eBay

roadrunners123 · ‎06-20-2016

So looking more and more that Canada Post will be going on strike, I did call E Bay and asked what would happen if parcels that were sent to Canada that wouldn't arrive until after the strike started, and the rep told me that they would refund the buyer back if the parcel didn't come by the scheduled time. Will be interesting to see how this will all play out with parcels coming from China, or anywhere overseas for that matter. So many questions will arise from this I'm sure. Will anyone in Canada change there selling tactics before July?, or just do the wait and see approach and deal with it on July 5th?

mr.elmwood · ‎06-22-2016

I just did. More's the pity.

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rabbitmarilyn · ‎06-22-2016

I sometimes wonder if you've ever dislocated your shoulder while patting yourself on the back. Your bad manners are equaled only by your bad manners.

momcqueen · ‎06-22-2016

(Snicker.)

fort2b · ‎06-23-2016

There is no need to panic, just to pay attention to the news updates.

The dispute will play out as before. The Union is in a legal strike position as of July 2. If they decide to strike it won't be all at once. They will do rotating strikes as before. The idea being to motivate Canada Post management while disrupting service to the public as little as possible. The Union has nothing to gain by enraging the public, they need the public on their side. This is what happened last time until Canada Post locked them out. So it will take a while to play out.

However, there will be no legislating an end to the dispute this time. The Supreme Court has already ruled it unconstitutional. for the Government to do so. So either the Union and Canada Post sort it out themselves, or the strike/lockout will continue indefinitely.

With thousands of small Canadian businesses totally dependent on Canada Post, a long dispute could be devastating.

How any modern, civilized nation can allow a business with a monopoly to strike or lock out is beyond me. If there were alternative postal systems than I could care less if Canada Post had a disruption.....but other postal systems are not allowed, by law. So therefore, by law, they should not be allowed to disrupt service during a contract dispute. But for some reason, they are allowed to. I scoff at those that say 'just use a courier instead'. For they are either out of touch or foolishly rich. Couriers cost 10 times what Canada Post charges to deliver goods.

The Canada Post executives will still be getting their enormous paycheques during a dispute, and the Union bosses will still be getting their big cheques still too. They are both using the employees and the Canadian public as pawns in their political/ego games.

Were it up to me i'd replace them all with people with common sense and an ounce of compassion for those that are going to get crushed under by a postal dispute.

A two month postal dispute could put over 7000 Canadian businesses out of business.

avenueshopswapsell · ‎06-23-2016

I have done some research and found Fed Ex to be the least expensive. When you sign up for a business account there are discounts as well.

Hopefully all this worry will be for naught....any one know what they are striking about to begin with?

momcqueen · ‎06-23-2016

@avenueshopswapsell wrote:
I have done some research and found Fed Ex to be the least expensive. When you sign up for a business account there are discounts as well.

Hopefully all this worry will be for naught....any one know what they are striking about to begin with?

It's as likely to be a lock-out as a strike. To paraphrase what I understand of this, the union wants guaranteed pensions plus stools to sit on, while management wants flexible delivery hours (evenings and weekends) without having to pay double-time for it.

p.s. UPS also offers a 20 per cent discount with a new business account.

mr.elmwood · ‎06-23-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
@avenueshopswapsell wrote:
I have done some research and found Fed Ex to be the least expensive. When you sign up for a business account there are discounts as well.

Hopefully all this worry will be for naught....any one know what they are striking about to begin with?
It's as likely to be a lock-out as a strike. To paraphrase what I understand of this, the union wants guaranteed pensions plus stools to sit on, while management wants flexible delivery hours (evenings and weekends) without having to pay double-time for it.

p.s. UPS also offers a 20 per cent discount with a new business account.

Couriers do not deliver in the evenings so CP is trying to steal their business. Hum? Sounds like a good business move to me. Couriers in my town refuse to deliver during evenings, weekends, or even, one of them, daytime. Gardwine just leaves a card without knocking.

There is no such thing as a "guaranteed" pension. There is "benefit defined" which is becoming rarer, and I have one of those. Then there is the ones based on employee contributions where employers absolve themselves of all culpability for the end result for when they run the business into the ground.

The latter is the American "freedom" experience where pensions for retirees are unilaterally being decimated because employers refuse to contribute their share.

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ricarmic · ‎06-23-2016

The difference between the defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan is where the risk is borne.

In a defined benefit plan, the onus is on the company to ensure there is enough "principle" in the plan to cover the pension benefits which are pre-defined as a percentage of the persons salary when they retired. (there are different ways to calculate this an average of the last few years of service, the number of years of service etc different rules for different plans). The cost to the business is to administer the plan, and make sure enough money is in it. When the markets are poor it puts more cash pressure on the company to shore up the principle to make sure it is appropriate for market fluctuations. The money is held safely away from the company by a financial services company (like a bank or insurance company) to ensure that if something happens to the company the pension money is safe for providing the pensions. It can't be used to pay down company debts. (reserves sometimes can I believe that is what tends to make folks in Canada think DB plans are at risk)

With a defined contribution plan it is like having your own RRSP except the company matches your contribution, but the employee bears the risk based on what type of plan they choose. The money is held and administered by a financial services company (a bank or insurance company for example) same as would be the case for a personal RRSP.

With a defined contribution plan, depending on market conditions, the pensioner sees "trouble" when markets decline. This doesn't happen in a defined benefit plan because the pensioner's company has to do something to make sure there is enough to provide the guaranteed pension amount. Defined benefit plans have reserves etc forced on the plans to ensure against market fluctuations, which makes them more expensive as well.

pocomocomputing · ‎06-23-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
@avenueshopswapsell wrote:
I have done some research and found Fed Ex to be the least expensive. When you sign up for a business account there are discounts as well.

Hopefully all this worry will be for naught....any one know what they are striking about to begin with?
It's as likely to be a lock-out as a strike. To paraphrase what I understand of this, the union wants guaranteed pensions plus stools to sit on, while management wants flexible delivery hours (evenings and weekends) without having to pay double-time for it.

p.s. UPS also offers a 20 per cent discount with a new business account.

I think the union will be sent a lot of "stools" from upset shippers but the kind they would not want to sit on!

mr.elmwood · ‎06-23-2016

I have known some very loyal 25-35 year experience CP people who are the best of the best.

What would you do when you have dedicated your life and everything in your future, that you worked for, had been guaranteed by your employer, was about to stripped away?

What would you do when after 25-30 years they laughed at you and said "Ha-ha fooled you!"?

Would you say "Sucks to be me, I guess I will be homeless" or "I will fight to get what management promised me"?

Worse? What they take away from the union employees, they take away from all management. All the non-union managers lose everything the union members lose. Usually, they strip from management first and then strip from the rank and file.

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dutchman48 · ‎06-23-2016

Please, oh woe is them. It happens every day in the real world. It is time they lived in it. I am sure there are thousands of people that would gladly do their job for less money and no union. Why should anyone be guaranteed a job for life?

I guess it doesn't matter that the union is going to create a lot of hardship and income loss for a lot of small businesses. Do the posties care, not one little bit. Why should I as a public user feel sorry for them?

Unions had their place at one time. Now they are just showing their greed and power trips. Go on strike, and replace every one of them as far as I am concerned.

And yes, the more they play these ridiculous games knowing they shaft the public, the more I have no use for the union period.

pocomocomputing · ‎06-23-2016

No, I do not want them to lose their wages or benefits. Changes need to be grandfathered in but change is needed for CP to survive and still give their employees jobs.

I have seen enough people lose their well paying jobs after years of service in 90s because of mergers and globalization of companies. I went through 3 mergers in 4 years but did not survive the last one. I never made the same wage ever since.

Both parties have have to give up some concessions with no one side being fully happy.

A strike / lockout benefits no one, Canada Post, the union, the user of CP services.

momcqueen · ‎06-23-2016

As a customer of Canada Post, I certainly don't feel like I matter one whit to either Canada Post management or their employees.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-23-2016

Best box ever.

Every parent understands this.

spot-the-craft · ‎06-23-2016

Hi McQueen and Mo Mater,

I was wondering what shipping service you are using if Canada Post does go on strike. And how do you add a "statement" paragraph to all your listings? Is there a way to do this without having to go into each listing and adding it.

From a fellow Canadian seller!

Greatly appreciate your time and help!

momcqueen · ‎06-23-2016

Certainly, I am happy to assist wherever possible.

I will use UPS. This is for two reasons: I am more familiar with them than the other couriers but, more importantly, they have a store that's closer to me than my local postal counter.

As to handling time and the Item Description statement, use the Bulk Editor. Select two or more listings at a time and Edit. You'll be taken to a new page where you can alter Item Description and Add to All Listings which opens a small window.

I will note that sometimes adding text is easier than removing it due to hidden html.

Good luck, and come back to ask if you need further assistance with it. I'm going from memory on how-to and answering from my mobile device.

spot-the-craft · ‎06-23-2016

Thank you for the info! I will be looking into how to do the bulk editing and alternative shipping.

momcqueen · ‎06-23-2016

Okay. Just a word of caution: courier service is about three times as pricey as CPC for parcels, and doesn't do lettermail: it's all a parcel from what I can tell. Like, parcel rates.

rose-dee · ‎06-23-2016

@cumos55 wrote:
During the last strike.....The store was on vacation

By the end of the strike I had added 250 listings to my store..... 6 weeks it was.
Sales were very good after the strike....particularly so because it was July, usually a low time for sales.
I had looked into courier services... but decided to shut down.... not worth the cost or effort

In retrospect... the best thing to do is put the store on vacation, and list, list, list.... It is summertime normal vacation-time....
Some sellers have said that buyers from outside of Canada, adjusted by not buying... could be dependent on what one sells

Staying open during a strike could be a nightmare with that one buyer... that will not adjust to the reality of a strike.

I completely agree with you. I'll be shutting down my store and hiding my listings started tomorrow afternoon. Like you, I did this last time there was a CPC strike and found that not only did I have time for a lot of "store updating" and listing, but I had a sudden surge of sales after the strike.

Although I'm not in an area where FedEx or UPS would be reasonably available, I can't see the point in taking the risk of leaving the store open using courier delivery for the very few sales that might result from people willing to pay courier prices.

The real issue is that I have no faith in eBay's assurances that sellers will be protected against any repercussions. All it takes these days are a couple of mistakes (or upset buyers) and eBay could virtually end your business here. I also don't think it's fair to buyers to have items on sale that I can't guarantee will be delivered in reasonable time for a reasonable price.

rose-dee · ‎06-23-2016

An afterthought:

Actually, the one useful thing eBay could do that I haven't seen mentioned so far is to post a prominent banner or notice somewhere on the .com site advising that many Canadian sellers will be closing their stores as a result of the impending strike, but inviting .com buyers to save their Canadian sellers' stores on their favourite list and check back later.

At least this would explain to many of our U.S. customers why items they saw earlier have suddenly disappeared.

I'm posting a large notice of my own tomorrow at the top of my storefront to the same effect.