*JMHO* - to be taken with a grain of salt!
A picture is worth a 1000 words so here goes both. I am trying to make this simple. This is how we use the "Chic Shopper Shipping System." I do expect Todd to jump in here and correct anything that isn't true to his system. If you are still skeptical, fire away with the questions. This is the simplest way to get the cheapest rates from Canada Post, unless someone can show me otherwise.
For closer view of the forms, CP has them on their website. I am trying to respect our customer's privacy so I have lowered the resolution and took the pictures on a stainless steel packing bench - love that glare. Actually, looks like my first eBay listing pictures. Geez, I forgot I never used pictures until after the first couple hundred listings.
The above photo clip is a mailed in payment delivered to Canada using Expedited Parcel. Cut the address off the correspondence or the return address from the envelope. Use a glue stick and put it on the parcel along with a Expedited Parcel Canada sticker (the one with the big 2 on it) and our return address label with the Canada Post insignia (logo with our account number). Make a note of the weight in pencil on the box for later. That's it for this parcel and since CP supplies nice free fragile stickers we use them like tape. If this was a small packet USA, we would use the green customs sticker instead of the Expedited sticker.
This above item is paid by Paypal going to USA. It is heavier than 1 kg so we ship Expedited Parcel USA. Since we ship most of our items this way, Canada Post will pre-print all your account information on their forms for you if you ask. Step one is cut out the shipping address from the Paypal email and get it on the glue stick. This time we glue stick the address right onto the Expedited form in the customer address area. Now all that you have to fill out on this form is the contents, weight, insured value (always $100 since that is what is included in the rate) and the only thing different than using the green customs form is that you have to sign it. That's it. DO NOT FILL IN THE SHADED AREAS. They are not needed anymore if you are using a manifest. No date shipped or postage cost is revealed. Staple the carbon copy to the customer "file" and that's it.
The manifest is the easiest part. It is simply a list of all the parcels you ship and to where. Use what is called the "MANIFEST" not the "SINGLE ITEM MANIFEST." Your own post office will probably be confused about the difference. They look very similar but on the MANIFEST you can list Canadian shipments and International or USA shipments. The other SINGLE ITEM MANIFEST is only for Canadian shipments. Simplify and get used to using one form. Above is a blank MANIFEST, the next picture is how we fill it out before the post office and the last one is one back from the post office with the shaded areas filled in. First column is the service code for the type of delivery (967 is CDN Expedited for example - they give you this info), second column is for your reference of who you shipped to (could use their eBay ID, name, complete address, doesn't matter - we use the name shipped to), third column is postal code or state abbreviation or country code, next is the number of pieces and weight. With this information CP can calculate the postage you owe them. The next boxes are for optional services and insurance which we forgot to complete but caught it at the post office. You can also fill out what you think the postage should be so it is easier to cross reference it to your bill. We don't bother. The last column is the reference sticker off the Expedited forms. The Canadian one we stick on because we use a sticker instead of the carbon copy form. The USA one we don't bother with because we staple the carbon copy directly to the customer's info (email or letter). The top of the form is filled out with your business info and hopefully today our pre-printed forms arrive.
These are the forms you need that will streamline this system for you: pre-printed Expedited USA #43-074-243 (02-11) Shipping label or Xpresspost; Expedited Parcel Canada label #33-086-571 (00-08); Green Customs stickers #43-074-076 (00-09); Manifest #33-086-565 (98-03) and while you have them on the phone, ask for the FRAGILE stickers #33-086-106 (00-12). It's all part of your postage cost, so don't hesitate to ask - they don't charge for any supplies. The only thing you have to provide is their logo on a label. But since you have to make a return label, just add their graphic to your return label like we did in the last picture. Remember, on the pre-printed Expedited forms, your account number is already printed below their logo so no labels are needed.
So to recap, all you need to do is call Canada Post and ask for a business rep because you want to set up a business account. I wouldn't bother telling them you sell on eBay, but that you have an online mail-order business. Use your selling ID as your business name. Be very optimistic about how much you plan to ship this year and how your business is growing by leaps and bounds. Here's where your wildest dreams are useful. They will send you out some forms to sign and a credit application. If you want, you can have them automatically debit your bank account or credit card for fees. Once your account is setup, call back for the pre-printed forms. In a week, you'll be posting here "why didn't I do this sooner!" The best part is the stealth postage, stealth shipping date (unless your post office likes to stamp everything - but they are not required to put any cancellation marks on your parcel) and MOST IMPORTANTLY it looks damn professional. Isn't that part of being a Power Seller?
Bob
