New post rates in effect + Devalued U.S Dollar = ARGGGG

[www-labels4less-com]

Small packet air up to $11.40 from $9.90 for 500gr-1kg. I wal already subsidizing my freight by only charging $6.00. This was fine last year with the U.S.$ worth so much more. Now its killing me. I just raised all of my shipping and my BIN prices.

Anyone else feeling the crunch?

[amberwoodottawa]

I dont side on every issue only with their complaints over poor management.

No CP worker lives in the real world. They have no idea what it is like to make a buck or loose a thousand nor do they care.

They are grossly overpaid and grossly underworked. They should sell on eBay where they could be grossly overworked and grossly underpaid like the rest of us.

And everthing we do to work smarter and harder to make a few buck more, all they have to do is raise the postal rates without improving their service.

I mean I could see paying an extra 10% if delivery went from 5 days to 2 days but they get more money for being more inefficient.

Malcolm

[muminlaw]

Actually Malcolm, I know one CP worker who does know what it's like in the real world! He used to own and operate a shop - a true entrepreneur. He ran into a spot of trouble (it was of a personal nature, and no need to elaborate here) and went to work for CP. He made a few enemies until he learned to slow down and be less efficient! If I were younger, I'd be tempted to join him - I could use that kind of pay, with that kind of benefits (imagine a dental plan!!!!), and that kind of pension to look forward to! Dream on .... Glenda

[amberwoodottawa]

I went to High School with 2 brothers who both joined the Post Office. These guys were brilliant, never studied in HS, went into exams totally stoned out of their minds and scored over 98 in their exams.

Rather than going on to University where they both had full scholarships at a half dozen schools, they worked at CP. They even married women who worked at CP.

When I caught up to them 6 years later they both owned 3 homes (were renting 2 each) and were working towards buying another home each.

They told me they learned the system (they were inside workers) and they, together with their wives each earned around $100,000 per year against a base salary of $47,000. And this was in 1984.

I've met 50 year old postmen living in Florida in their 2nd home on full pension after 25 years walking the streets and telling me how they supplement their income with apartment buildings they bought in Canada with their overtime money.

So I guess I was wrong to say they arent entrepreneurs. They just use a 9-5 job to give them the cash to persue investing in real estate.

By the way, the City of Ottawa also has city bus drivers pulling down over $100,000 per year with overtime.

And if I am not mistaken,Toronto pays its garbage men about $65,000 per year and they dont have to worry about their customers posting negative feedback.

Malcolm

[amberwoodottawa]

When I said the CP brothers earned together with their wives, $100,000, I meant that each of the husband and the wife pulled in about $100,000 or $200,000 per household.

I was working in a senior position with a major corporation pulling in about $50,000 at the time with no such thing as overtime yet travelling all over the world, gone for 2 weeks at a time and away at least 1 1/2 weeks per month with domestic travel. I had several departments under me, in several different companies in both Canada and the US and oversaw several different areas of corporate responsibilty (I had 5 job titles) and I made 50% of what these clowns made and they had no responsibility.

Still I wouldnt trade what they had for what I had for the world.

Malcolm

[muminlaw]

" ... I wouldnt trade what they had for what I had for the world.

Most of the time I agree with you, but every once in awhile, after a particularly trying bidder/buyer, I think "...for the right price, I could be bought!!"

Glenda

[cartechsolutionscom]

I'm new to the powerseller program. I was a VentureOne user of Canadapost prior to being powerseller. I noticed they removed the discount for expedited shipping to US as well as raising the rates.

Hopefully it'll be better now that I get better discounts as a powerseller.

and yeah, the rising Canadian dollar is killing me too!

[treasure-pot]

Hi Cartech, and welcome.

As I posted on another thread, the V1 discount is not dead... although the clowns who put together the recent software upgrade for the RPO's may have been brain dead.

Ask the clerk at your RPO to enter the state only instead of the zip and it will allow them to scan your V1 card for the same 5% discount for Expedited that you had before the increase.

It still won't get you off the hook for the fuel surcharge.

Cheers!

Bill

[treasure-pot]

Hi Al;

Personally, I wouldn't bother tryig to go through some counter person who may or may not put an effort into getting your money back (depends on how busy they are).

Try CP directly at the 800 number shown on your receipt. If they give you the hogwash about customs ask them to mail you a copy of the internal memo saying that the service guaranty was not being honoured because of customs delays. As they accepted the premium for ExpressPost with a guaranty of delivery and since they do not plan to honour the guaranty, they should at least refund the difference between ExpressPost and Expedited services. In my reasoning, all you got was Expedited service level.

Good luck!

Bill

[canadian_scale_rail]

Well the backlash is starting to come in from my customers over the shipping costs. I am thinking i should move back to the small town 7 miles from the US Border and ship directly using USPS. Cheaper shipping even to Canada than Canada Post.

How is it all the other european and US postal systems can be efficient and charge reasonable rates.

Time for a Canada Post Alternative...Was talking to a business associate...he and a few friends had a contract a few years back to pick up letters from the high rises in Downtown Calgary. Charged less the Canada Post and delivered next day...Said he made real good money till the Federal Government shut them down because they were charging less than Canada Post.

Seems our inefficient Government has cloned itself in Canada Post. MY grandfather used to receive letters in 5 days from Norway marked only with his name , Canada.

Gord

[canadian_scale_rail]

Oh yeah and that was in the mid 40's early 50's before automation

[e-scrooge]

Unfortunately there's no viable alternative for small items. UPS is never less than $16-18 to the USA regardless of what size or weight the package is. Fedex is even higher. I charge customers a $6USD flat rate for most items 100-499 grams and an item-based flat rate beyond that. Technically with these increases I'll actually be losing about $1-3 per item in shipping, but I'll likely make up the difference in increased sales from subsidizing my rates versus other sellers in my field increasing theirs.

CP is absolutely shameful, at the PO I go to it's a unionized shop. 8-5:30 hours, never open weekends, even the people running the counter there make $25+ per hour with full benefits to do an effortless job. Only way I can do shipping on weekends is for me to go to a CP outlet, which will only send items to CP once every day or so after 5PM, meaning one to two business days get added to shipments done from there and I don't get a cheaper rate.

[www-labels4less-com]

Interested in knowing how Canada Post is handling customer service? I was told last week that CP is no longer assigning reps to accounts. If you have a problem, call the CP Business line. Todd, now would be a good time to say your good bye's to Cosmo.

[your-chic-shopper]

You know your correct ..I called him and he has been re-a signed ..Seems like that may be the case

[ospreylinks]

I got to talk to the analyist assigned to my account last week...."Dave".

No point to this, just thought I'd mention that me and Dave had a brief chat......

Jeff

[your-chic-shopper]

ospreylinks

woh do you list your auctions through ..theye llook very good ...nice lay out

[ospreylinks]

I do the html myself.

Set up a main template that has all of the headings and shipping, taxes, return info etc so all I have to do is drop in the details on the description and pictures...

Once the template is set up, doing an item is maybe 10 minutes, and we tend to relist the same items quite a bit, so really it takes no time at all.

Thanks for the compliment.....wanna buy a set of golf clubs?

Cheers.

Jeff

[magisterrex]

I usually don't post to this PS board, but being a little PO'd at the combined effects of the devalued US dollar and Canada Post's aggressive price increase, I was curious on how other Canadian PS'ers view it.

I'm having a sales increase over last January, but I wonder just how high my sales would have been if I was able to offer less expensive shipping rates. It's incredible how expensive it has become to send a small box to Eastern Canada!

One of the most vexing changes is to the international rate. Not only did the price jump dramatically, but CP did away with registered mail for packages. At one time you could 'insure' a small packet internationally by registering it. You received up to $65 insurance - great for those small items that would cost too much to ship using Xpresspost. Somebody must have noticed, because now registered mail international can only be applied to letter mail.

On-line small businesses have been given a big kick in the teeth by CP. And you know that they won't be showing black on their balance sheet even with the price increases. When your corporate culture is geared towards waste, you will waste any profit gains that you incur. Another sad day for entrepreneurs in this country.

[phoebescollectables]

With the bad also comes some good. I have found having $100 of insurance on small packets, especially international, has been a big help to my sales. The last 4 weeks over 50% of my sales have been to Europe. I know that it is partially because what I am selling and not the rates, but the insurance has helped. But I do agree that going to the US has become more expensive and will probably hurt things in the long run.

[magisterrex]

???? I didn't notice that Small Packet International was now insured! Why can't they tell their employees what the changes are so that poor customers like myself can learn them!

[treasure-pot]

magisterrex, educating a CP employee (or RPO customer employee) is a very dangerous thing. It would set a precedent that would haunt CP for years.

Bill