Yes, I have seen posts from Canadian buyers where the fees paid were less than the Canada Post $9.95 brokerage fee.
Taxes are obviously the same - if charged.
And that is the big problem. Many Canadian buyers have received parcels from the USA over the years where taxes should have been charged (over $20 value) by Canada Customs but were not.
On that basis, most buyers expecting to pay nothing, balk at the certainty of paying taxes when Pitney Bowes handles the shipment.
" I expect to see this seller enticement show up on eBay.ca one day soon too..."
Will not happen any time soon.
Why?
Because Canadian sellers already ship to the USA and overseas. We do not require the assistance of a third party. Since most goods shipped from Canada to the USA enter the USA tax free (under $200) there is little to gain by setting up an unneeded system that few sellers will ever use.
""Free Trade" between our countries is wishful thinking. "
Free Trade is for real. It applies to tariffs, not consumption taxes.
Why the difference?
The USA does not have a national consumption tax like Canada (GST) and most of the rest of the world (VAT). As such, it would be meaningless for them to have a low exemption.
In Canada and most of the rest of industrialized world, relartively low import exemptions minimize cross-border shopping for the sole purpose of tax avoidance.
In other words, buyers pay the same consumption taxes (GST/HST, VAT) when buying outside their country by mail as they would should they purchase the item from a local retailer.
From a Canadian standpoint, it also helps preserve retail jobs in Canada. Without those relatively low paying jobs, our economy would tank.
