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www-labels4less-com · ‎10-03-2003

I am so frustrated right now. As mentioned in an earlier posting, I shipped a 1.3kg parcel (shoebox size) and freight was to be $16.85 but on my billing it was adjusted to 26.77kg and billing for the shipment was adjusted to $96.50. My rep said there is nothing they can do.

As this is the 2nd time this has happened, I decided to compare my level 2 "discount" with the regular counter rate using the venture 1 5% discount. Here are my findings.

30 cm x 21cm x 11.5cm Xpresspost USA to zip code 15668
Weight 2.229.

VCD Sotware $19.07 Including GST.

Counter rate with venture 1 card $19.80 including GST. I feel much better taking my Xpresspost to the counter as the price is almost the same and I won't have anymore $100.00 charges in error that canada post refuses to reverse.

tomaszczernecki · ‎10-03-2003

That's pretty crazy, that they won't reverse it. FedEx (Ground) reverses all my overcharges no-questions-asked, and is about the same price as Expresspost within Canada and to the states.. I won't even get started about all the things wrong with Canada Post! Not that FedEx is without their problems...

deltone · ‎10-03-2003

Labels, that's disgusting! Imagine that! Do they truly believe that they don't make mistakes? They should be able to see by the record of what you ship that it's out of line with the norm, and take your word for it. IDIOTS!!!!!!

brcyclesalvage · ‎10-03-2003

I've had some crazy charges as well. They are always putting the decimal in the wrong place and charging me 8kg instead of .8 for example. Oh, did I mention I've been on hold with CP for almost an hour now.

www-labels4less-com · ‎10-03-2003

Its just crazy. Can you imagine?? Last time this happened my rep sent me a shrinkwrap of 5 small prepaid xpresspost envelopes. This time she is telling me there is nothing they can do. They TOTALLY think I'm BS'ing I guess as "the machine" doesn't make mistakes.
Tomas, tell me more about Fedex. Do they pick up? Will the U.S. customer have to pay a brokerage fee (all of my parcels are under $200.00 U.S. and average $50.00)? How long is delivery generally? 3-5 days? Any info appreciated! Thanks.

acurael · ‎10-03-2003

UPS posted rates would have very comparable

Discounted rates would have been much cheaper... from my understanding you'll need to do about $10K or more in yearly shipping to get a discount - more you ship the cheaper. And if you do $40K or the preferred customer team will amaze you (priority email/phone support)

Free pickups, US customers pay no brokerage on shipments under $200 USD. There is a customs processing fee of $21 on shipments over $200 USD.

Delivery times should be 3-5 days complete with tracking numbers.

Check it out - oh, and there should be no GST on shipments into the US!!

acurael · ‎10-03-2003

I forget to mention the free UPS connect software too - super easy to use, generates all needed commercial invoices, etc. etc. copy, paste, print!

brcyclesalvage · ‎10-03-2003

UPS goes by volume density or weight, which ever is more, do they not?

Ryan

acurael · ‎10-04-2003

Correct - UPS does use a density calculation - but so do all couriers - and the post office too.

tomaszczernecki · ‎10-05-2003

Labels,

Glad to help any way I can.. We're on a daily scheduled pick-up with FedEx, it costs CAD$6.00 per week. If you want, you can drop your parcels off at a depot or have delivery-on-demand (just calling their 1-800 number) and then there's no weekly fee (at least, I wasn't charged one). If your orders are < $200 in value, the parcels clear through customs using something called a Section 321 provision, which basically means no duty nor customs fees payable (though make sure you include the harmonized system code for your commodity on the invoice), and you don't need to provide any additional customer information. The annoying thing compared to the post office is printing off 5 copies of a commercial invoice or customs declaration (basically the same thing).

Now, if the value is over $200, it gets messy. Customs then wants you to provide the SSN or EIN number of your customer, and the fee for clearance is $16 USD. Ouch! With all the identity theft going on out there, not too many people are happy to share their SSN numbers (equivalent to our SIN #'s)!

What we do is either split our shipments over multiple days to ensure each shipment is below $200 in value, or you could always 'fudge' the invoice value (not that we do this or recommend it!)

The rates should be close to UPS's.. The delivery time is from 2 days to New York State (from Ontario) to 6-7 business days to California.. You can download FedEx Ground rates from the www.fedex.ca website.. Remember to add the residential and/or rural delivery surcharge to get a good idea of your maximum rate (UPS has these fees too).

We're getting some good discounts, but then we're shipping 400 to 800 40-pound boxes per month.. But even before our volumes got that high, we were getting at least 10% on all our shipments.. Call up FedEx and ask to speak to an account executive for your area, they'll be able to issue 5% discount on the spot, and higher discounts they can request from FedEx Ground's head office in Pittsburgh.

On the downside, FedEx Ground isn't quite as perfectly integrated as UPS Standard. This means you'll have a separate account number for Ground service, and a different account number for Express service, but it's not really a problem, since we ship 99.9% by Ground anyways..

Ourselves, we're looking into opening a US-based distribution warehouse - ultimately, that's the way to ensure the lowest rates and fastest delivery times.

Hope that helps!
-Tomasz

your-chic-shopper · ‎10-05-2003

You forgot one extra thing . Parcels shipped to residential area's are 5.00 American surcharge billed later

Oh and drop off. Reguardless if you write , hold of pick-up Fedex with the discretion of the driver will leave the parcel at the house in the door .

I a parcel gets lost it can take 6 weeks to get a refund

Oh and somthing else that pi$$ed me off with Fedex . I have an scale in the office . I would weigh the item it would come in at 1.4kg . However when I would take the item on line it came in at 2kg ...this means FEDEX rounds up to 2kg . I was told from fedex anything 1.5kg is rounded up . My items always got rounded up.

Canada Post ...?
Fedex ?

I will stick with Canada Post little more work but much cheaper in the long run

aabros · ‎10-05-2003

I wouldn't recommend FedEx Ground. Use Purolator, UPS or Canada Post... it's better for your business.

acurael · ‎10-06-2003

UPS has no residential surcharge at all.

There is also no daily pickup charge.

I've gotten price quotes from Fedex and Purolator whenever our UPS contract comes up for renewal and UPS is always cheaper.

This could vary from market to market I suppose.

I've never had to give a SSN for shipments over $200 USD either.

UPS offers a fulfillment service too - basically creates a virtual US warehouse for you - their staff will pick, pack, and label your shipments and ship from their US location. This can save a fair amount of money and hassle - especially if you're importing the goods from the US in the first place.