Shipping to Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon

[wooki_shoes]

Greetings everyone,

Today I had to ship a skateboard to the Northwest Territories and last month another to Nunavut. The cost was approximately 45-50$ for a 70$ item (Canada Post). Normally, my shipping cost is between 8 and 12$. I'm wondering what are the other sellers doing? From what I read on the forums, there doesn't seem to be a way to make an exception for certain provinces or territories. I know it doesn't happen very often, but it still eats out 100% of my profit on an item that I could'of sold somewhere else. For now, I shipped the items without mentioning it to the buyers even if I lost a couple bucks. I still want to offer "Free Shipping" on all my items.

I'm curious. What do you guys do?
- Look at the average costs and don't care?
- Ask the seller to pay an additional amount for shipping?
- Write it down in every listing?
- Refuse to ship the item? ?:|

Share your experience 🙂
Bonne journée!

Adrien

[ricarmic]

I handle a couple different ways:

(Note that I also mention my shipping costs in my listing details as well as the normal way)

-if I can bury the cost in the item I charge the highest cost (usually if I pick the highest expedited cost to the USA it is more than it would be to anywhere in Canada (expedited)

-if I am differentiating the cost, I only split between ON/QC and the rest of the provinces. (in the item listing I mention the different pricing based on location). I put the automagic cost the cost of the other provinces (the highest price). Generally the ON and QC folks wait for me to change the shipping down to their lower rate.

[ricarmic]

Sorry I forgot to add that the "higher price" I use is to BC (rate code 33) and I am in ON. I would eat any difference to other higher provinces - have had very few from territories so far.....

[pjcdn2005]

It seems that once every Christmas I have to send to one of those areas and yes...it is expensive. If I'm using calculated shipping than it doesn't really matter. If I've used a flat rate or free shipping then I just have to pay the extra costs . Whatever your listing says in the shipping area is what you have to charge...you can't specify costs for certain parts of Canada.

If you think that you might sell a lot of that item to that area then you might want to go the calculated shipping route.

[reallynicestamps]

The problem comes up with Flat Rate Shipping.

With Calculated Shipping the system automatically adjusts for the rate (regional or national) including allowing for the isolated communities.

Northerners are used to high shipping costs. They don't like it, but they are used to it. These costs are why wages in isolated communities are apparently so high.

I suppose you could chalk it up to experience and karma. You got some good juju by allowing a Northern kid a chance to have a better hobby than gas-sniffing. (Sound cold? I talk to Northerners, chiefs and community organizers,  fairly often due to my job. This was not a smart alec remark.)

[cumos55]

Each year it will be atleast one buyer from Nunavut.

I use flat rate shipping,  and the actual cost of postage  will be $5 or more than the flat rate.

Anything going to Nunavut will include an air delivery component.

Several times  it will be an expensive item or the buyer will buy more than one book.

Postage will also be expensive to remote part of the NWT  and Newfoundland, as well as the interior of BC. when HST was the tax rate. 

My approach is to look at the total for shipping all parcels  and compare that to shipping paid by me...  And the two numbers are very close, .....and until recently,  buyers have paid about $100 more than was actually paid for postage....