EBay remains one of the best ways to find the unique and collectible.
True shipping costs have risen for sellers in the US and Canada. Canada Post just released its January parcel rates (the ones that don't make the paper) and , as a random example, shipping a kilo parcel to the USA rises from $15.56 to $16.03.
USPS has also raised parcel rates every year to help with their huge deficit.
Although Canada Post has lost money in the last couple of years, they are usually profitable and that money goes directly to government coffers.
One way CP could make more money and probably help the Canadian economy, is by working with CBSA to collect taxes and duty applicable on items shipped cross-border.
At the moment, CBSA officials tend to ignore imports between $20 and $100, and others which are not bulky. The applicable duty and taxes are not collected, probably because the labour cost would be higher than the amount collected. A sensible bureaucratic move.
If the Harper Government raised the limit to $200, as it has for cross-border shoppers, and actually collected, CP would benefit by $10 a parcel, that being their service charge.
Please note that commercial carriers, like Pitney Bowes,which runs the Global Shipping Policy, MUST collect these or face prosecution.
EBay tells sellers who are considering signing up for the GSP not to use it for items selling under $50. Unfortunately, this does not seem to have penetrated to the US sellers.
