eBay

chasethecup · ‎08-09-2013

I just got off the phone with a canadapost rep and inquired about signature confirmation when shipping from canada to the U.S. I told her the dimensions (which was 23 cm by 18cm x 1.5cm) standard bubble mailer with a sportscard inside. She told me the cheapest price was over $33 expresspost. Paypal requires signature confirm. over $250.. so I have to spend $33 to get tracking and signature confirmation?! Isn't there a cheaper way to do this?? I said what about registered mail to the U.S. and she said that doesnt guarantee a signature anymore, only if the buyer is kind of enough to be honest and mail back a receipt card given to him by the US postal worker. Anyone know more about this?? I thought I could get tracking and signature to the U.S. for around $15-$18... what are other sellers doing, I know people arent charging $33+ to ship such a tiny, light package!!

Also, if you dont need signature confirm. and you just want tracking what is cheaper after paypal discounts.. tracked packet or expedited usa.

Thanks for replying.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-09-2013

She's right about the Registration. For some reason, Paypal does not accept Registered Mail as being electronically tracked.

These are the various shipping services for the USA. I'm not seeing anything about Signature Confirmation.

http://www.canadapost.ca/eb/business/mailing-and-shipping

It looks like the cheapest service with Signature Confirmation option is ExpressPostUSA

http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGxpresusa-e.asp#1389685

Now you do know that the Signature Confirmation is only necessary if there is a Paypal Dispute, right? And only an Item Not Received dispute at that? And on payments over $250 including postage?

Unwanted advice. As a new seller you should not be offering valuable items. Newbie+value = fraud attempts. Protect yourself buy building your feedback before attempting to sell anything you are not willing to lose.

You could check out the cost of shipping by courier. UPS, FedEx and the like automatically track items and most require a signature on delivery for their own protection. So cross check prices.

Or you could, depending on just what you are selling and the demographics of the customers, use an insurance company like shipsurance.com to insure your parcel against loss or damage in transit. If the buyer claims non-delivery, you refund him and make a claim, avoiding PP entirely. But pay attention to the demographics. I'd be pretty comfortable shipping my philatelic literature (which can get quite pricey) anywhere in the world, but I'd be loathe to ship sportscards or coins without tracking and/or insurance. The difference is in the customers, not the postal system.

rose-dee · ‎08-10-2013

Yes, welcome to the world of shipping as an eBay seller. Some would call it a world of pain, or maybe a particular kind of pain.

At any rate, the advice "reallynicestamps" gives is good. Start small and build up your reputation one careful step at a time. Xpresspost USA is your only choice for guaranteed signature confirmation to the U.S., but only you can decide whether the cost is justified in any particular sale, and that will depend on the item, the value, the type of buyer, and your level of comfort for risk in the event of a dispute.

You'll see many, many posts on these boards concerning shipping issues and different approaches. It's worth reviewing some of the discussions between seasoned sellers.

73rhc · ‎08-10-2013

Maybe irrelevant, but why is your mailer so big? For a sports card.

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎08-10-2013

The advice Stamps gave is very good. Signature, across international boundaries, is hideously expensive. I have never used it in 11 years and 8000 sales.

I did have an INR claim a couple years ago from Texas. It was under $250 and I had used Expedited because that was the approriate service for the parcel weight. I won the case simply with a tracking number, no siggi needed. I forget, but, isn't the Cdn limit considerably higher based on an outdated currency exchange from a decade ago?

73, parcel size is an interesting subject. Too big and it goes by truck. A large envelope may suffer the indignity of being folded to fit in a slot or box. I suspect our OP has purchased a mailer and does not realize they can cut it doen to a more suitable size.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎08-10-2013

I am experiencing the same thing as Inuk right now.

We had this discussion a while back in regards to our friends having a list of questionable buyers.

Had one buy an item, an asian forwarding company.

Same pattern as with other sellers, No Payment, Had to file an UID, Payment made just before UID was to expire.

Shipped item as usual & was told to contact them with the email provided on their Paypal account.

Every few days I get the message " Where is the Tracking Number "

I informed them the item comes with Delivery Confirmation.

Now they are threatening to file a dispute with Paypal, of course through private messages.

I informed them i am sorry there item did not arrive & they have to do what they felt was best.

The only catch, I have the tracking number which shows the item has been delivered.

Questionable buyer is about to be busted. I'm hoping they file a dispute.

lady.stark · ‎08-10-2013

@chasethecup wrote:
I told her the dimensions (which was 23 cm by 18cm x 1.5cm) standard bubble mailer with a sportscard inside. She told me the cheapest price was over $33 expresspost.

Why is your bubble mailer so big? I think your best solution would be to purchase a pre-paid XPressPost envelope (the smaller size, not the big one). Then cut your bubble mailer to make it the size of your pre-paid envelope and put it inside. I think it would cost you less than $33 and you can add a Signature Confirmation when you purchase said envelope.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-11-2013

Also, if you dont need signature confirm. and you just want tracking what is cheaper after paypal discounts.. tracked packet or expedited usa.

In my experience, racket packet is usually less expensive for small packages. I tend to use those methods for higher priced items.

If you want to figure out an exact shipping price when using paypal shipping, go to paypal.com/shipnow. Enter an imaginary address...I'm not sure if the postal code and city have to match...enter weight etc. and shipping method and then click to go to the second page for a price. Then click on edit shipping details to go back to the first page and try another shipping category. As long as you didn't click all the way through, you won't be charged.

It might be slightly less expensive to use xpresspost USA through Paypal rather than using a prepaid shipping envelope. I'm not sure about that though.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-11-2013

Why bother with the bubble mailer at all. I would probably put in a stiffener to protect the card and prevent the enevelope from bending.

vintagehockeysbest · ‎08-11-2013

I just checked paypalshipnow and expresspost USA is $29 vs $33 over the counter price. I thought there was supposed to be 25% off with labels through paypal?

On the candapost website a prepaid expresspost USA is around $22 sign. included. Why is over the counter saying $33? Do they ship your bubble mailer inside a special envelope or as is with expresspost usa sticker on the bubble mailer?

Sounds like the best method for items over $250 to the U.S would be to pay for tracked shipping either tracked packet or expedited USA and pay for insurance through a third pary company?? Can anyone recommend the most reasonable one?

vintagehockeysbest · ‎08-11-2013

Also, for some strange reason I could check all the prices out through paypals site except for tracked packet? dimensions and weight should be fine to send that way.. all other options a price could be found.

Anonymous · ‎08-11-2013

Whenever I need to ship by XpressPost, even for a 4x6 photo, I would put them in a manila envelope with 2 or 3 sturdy cardboard backings in 8x10" sizes. Why? With XpressPost you can pay for the same postage rates up 1 gram to 500 grams, so I may as well use that way and it still weigh less than 250 grams. That way I can fill it to protect the item for the same postage rate.

Funny at the post office in person, they don't tell us that we can fill up to 500 grams. Which is why I prefer to use PayPal Shipping, that way it can tell me how much weigh I can fill up to for the same postage rates, etc.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-11-2013

@chargersfan86 wrote:

I just checked PayPal/shipnow and Xpresspost USA is $29 vs $33 over the counter price. I thought there was supposed to be 25% off with labels through PayPal?

PayPal Shipping Discounts (effective early this year and last verified 2013-July-19 by me)

Canada

- Expedited Parcel 18%
- Xpresspost 8%

USA

- Expedited Parcel USA 18%
- Tracked Packet USA 14%
- Xpresspost USA 9%

International (excluding USA)

- Tracked Packet International 14%
- Xpresspost International 9%

No PayPal discount for

- Light Packet USA

- Light Packet International
- Small Packet USA Air
- Small Packet International Air or Surface

The following parcel services are not available on PayPal Shipping but can be offered in an eBay listing.

International Parcel Surface
International Parcel Air

The above can be purchased at a Canada Post location and if you have a Canada Post Venture One card, you can get the 5% discount that the Venture Once card offers.

lady.stark · ‎08-11-2013

@chargersfan86 wrote:
Sounds like the best method for items over $250 to the U.S would be to pay for tracked shipping either tracked packet or expedited USA and pay for insurance through a third pary company?? Can anyone recommend the most reasonable one?

If your item is worth $250 or more, you need a Signature Confirmation in order to be protected by PayPal for an Item Not Received claim. Which is only by XPressPost.

However, you can chose to ignore that protection and just go with Small Packet Air Mail (cheaper than Tracked Packet) and third party insurance. Shipsurance.com and u-pic.com are the most well known. If you go with Small Packet, you will need a stamp from the Post Office on your copy of the Small Packet Label (requirement from the insurance company to prove you did ship your item).

lady.stark · ‎08-11-2013

I wanted to edit my message, but run out of time... just thought that for a sportscard, Light Packet Air Mail would even cost less than Small Packet and can also be used combined with a third party insurance.

chasethecup · ‎08-11-2013

A third party insurance company would insure a light packet to the US? No tracking on that how would you prove you mailed it? Also, for pricier cards say $500 and up wouldnt that entice lots of people to lie and say they never received card once they realize Ive sent it with no tracking and no signature confirmation. Seems Im leaving the door open to get lots of false claims about not receiving card and forcing me to make escessive insurance claims.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-11-2013

shipsurance, a third party insurer requires proof of mailing for items they insure. Proof of mailing can be the bottom half of the PayPal shipping label page with your receipt. You have to bring the package with the PayPal label on it with the bottom half and have the post office stamp it with their date/PO ID. A bit PITA to do if you use PayPal shipping to save time.

Light Packet and Small Packet would require proof of mailing so you could not drop in the corner mailbox if you wanted to insure.

U-Pic, another third party insurer, does not require proof of mailing.

If you do use third party insurance, read and understand the terms and conditions of the insurance. Some countries are considered high risk and you cannot get insurance. Some items are considered high fraud and you cannot get insurance.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-12-2013

On the candapost website a prepaid expresspost USA is around $22 sign. included. Why is over the counter saying $33? Do they ship your bubble mailer inside a special envelope or as is with expresspost usa sticker on the bubble mailer?

I think that the post office was quoting you the counter rate, not the rate for a prepaid envelope. No, they do not ship your bubble mailer inside a special envelope.

Sounds like the best method for items over $250 to the U.S would be to pay for tracked shipping either tracked packet or expedited USA and pay for insurance through a third pary company?? Can anyone recommend the most reasonable one?

If the buyer claims item not received and you don't have a signature for an item over $250, Paypal will refund the buyer even if the package shows as being delivered. If you have used tracked packet or expedited and have third party insurance, there is no guarantee the insurance company will refund you if the package shows as being delivered. You would still be able to put in a claim with Canada Post who MAY pay you the $100 insurance even if the package shows as delivered...no guarantees of that though.

For the future...the best thing to do is to research the shipping prices before you list so that you can put the correct shipping price in the listing or add enough to the item to make sure it covers shipping.

lady.stark · ‎08-12-2013

@chasethecup wrote:
A third party insurance company would insure a light packet to the US? No tracking on that how would you prove you mailed it? Also, for pricier cards say $500 and up wouldnt that entice lots of people to lie and say they never received card once they realize Ive sent it with no tracking and no signature confirmation. Seems Im leaving the door open to get lots of false claims about not receiving card and forcing me to make escessive insurance claims.

Yes, a third party insurance company will insure Light Packet to the USA. As for your other questions, see my post #14 and the response made by Poco (they are - almost - the same explanations).