eBay

carly@ebay.com · ‎08-04-2005

Please join us on Thursday, August 25, from 1-2 PM ET for a workshop with Canada Post. Kim from Canada Post will be here to answer all of your questions about Canada Post letterpost service and what the regulations are for using this type of service.

If you are not able to attend, you can leave your questions here in advance of the workshop and they will be answered during the workshop, and you can come back in and check the answers.

Hope you can join us!

Carly

bid-on-this-now · ‎08-17-2005

I think it is very clear to most ebay sellers that Canada Post has NO IDEA of what is really going on at Canada Post. One ebay seller writes that the Pres and CEO of Canada Post wrote her to tell her that it was OK to send lapel pins as lettermail. Yet others at Canada Post are telling us that unless it is truly paper inside the envelope, you can NOT send it as lettermail. I have taken items in a padded envelope going to the USA to one post office (station F in Toronto) and they demand that I have the green Canada Customs sticker on the package. At another post office outlet at 777 Bay Street...they tell me to remove the green sticker and then it goes by lettermail at a much cheaper rate. One other problem I have with Canada Post is that the staff that actually works for Canada Post (like the staff at Station F in Toronto) are RUDE and most of them work at a snails pace. When I go to a franchised Canada Post outlet, I find the staff much friendlier and more willng to help me. Lets face it...Canada Post employees are government employees, and thier chances of every getting fired because of people complaining are VERY SLIM. After all..they will scream to thier union that they were unfairly treated. I wish someone from CANADA POST HEAD OFFICE would spend a few days at Station F in Toronto to observe the poor service that the customers have to put up with.

apmtrade · ‎08-17-2005

Hello C.P Kim..
Had plan to used my 25 years Business expir. i 3 countries to build up a nice larger mostly export business on eBay.
For now I will put it on hold.
eBayer and eBay,we have to.. "stick together" on this issue.Many will be out of business.
CP..,Sellers and buyers and eBay Corp.We will all loose.

??? for Kim.Only Paper allowed as " other letter post" does that include: Stamps and letters,used Postage Covers for collectors ??.
Thanks.

manathome2000 · ‎08-17-2005

Could CP please give us a break!

I sell comics and role playing games and loose sales due to the high cost of shipping to the US, where most of my customers are.

Why not a service like "Media Mail" in the US. I'm told they can ship up to 4 magazine sized articles for about $2.00 US.

manathome2000

ronsgood · ‎08-17-2005

SEEM UNANOMUS WERE GETTING SCREWED
AND DID YOU HERE THE ONE ABOUT GAS/SMALL TOWNS
MILLIONS OF .50c LETTERS DAILY / NO MONEY NEED MORE
MILLIONS OF INFLATED DOMESTIC PACKAGES DAILY / NO MONEY NEED MORE
MILLIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LETTER/PACKAGES DAILY
NO MONEY NEED MORE
MILLIONS OF FLYER/COMERCIAL/BUSINESS PACKAGES AND LETTERS DAILY NO MONEY NEED MORE
AND NOW "SPECIAL LETTERS " TWICE THE PRICE TO START
ITS ONLY 100% INCREASE(THATS NOT MUCH)

THEN (REAL SOON) WE JUST DONT HAVE ANY MONEY
LETS HAVE A FORUM
THEN RAISE EVERYTHING AGAIN
AND BLAME IT ON NO MONEY

ronsgood · ‎08-17-2005

CANADIAN SMALL BUSINESS
NO MONEY PAY MORE
TO THINK A FORUM WILL HELP WHEN THE ANSWER IS SO OBVIOUS

WERE GETTING SCREWED FACE IT

ANOTHER BENT OVER CANADIAN

0tinam0 · ‎08-17-2005

Kim

I have a couple of questions for you regarding the international letter mail issue.

First off - In my community (in Vancouver), the small packet vs letter mail policy has been enforced for several months now. Yet, I keep seeing on this board that other PO's aren't enforcing til September and that some haven't even heard of it yet! Why the inconsistency in timing?

Secondly - I have had several emails from Canada Post's customer service stating that "Lettermail includes all paper materials such as letters, documents, posters, stickers and more. Items such as CD's, video tapes.. are considered non Lettermail, therefore they are included in the Small Packet category." I sell scrapbbooking stickers - based on this response, it looks like I can go back to sending my stickers via lettermail to the US, rather than small packet. Do you concur?

Thnaks very much for your response

0tinam0

quickpencil · ‎08-17-2005

Why does Canada Post charge more to ship a one pound parcel a distance of 120 miles ( for example from Winnipeg to Brandon) than it costs to ship the same item Internationaly from Winnipeg to Texas? It does not make any sense.

purplecups · ‎08-17-2005

Why is parcelpost much more expensive from somewhere in Canada to anywhere is Canada than to ship from here to the USA.I can send a parcel to Niagara Falls,USA for about half the price it costs to send to Niagara Falls,Canada from British Columbia???.

ronsgood · ‎08-18-2005

ATT CANADA POST NEW(CHEAP) PARCEL MAIL RATES

SMALL SIZE *CONTAINER ( $5.00) ONLY $1.0O TO POST
MED SIZE *CONTAINER ($10.00) ONLY $3.00 TO POST
LRG SIZE *CONTAINER ($20.00) ONLY $5.00 TO POST

*ONLY SPECIAL MAIL CONTAINERS CAN BE USED FOR THESE
"NEW CHEAP REASONABLE POSTAL RATES
AVAILABLE ONLY AT FRIENLY (BEND A LITTLE FURTHER)
CANADA POST

BE SURE TO CHECK OUR NEW "PAY MORE CONTEST"
COMING TO YOU FROM THE BACKDOOR DEPARTMENT
AT "YOUR" CANADA POST

synheme · ‎08-18-2005

Question for Kim,
Is a deck of playing cards considered 'paper'?
Starting septembre 19, shipping to the US will cost 50% of the value of the item.
CP is going to kill my business.
J.P.

sof7 · ‎08-18-2005

Hello,

Few question for them. Why with a tracking number they cannot find package?? Why sometimes it take 30 days for surface small package delivery in the USA?? Last September I send a package to Bresil took 5 months to arrived by surface ( supposed to be a max of 3 months). And best question where goes all the package that they lost I most have some there. It will be good if we can insured and have tracking number for international small package under 2kg and small package to USA. Also more information with the tracking of expedited parcel. And they should do something about there phone service because depending with who you talk you get different answer....

old_crotchety_e_bay_seller · ‎08-18-2005

As a long time eBay seller & mail order seller prior to eBay, I have to say I have never been impressed with Canada Post's service. At this point I have been finding that I can send some items via UPS for the same money that Canada Post wants for their inferior, untracable, & unaccountable services. Sometimes UPS has been cheaper, even.

Also, does Canada Post realize their are screwing up Canadian sellers' sales to any buyer outside of Canada?

A Japanese buyer can purchase the same item I am selling from a US seller & only have pay 1/3rd of the shipping we have to charge. I have never had more complaints & accusations about us overcharging for shipping as I have since the last increase.....and we charge only actual postage!

easternero · ‎08-18-2005

It is clear that most sellers including myself won't be able to survive once the new outrages rates kick in. My margin is low, I only make a few dollars on each transacton. Ebay takes a chunk, paypal takes a chunk and now Canada Post want the whole pie. Canada Post's new regulation of charging small packet price for items that can fit in a letter envelop will hurt not only the sellers but Canada's Post bottom line. Please offer the sellers some options because we cannot compete with the lower postal rates offers by buyers in the US and Asia. I already wrote to my MP and contacted my local media outlet regarding this issue, I hope everyone on this board will do the same.

northpk · ‎08-18-2005

This 20mm thickness restriction on oversize letter is crazy, NO other countries has this kind of restrictions, it jump from $1.70 to $5.60 if your item is 21mm in thickness,

bcvince · ‎08-18-2005

Hello,
I think all fellow Canadian E-Bayer's should be pressuring the Canadian postal service to offer a small package service like the U.S. does. Any Canadian E-Bayer that has sold to the U.S. has been suprised that it costs less to mail from Canada to the U.S. then what it does to mail the same package within Canada. That is ridiculous. This is because Canada post does not offer small package service. I guess their attitude is why bother offering a more cost effective pricing structure if people will pay more and we can get away with it. I think in this day and age of E-Bay it is just to blaitant an example of not trying to do the best for your customers but rather for your profits.

The gas surcharge is something I don't understand. Why not have a mailperson fee, and a build a new post office fee. These are all called the costs of doing business. Decide how much you think you can competatively charge for your servicce and ask that price and see what the market bears. But to tell someone that postage is 5.oo and now there will be added charges,,, well when ya get a total let me know and lets just call that the postage. The gas surcharge has been imposed because of gas prices and even if they go down the fee will be here to stay. Or maybe call it sucharge or tax or just more cash out of customers pocket and into yours would be a better term.

starr_ll · ‎08-18-2005

I would suggest that Canada post would consider Global priority envelopes, at least to some countries, like the US, Europe and Australia. It cost the seller in the US 9.00 US-Dollars for 4 lb to ship internationally and 7.00 US-Dollars for the same envelope to Canada. I gave up selling some larger items due to the high postage rates. There is no way to compete with the Americans when it comes to shipping. Right now I sell only to Canada & US due to the high international postage rates. I use priority bubble-envelopes a lot within Canada. They often cost less then the parcel rate. Many of my Canadian customers live in remote area's and regular parcel rates are sky high.
Perhaps Canada Post could check into how the post-offices in the US are run. They offer more services for less and seem to do well.
I will have mayor problems if I can not sent items as lettermail anymore since that's how I ship most.

ronsgood · ‎08-18-2005

THATS RIGHT EVERYONE WRITE TO THE GOVERNMENT THEY CAN HAVE A FORUM, TAKE IT OVER AND RUN IT PROPERLY
AND HELP CANADIANS EVERYWHERE OR WELFARE MIGHT BE THE ANSWER

ALL THESE OBVIOUS QUESTIONS WITH ENDLESS POSIBILITIES FOR REASONABLE CHANGES

AND THE RESPONSE
BAN EVERYDAY ITEMS FROM REGULAR MAIL
DOUBLE THE EXISTING COST
AND CALL IT "SPECIAL LETTERS"

MAYBE THE POSTMEN SHOULD START KNOCKING ON DOORS AND START CHARGING FOR PERSONAL APPERANCE DELIVERY
WHAT CHOICE WOULD CUSTOMERS HAVE BUT TO PAY MORE

BENT AND SPENT CANADIAN

synchronia · ‎08-18-2005

This is a site worth looking at - with possibility for small business representation:

http://www.datafix.com/nammu/welcome2.htm

The National Association of Major Mail Users (NAMMU)

is the voice of the Canadian mailing industry.

"Established in 1983, NAMMU continues to evolve and meet the changing needs of its broad

membership base. Increasingly aligned with other influential postal associations worldwide,

NAMMU is also emerging in the global postage stage as a recognized and credible presence.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF NAMMU?

NAMMU represents the postal interests of end users and suppliers. It promotes:

- The growth of postal commerce, in the best interests of its members

- A forward looking, efficient, affordable national postal system for Canadians" (Quoted from the NAMMU Website).,

sel3861 · ‎08-18-2005

Hi Kim , The service pretty good however its too expensive . Increase the % saved for Ventureone customers .It should more like 15 to 20% . Lots of other great ideas for you to look at already posted .Cost of shipping within Canada too expensive .