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aabros · ‎11-02-2003

A couple of questions here...

1. I have always been wondering how Canada Post takes our packages to the USA. Let's say... our small-packet airmail parcels... commercial airlines? canada post airlines? by trailers (hopefully not!).

2. Also, does anyone know if parcels are loaded in the trailers in "cages" or simply piled one on top of the other (with heavy-weight boxes on top of my poor 700g parcel being crunched at the bottom of the trailer).

3. Are they sorted by State or by Zip Code?

Thanks for your time folks! Best Wishes!

amberwoodottawa · ‎11-02-2003

Canada Post takes packages, parcels and envelopes to one of 3 border crossings in Canada. From there, UPSP takes over the mail however the packages could spend considerable time at the border clearing customs.

Generally the mail takes between 1 and 2 days maximum to get to the border. It can spend a week in customs, depending on backlogs etc and then USPS handles distribution which I have found to be much slower than Canada Post delivery.

The whole problem is not with Canada Post but with the US Government's security measures following 9-11. While there are perhaps hindreds of border crossings that could be used, the USA government has determined that 3 is the maximum they can control the flow of mail.

amberwoodottawa · ‎11-02-2003

Forgot to answer your other questions. Canada Post does not sort mail into zip codes etc. USP does it after the parcels arrive in the US. If you live East of Toronto, your mail will be sent to Montreal even if it is addressed to California.

Mail is "piled" on top of each other. That is why careful packaging is required. The most important thing to do is to prevent the contents from moving inside the package. All voids should be filled with a lightweight material.

Depending on what you ship, more measures may be required. When we ship guitars, we have to build a cardboard neck brace as we know there will be heavy boxes piled on top and the neck will need extra support.

You can ask your CP rep if you have one for suggestions about packaging your items.

www-labels4less-com · ‎11-02-2003

Regarding customs, it must be less then that on average as my small packet airs generally arrive in 5 - 8 business days.

aa-surplus · ‎11-02-2003

Hi all,

At our postal station they put all small packets in a cage by themselves and the other parcels in other cages.
but thats just what I have seen in my postal station and it may be done differently at each station..

Cheers,

aa-surplus

ospreylinks · ‎11-03-2003

In terms of Canada Post, we have had great success shipping via this carrier. Small parcels to the US are normally delivered well within 7 to 10 business days.

The only problem I have had with Canada Post is shipping to APO addresses.... they loose this stuff 50% of the time, but have always come good with payment on insurance - even better than UPS in this regard.

Jeff

aabros · ‎11-03-2003

Thanks everyone for your help.
Amber: I am in Montreal... so all the mail is sorted here, then "routed" by airplane to NY?? Thanks for the tips!

aabros · ‎11-03-2003

amber: you are saying that canada post doesn't sort mail by zip codes... so a package going to NY and one going to CA can be piled on top of each other? In a trailer or in a plane? Heading to the USA border?

amberwoodottawa · ‎11-03-2003

I ship fairly large parcels, some exceeding the 3' height restriction.

When I track the US destined ones, they all show they are sent to Montreal from Ottawa to clear customs, whether they are destined for NY or California.

It may be different for small packages, I am not certain but I found that all mine are cleared through Montreal.

I would assume that from Ottawa, they travel by truck and not airplane to Montreal.

Before having our parcels picked up, we would take them to the Main Postal terminal in Ottawa. I have been inside the main terminal's sorting station in Ottawa and all of my parcels were piled on top of each other.

They were first put inside a 4' X 4' metal cage that would be wheeled to another area where they would be sorted (Cnada vs USA vs International) and the US ones piled with other company's packages all together.

I dont know what happened after that other than the fact that my customers would finally get my product.

treasure-pot · ‎11-03-2003

Malcolm, the Ottawa terminal had the original postal employees "kick (the) boxing" tournament. You may want to keep your packages to a very irregular shape because they are not attractive for the competition.

They also fought long and hard with management and won their horseshoe pits on the backside of the building (facing the tracks). Thats where you will find a large number of the inside workers on most nice summer days.

Just in case you need to know why postage is on the increase...

Cheers!

Bill

Bill

amberwoodottawa · ‎11-03-2003

Bill
We have had very few occurences of damage when shipping with Canada Post (2 in total, one minor, one major) The major one was determined to be a problem with USPS where there was no question about abuse of the package.

At a customer's request we shipped one time with UPS to a destination 50 miles from us. You could see the marks of boots on the box and a hole clearly created by someone's foot going right through the box and damaging the instrument inside.

After almost 3 months of waiting on the claim to be processed, the finding was "Damage from unusal handling by carrier" or something like that. Nothing unusual about it at all. It was clearly misuse and abuse and all I got was my cost.

When asking a manager at a Grand and Toy store why they didnt carry any "Fragile" stickers, she told me that one of their employees used to work at UPS and anything that was marked fragile was fair play for a good luchtime game of "toss and see if it breaks"

I considered using UPS as a shipper in the beginning until they told me I would have to package one of everything I sold and they would take it to their Montreal testing facilities where it would undergo extreme testing to see if my packaing protected my instruments.

You know I think I am going to raise the issue of Insurance on a new thread. I mean, why should we pay to insure for the mishandling of our items?

Malcolm