What is going on with Canada Post pricing?
Summary: daisydaisy999 questioned whether eBay's discounts on Canada Post shipping have decreased, noting they found UPS to be cheaper for small packages. john_koenig99 and lotzofuniquegoodies shared similar observations, discussing varying discounts and potential influences like location and service type. mandicrafts and flipistics further explored competitive rates among different shipping companies and how fuel surcharges impact costs. Despite concerns about fluctuating rates when billed, daisydaisy999 reported no issues with UPS, while mandicrafts was hesitant due to previous billing discrepancies.
Is it my imagination or has the discount we used to get on eBay for Canada Post disappeared? Expedited Lite is still good for the light/small stuff but otherwise I can get the same Canada Post rate on Netparcel for everything else.
I'm used to UPS being cheaper for larger heavier things but I am sending off 2 small packages - one to Montreal and one to Kingston today and UPS is a couple of bucks cheaper then Canada Post is... which makes me think there is something going on with eBay pricing because I don't usually find that.
flipistics
·1 month agoIt seems like a number of different shipping companies have new negotiated rates with Canada Post so prices have changed between the companies. The fuel surcharge is also causing imbalances between options like Canada Post, UPS, Purolator, CanPar, ICS. For example, Canada Post's fuel surcharge is now at 41.5%, UPS is at 48.5%, etc.
From what I've found so far, generally speaking the only companies that offer significantly better than level 4 discounts are Shipping Chimp and eBay labels (hub and expedited lite only). Click Ship also offers a version of expedited lite (and up to 500g) but the prices aren't as flat as eBay's are.
In general, the shipping companies I usually check are eBay Labels, Shipping Chimp (crazy good Canada Post rates right now), Click Ship, EasyShip, and Netparcel. Any of those options can be cheaper for any given shipment. Click Ship also offers free pickup and multi-box shipments available without a subscription, which can be very useful.
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agothanks - I'll look into those but I do miss the days of not having to shop around for the best rate, you just got it :)!
mandicrafts
·1 month agoI think Netparcel has the SAME discount as eBay has with CP.
Another plus for using Netparcel for domestic postage is that netparcel breaks out the TAXES so we can claim them back if we are HST/GST registered. eBay still hasn't figured out a way to break out that tax!!??? eBay effectively MAKEs $ on shipping because they claim BACK the tax and also collect it from the seller!!
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agothey do now but I know that eBay used to be cheaper because I have compared the two in the past and eBay was always better - Netparcel is easier to deal with if you have issues so there is no point in buying CP through eBay if Netparcel is going to be the same price. At the moment though, UPS on eBay seems to be the best deal.
mandicrafts
·1 month agoI am reluctant to use eBay labels UPS since the last domestic parcel price DOUBLED once I was billed. It went from $14... to $26 once I was billed, so that CP would have been cheaper afterall. I complained but no response.
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agoI have heard that but I have used UPS a number of times and never had an issue (yet), knock on wood! :)
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 month ago@daisydaisy999 When you use UPS and eBay labels is the shown amount when you create the label charged at the same rate when it processes? I have noticed that the discount with UPS is now higher (depending on final destination). There has just been too many reports of users seeing much higher rates when they get charged (using UPS/Fedex) so have been nervous to take the chance.
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agoI have never had that issue and actually the last few times my UPS labels have processed a little bit cheaper then when I created. Canada Post labels are always a little more expensive because of the fuel surcharge changing!
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 month ago · EditedFrom Calgary Expedited to hub is being discounted at 56 %. Expedited to another different Toronto postal code was 32%. (It varies depending on the final address.) Expedited lite seems to be mostly discounted at 66% anywhere across Canada. The discounted amount "seems" to be playing favourites.
Standard mandatory disclaimer: Depending on your location your discount observations may or will vary.
Is anyone using the recently announced CP discount for creating labels with your SSB #. That one is supposed to be temporarily discounted at Level 4. Would be interesting to know what discounts are getting used with that option. Same, higher or lower?
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agoI tested it a few times when it first came out to compare it against eBay and Netparcel rates and it was still higher - at least for me...
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 month ago@daisydaisy999
It appears you are using flat rate shipping. There can and are variables to the applied discount depending on if you are shipping from a city to a city and city to rural. Have you considered using calculated discounted rates? That way the discount is what it is and any tax and fuel are accurate (the fuel amount changes week to week) when built in to the charge your buyer sees.
daisydaisy999
OP1 month agoNope, flat shipping works well for me!
john_koenig99
·1 month agoI noticed that, as well. Expedited Lite is okay, but any other service for larger or heavier stuff has little discount.
Maybe @devon@ebay could help us with some information about this situation.
hansatrade
·1 month agoI wonder what happened to Level 4? Before tariffs I was charged 7.50 for a 250g TP US. Now, I am charged 11.50.