The Canada Post Strike ruined today's auctions...
Summary: sapphyres-designer-jewellery shared their experience of running auctions during the Canada Post strike, noting that the majority of items were won by a regular US bidder for lower prices than usual, presumably due to the lack of Canadian buyers. naturelover55 and ricarmic discussed similar experiences and the impact of loyal buyers on sales. reallynicestamps highlighted issues with shipping costs during the strike, finding alternative options for sending packages. flipistics and others discussed using different shipping services like Chit Chats to manage shipping challenges amidst the strike, though availability varies based on location. Overall, participants expressed challenges and strategies for maintaining their businesses during postal disruptions, with a focus on customer communication and alternative shipping solutions.
So I had auctions running this week. When you shut the store down, the auctions stay up. I let them run rather than cancel bids and end them.
A couple Canadian buyers placed their bids before the strike and won something, but the majority was won by a regular US bidder (who bids every week), for the minimum bid amount.
Normally I would have had several ending for $3-5 each, but most of today's auctions ended for 1.39.
I'm blaming the lack of turnout and bidding on the Canada Post Strike. (Entirely possible it's a coincidence that there wasn't much bidding... but I've been doing these auctions for years, and there's usually at least some tokens that turn out with good bids).
C.
reallynicestamps
·10 months agoI priced an envelope on FedEx to the Netherlands last night.
The label would be $72 and there were no alternatives.
I went for $3.65 stamped,untracked and a Message about the postal strike to my customer.
flipistics
·10 months agoYou could probably mail it in to Chitchats and then use their international options for the rest of the trip. I'm guessing it would be somewhere around $20 total.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
OP10 months agoreallynicestamps is in Victoria, might not really be feasible to do that.
I did have a sale on another site last night (to Winnipeg) and I'm going to check with Chit chats. I actually forgot I had stuff listed there and I don't want to disappoint the buyer. They paid for oversized letter to ship a pair of earrings, I'm going to eat the shipping to get it to them during the strike.
C.
reallynicestamps
·10 months agoChit chat does not have an office on Vancouver Island, not even here in the BC Capital.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
OP10 months agoWhen I had lots of items to go with Chit Chats, I used to box them up and FedEx the box to Burlington for them to process at their main depot. I don't see doing this anymore, it was very nerve racking tracking the FedEx Box when it took a scenic tour (went to Barrie one time).
Not sure if Stallion offers this, but they have a branch near my work, so for right now it's working well.
C.
flipistics
·10 months agoNo, but the cost to ship it to Vancouver for something small and light should be pretty cheap. I think Chit Chats offers that now with full tracking the entire way.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
OP10 months agoI messaged about the strike for anything that was sold and not shipped (on Thursday) and shipped previously in the week. So far everyone's been calm... but patience only lasts so long, and the last strike was like 32 days... that's a long time to wait for your items on eBay and not know if they'll arrive.
C.
ricarmic
·10 months agoDepending when the regular US bidder bids they're doing you a favour by bidding on them all (unless they are sniping) as bids help views and other bidding.
I've had a couple things happen over the years where the buyer got a very good deal and I'm thankful that it's one of my regulars that got it since they've been supporting me over time and for sure it makes sure they keep coming back!
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
OP10 months agoHe did do me a favour. He bids every week (at the last minute). I messaged him on Saturday to tell him about the strike and that there was not much interest in the auctions this week, he came and grabbed every single one.
I'm not sure why he buys these from me (hobby or dealing), but he takes almost everything unless it starts to rise in price, then the Canadian bidders usually end up winning it. There was only two bids by Canadians this week (and I messaged them both to remind them of the strike and no hurry to make payment... I don't need to hang on to their money if I can't even ship).
C.
naturelover55
·10 months agoThe exact same thing happened to me. This deja vu of last year all over again.
What a disaster.