Help for shipping to USA with CPSC requirements!
Summary: oldhousejunk expressed concerns about the new CPSC requirements affecting their ability to sell and ship vintage toys from Canada to the USA, mentioning issues with EIS causing package rejections at the border. rdemaree suggested using other shipping services and noted that Canada Post might still be a viable option due to less stringent enforcement compared to couriers. Other participants, like northstardc4m and palmerstonpicks, reported similar issues with different products, such as vintage handbags and clothing, citing challenges with visibility and compliance requirements. Suggestions included sticking with Canada Post and looking for information on eBay's support pages.
Where is the help and information for the new CPSC requirements for selling and shipping from Canada to the US?
I sell about 95% of my stuff to the USA - mostly vintage toys. Have been using EIS and it has been fine, EXCEPT last week had packages rejected at the border, and could only assume it was due to the new CPSC.
I tried to figure out how to work around the codes, since everything I sell is different and used, no packages.
Then tried to limit my sales to just Canada because of US bidders on my items.
Couldn't do it. Had to opt out of EIS, which I didn't want to do.
I've survived over 20 years on ebay with covid, tarrifs, postal strikes ect but I feel like this will do me and other vintage toy sellers in!
Anyone have any hope? Or information?
Thank you!
fallsavenue
·3 weeks agoI had an order refunded by eBay last week (60s Barbie dress) that was refused by Customs along with many other EIS shippers. I only signed up with the program to get orders from the UK and AU, never thought Americans would use it.
Decided to do a test run and sent my next order (60s plush toy) with CP last Tuesday (7th) and it still hasn't cleared Customs :( Was expecting delays but was hoping it wouldn't be so bad with CP until I remembered the black hole that is the USORDA Chicago hub. ARGH!!!
If you're using CP, be sure to include vintage or the era and for Adult Collector or Not for Children in your description field.
fallsavenue
·3 weeks agoYay!! It cleared with CP but took 7 days and now is on its way to the buyer. I just shipped 2 with Stallion and they're saying that the .90 code is fine but they did say that US Customs could randomly request a safety certificate. They've had no issues so far.
marnotom!
·3 weeks agoeBay has a bit of information on the CPSC regulations on this page, but most of the information you're looking for will be on pages linked to that one:
https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/international-postage?id=4182#section3
dinomitesales
·3 weeks agoIf you aren't able to use any of the cross-border shippers then just stick with Canada Post (+Zonos). Canada Post has made absolutely zero statements on the matter, nor have they directed their staff to reject certain types of goods, which indicates to me that they aren't concerned about it. Seems like postal imports are safe (for now anyway).
oldhousejunk
OP3 weeks agoThank you! I'm going to try shipping with Canada Post and see what happens, I guess worst case is they send it back.
palmerstonpicks
·3 weeks agoI would also love more information. We sell used clothing and shoes. The requirements are very confusing and vague for clothing resellers. Do I need to upload a doc to my listing? How would I even get that info??
We are in the EIS program, I checked out an order that got to customs on July 8 with the following note in the the tracking: Denied Party List (DPL) compliance test 'Passed' it was a pair of cotton shorts.
I also searched for a few of my items on .com to see if they were visible to US buyers and they are, so that's fortunate for now.
I've emailed EIS to ask for more guidance and will post here with an answer.
northstardc4m
·3 weeks agoI'm having similar issues but with vintage handbags, which seemed to be exempt up until the new system went live and now the listings no longer seem to be visible in the US, and I get a demand to upload a GCC certificate for handbags and wallets from pre-2008, ebay doesnt seem to care or even provide any way to comply with the vintage requirement as the "vintage" checkbox in the description does seemingly nothing.
Email to ebay support have gone unanswered... what else is new.
rdemaree
·3 weeks ago · EditedI’m pretty sure vintage toys should be exempt. The EIS is just a bad program imo. It’s built to be incredibly restrictive even before these new rules and it’s slow and expensive on top of that.
I would recommend chitchats, stallion express, swiftpost or netParcel. There’s also Canada post+ zonos
So many better options than EIS.
Imo EIS is for sellers who can’t be bothered to do a little bit of customs paperwork or live out on the woods and have no choice.
oldhousejunk
OP3 weeks agoThanks, I don't really have any of those options where I live, but I do use CP. But won't ANY packages no matter who the shipper is, have to go through customs and be rejected because of the new cpsc requirements? And when I say vintage toys, some are newish (1990s, so may not fit into vintage category).
rdemaree
·3 weeks agoI have been told by netParcel that Canada Post is the safest to use to ship to the USA right now until later this fall because CPSC rules right now are mostly being focused on couriers rather than postal networks.
Your main issue is EIS, not cpsc. EIS is built to be an incredibly strict shipping program even without these new rules.
I sell 80% handmade oil paint made in Canada by me and 20% vintage European art supplies (50-200 yrs old). Both are hit by CPSC. I am getting a toxicology report for my handmade stuff but the vintage art supplies are exempt because there were no such laws when these products were made so I have nothing I can show them.
EIS is just taking an incredibly precautionary step and rejecting things left and right. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was AI rejecting all these packages.
oldhousejunk
OP3 weeks agoThats very interesting, thanks, I appreciate all of that advice! I think I might be going back to Canada post!