doesn't really want you doing this. If you're doing it for a known friend or family member then that's fine; but doing it for a random person at the post office could lead to issues down the road if a claim needed to be made on the parcel, as it will be under your account.
snoopwiz
·1 year agoThis is me circling back...I was wrong on the 100-200g large envelope...... using 4 x P's would be overpaying. Thanks ILHJ .
femmefan1946
·1 year agoEven with an endless supply of postage stamps, I find the eBay Tracked USA label well worth my while with a start price of $7.14 or so. I save money on labour and can drop the packages into the mailbox down the block, instead of going to the PO and confusing the clerks.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoI don't think Expedited Lite is worth it in most cases. I'll usually use it for something around $50, but even then I'm sure it's not the rational thing to do when you consider the low odds of an INR in my category, and the difference between discount stamps and Expedited Lite being around $5.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoIf you are a Costco member, check your local Costco. Last month, they still had rolls of 100 stamps left at the previous price (including 5 percent off). They apparently were going to keep that price until their stock they purchased at the old price ran out.
The glass half-full way to look at the increase over the last year (both increases) would be that they did not increase the stamp price for years. I think part of what made the increase seem excessive was having it over such a short period of time.
I do think that lettermail is getting to a point that a lot of "lettermail sellers" are going to reconsider their business model. The cost of everything required to deliver a sale has gone up, not just lettermail. 25 cents here, 50 cents there, a dollar there, etc. It isn't guaranteed that each seller is in a position to charge a higher price, so the margins quickly erode on a $10-$20 item.
I think that eBay should recognize the need for some sort of discounted postage to fit the ultra low cost tier. The Canadian market is unique in that we don't have any cheap shipping options for a bubble mailer other than lettermail which previously was under $2 for a 100g package and around $3 for a 200g package. Expedited Lite is a fantastic option because it means you can send something tracked for $8 or so to most places, but it's too expensive to replace lettermail when two P-stamps even at full price are $2.48.
marnotom!
·1 year agoIn 1981, the cost of a first-class stamp went up 70 percent.
lotzofuniquegoodies
OP1 year agoIn the 1980ies you could send a 500 gram package ANYWHERE within a province for under 2.50 and no GST. Business rate. One province over a few cents more.
brettjet38
·1 year agoIn the Victorian Age you could send a Letter, Card, or Postcard for 1 penny/cent, things change...
They also used Horses, Wagons, and Bicycles to get it delivered to your mailbox, if you had one.
Yes, they are pushing the "Stamp" price up towards the Expedited Lite Prices, for the simple reason that they want all "merch/goods" tracked using the parcel system, not the letter mail stream.
It's all on the UPU site, to be in place within a couple of years.
It's all subtly being implemented, in this case, by increasing stamp rates, Canada Post is being transformed, split, divided...