Possible Canada Postal strike this summer 2016 CBC reports contract dispute, brace for interuption

[wkndshop]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-post-warns-key-customers-of-looming-contract-dispute-1.360190...

If there is a postal strike, i would pretty much have to close shop, its too pricey to send my items via courier.

[femmefan1946]

Postal delivery people need trucks if they deliver to community mail boxes

Parcels either are delivered to the community mailboxes... or to a local outlet where a parcel can be picked up..

A pickup and delivery to a local postal outlet  involves Canada Post's trucks.

Do you mean this as current practice or as the future system?

We get a lot of parcels, one or more a week, and enough mail that the mailman recognizes me when we pass on the street.

But the parcel truck (Canada Post not a contractor) also stops at the curb and comes to the door.

Sometimes he waits until he has confirmed we are home before bringing in the parcels.

But of course undelivered parcels do go to the local outlet.

The only thing older than our neighbourhood is the residents. As they say, "Oak Bay is where seniors go to visit their parents."

[dutchman48]

I am shutting down on the 15th because Raphael would not give me a direct answer in regards to INR claims during the strike as far as refunds, or what happens with returns during the strike.

It is not worth my risk or sanity and I do not trust Ebay as far as I can throw them.

[musicyouneed]

I'm probably shutting down on June 22 early morning.  In a way I will be happy to get a life back.  Will miss the sales but it will give me a chance to catch my breath and relax.  I will also use that time to update my listing on turbo lister and do some inventory checks. 

[pjcdn2005]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

I am shutting down on the 15th because Raphael would not give me a direct answer in regards to INR claims during the strike as far as refunds, or what happens with returns during the strike.

It is not worth my risk or sanity and I do not trust Ebay as far as I can throw them.

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Out of curiosity, what did you expect him to tell you? 

Based on his answer they are probably concentrating on how to handle late shipping defects during that time. He didn't address the inr question but I don't see how they could handle it any differently than usual. If you don't have tracking and there is no proof that the item is  on its way, then you would have to refund. If you do have tracking and the item is in transit, you can phone ebay and they will often be willing to hold the claim open for longer than normal to allow more time for the package to be delivered.  But if your package is held up for a month longer than usual because of a strike, they probably won't expect the buyer to wait that long for a refund. It isn't the seller's fault that the item is stuck in transit but it isn't the buyer's either so I wouldn't expect ebay to tell the buyer that they have to wait until the strike is over. 

As always in situations like that it is best not to rely on anyone else but to contact the buyer and explain what is going on. I think that most buyers are willing to be accommodating in a situation like that as long as you keep them informed.

[pjcdn2005]

I haven't had a parcel delivered to my house by Canada Post in at least 5 years. Some are delivered to the community mail box and others go to the postal outlet. I doubt that the postman in this area handles the latter packages at all as I think that they go right from the sorting center to the outlet. 

[hlmacdon]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I haven't had a parcel delivered to my house by Canada Post in at least 5 years. Some are delivered to the community mail box and others go to the postal outlet. I doubt that the postman in this area handles the latter packages at all as I think that they go right from the sorting center to the outlet. 

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They are still doing home parcel delivery in many areas, but a lot of it depends on the individual postie. Some are obviously not happy in their jobs and don't even attempt to deliver (I'm located directly across from the mailbox so I have a pretty good view) and others go out of their way. I don't blame them for being miserable given what goes on there but I also don't need to be on the receiving end of it.

Honestly speaking I wouldn't care if they went straight to a pickup point that was open past 6 and could be picked up same day as the transfer. The problem is most pickup points here are an absolute zoo and can't handle the traffic they are getting, and don't have the room to be storing many parcels. That is the problem when you try to shoehorn services into existing businesses. To illustrate the point, there are already something like 4 pickup points within a 10-15 minute drive of where I am located. We've had many break-ins with the community mail boxes as well as entire units being stolen for scrap so if pickup saves them money I'm not opposed to the idea.

[momcqueen]

I just realized the that if I 'hide' all my listings, I will be shooting myself in the foot for local pick-ups....

But if I switch all Shipping to Local Pick-up Only, I'll lose all my shipping settings. Is there any way to save that information so that I don't have to reset everything from scratch once the strike/lockout is over?

Conversely, if I leave the listings live and set Handling Time to as long as it goes simply to allow the listings to stay purchasable but sets buyer expectation low for delivery by mail, will I be covered for defects or negative feedback removal? What do you think?

I do a fair bit of Local Pickup so shutting down completely isn't the great solution that I thought it was at first. In fact, I would suggest that any seller who is in a position to entertain Local Pickup will have a decent amount of success during the labour disruption to come. Captive audience and all. 

[dutchman48]

I think you can bulk edit that through Selling manager but not sure as I use TL, as bad as it is.

There is no way to save it but it you write down all your setting it should not take long to reverse.

Local pick up has it's headaches as what do you do with buyers outside of Canada or are you going to change the listings to Canada only?

I don't remember, do you list on .ca or .com.

Apparently from what I have read, people can pay with paypal even if it is local pickup.

Then you get the buyers that say I can't pick it up, can you mail it, etc.

Personally, I would not do it, but if you think it will work, go for it.

I feel safer shutting down on the 15th and starting up again a week or so after the strike ends.

At this point no one is sure there will be a strike but I will not take any chances.

I also, as I said before, have no faith in Ebay to protect sellers even if there is a strike and of course, CS will just let bots solve any issues and then you have to fight to get it fixed.

Wait till someone hears: why are you still selling if you can't ship the merchandise, or why did you not send by courier which we have heard before.

[dutchman48]

I expect Ebay staff to tell the truth and give an answer, not the same wishy washy comments that say nothing.

Personally, I have no idea why people would keep selling if there is a strike concern, or they should be made to ship by courier.

May be a little hard nosed, but a lot of buyers today have no patience and understanding at all, contrary to what you may believe.

[momcqueen]

I tinkered with a pair of listings, switching them to Local Pickup Only and it isn't a good idea either since it wipes clear the information about handling as well as shipping options selected as well as item weights and dimensions which is essential for the Calculated Shipping that I use. It would take me weeks to correct all that when the labour disruption was over. 

As to the idea of switching from Canada Post to a courier, is there anyone who is contemplating doing that? Why would we all simply accept we must give up and close our stores if couriers can provide the service that Canada Post cannot? I'm asking because I wonder if opening an account with UPS is a viable way to keep the store open. 

[momcqueen]

There is an option to set a handling time of up to 40 days. 

[momcqueen]

Regardless of whether you change to Local Pick up Only or adjust your handling time, the Markdown Manager sale promotion will end as soon as you adjust the shipping services. But isn't there usually an orange flag next to an obscenely long handling time like this one? There should be. 

And Calculate Shipping only works with Canada Post? Is that correct? There's nothing embedded in the shipping calculator for UPS or Fed Ex? 

[dutchman48]

Would you buy from someone that has 40 day handling time?

I certainly would not.

[momcqueen]

I might, if I thought there was a chance I could come and pick it up or that the seller might be able to get it to me faster by courier, or I was desperate because everyone else on ebay was closed. 

From a seller's standpoint, what is worse? Closing and missing all purchases? Or staying open and setting realistic expectations for those who really need what you have to sell? I'm playing devil's advocate. Is switching to service via courier really not a viable option? 

We can expect the postal counters at authorized dealers to stay open. An order can be packed and handed over to them and be first in line in the glut that awaits the resumption of duty. And if there is rotating work action? Closing a store would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. 

[dutchman48]

You have already talked yourself into staying open.

I wish you all the luck in the world.

As the saying goes "Let me know how that works for you"

[momcqueen]

I'm just trying to think outside the box on this. I mean, we all have ebay store subscriptions to pay even if we are closed and make zero dollars. What about acting as my own freight-forwarding company and driving 200 km across the border to use USPS for international shipments? You know, the ones that would be truly cost-prohibitive via international courier. 

Everyone in Canada is going to be painfully aware there is a postal strike and happy to find anyone who is willing to ship something to them. The couriers will be busy, they are probably rubbing their hands together with glee right now. 

Anyone here loyal to UPS or FedEx? My nearest UPS store is closer than Canada Post. 

[momcqueen]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

You have already talked yourself into staying open.

I wish you all the luck in the world.

As the saying goes "Let me know how that works for you"

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You're right, I have mostly talked myself into staying open, and I can already hear the chorus of, "I told you so!" when I return to the board in mid-July to say, "Boy, that was a mistake."

[tobyshitzu]

"We can expect the postal counters at authorized dealers to stay open. An order can be packed and handed over to them and be first in line in the glut that awaits the resumption of duty."

As soon as there is a strike or lockout no outlet will accept any mail

[momcqueen]

For certain? I spoke to the manager at my counter last week and she said that in the event of labour disruption, they'd be open and holding stuff until pick-up resumed.

[momcqueen]

If I feel like torturing myself tomorrow, I'll call Canada Post and see what they say about it, and report back.