eBay Workshop with Canada Post: Thursday, August 25, 1:00-2:00 PM ET

[carly@ebay.com]

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

[bookstotheborder]

ferret-mom : The last increase had no mention of Small Packet ----but they were/ so I am betting they will also be increased this time.

[ciderantiques]

ferret-mom: If you have a US$ account with the Bank of Nova Scotia, the US Money Orders are free : ). I haven't had any problems with them being accepted in the USA.

[tobyshitzu]

KIM

Does Canada post consider it acceptable that one can take the identical box, with identical weight, going to the identical address to postal outlets 5 different times over a couple of weeks, and get 5 different prices, the highest being 24% higher then the lowest?

The photographic evidence is here:
http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=300022674&tstart=0&mod=1124837169076

[pierrelebel]

"Answer ALL of our questions "

[naughty_indulgence]

WHAT DOES "OTHER INTERNATIONAL/USA DISTRIBUTION SERVICES" stand for?

Leanne

As per the Canadian Postal Guide:

Note 2005/04/13: Goods are not permitted for movement as Letter-post. Items such as CD's and other small goods must be shipped using other International/USA Distribution Services.

[phoquebooks]

Perhaps already done by someone else, i had to come here to post a reply to 177 & 179. YEARS ago we all learned that all the long-winded explanations and exceptions & disclaimers about "damage" insurance boiled down to this simple rule... "if it can be BROKEN, it is not insurable through C.Post".
Many eBayers [before .ca existed] tried to pin their point of view on a wording [probably gone now] that went something like.. "sufficient protective packaging so as to withstand normal handling".... it didn't matter that i had wrapped my winner's Vader/Chewbacca bookends in professional glass-protector blanketing, then put it inside a double-walled box [banana box] w/ peanuts, and then a second outer box with 4" clearance all sides, loaded with styrofoam; only to have it run over by lift-truck [show the tire marks to CP rep] AND pounded with a 5 pound sledge [hammer] ... show penetration holes to rep... say "this isn't NORMAL handling damage"....


"too bad it's a breakable item, therefore it's not insurable".


"But the agent at the post office [not an 'outlet'] SOLD me insurance for $400. Cdn. and he had seen the customs form saying it was mfg'd by Sigma Ceramics in 1983".


"OK, if i could tell them the name of the employee they'd pay THIS claim, but never again".


I could, they did, but from then on i never used a "Fragile" sticker! 100% Truth from 1998.

[phoquebooks]

Re: post 182 & 184 [can y'all tell i'm a slow reader?]...
where is this wording, i spent ½ hour at C.Post's site and all i could find about "goods" not being allowed was as "attached to a postcard". I did finally click on "Enclosures" on the Letter-post to US & page and got: Enclosures
Only paper enclosures which meet the requirements for U.S.A. and International Letter-post are acceptable.

But for 8 years now every CP rep i ever asked [1-800 or 1-888 or in person] assured me "books and magazines ARE documents". NOW they are not??? THAT is clearly a change, not just a "reinforcement" [don't they mean "enforcement"?] and NOW this all affects ME. My thin vintage paperbacks OR 1 collectible magazine have long been going through as "OSL". Please Kim, what is the straight answer as it pertains to my vintage paper 'documents' ????

Apparently the CD sellers just found that they can ship their "goods" in a "tickelvelope"? so what is the solution to my being forced out of the book business i started about the time CP eliminated the "book rate"?

I lost dozens of sales already as i have had to explain to my 95% US buyers "there is no 'media mail' from Canada". As soon as they hear they're going to have to pay $5 US to have a $5 [or even $25] book shipped to them... i'll lose all 95% !!!!!

[phoquebooks]

To post 261 - onlinemusicguy
Do you know of similar in Ottawa?
If i still had my Astro Van i'd be doing it here by Sept. 30 [and i'm a US citizen living in Canada since 1 yo, so i might be able to do cross-border stuff easier than some others]. I'm thinking perhaps it is another case of Qc being able to do stuff w/ US that no other prov. seems to be able to pull off.


WHY can't eBayers e-mail each other [without being involved in a transaction]??? TRY my userID at Rogers.
they are a CDN. co. but not a .ca

[misterbeaver]

I would like to know why it costs canadians 40-60% more to ship overseas, such as germany/britain, than the USPS offers. Why doesnt Canada Post and the USPS share containers or ships, since the mail is gonna be sent to the same foreign postal company, thus the same entity will be handling both shipments of packages so why not CP save alot of cash by bringing it down south to say new york and splitting vessel/container fees so save some costs/pass it on to us. CP trucks apparently aleady make long trips to the states when delivering usa correspondense, so why not send additional trucks for foreign mail. Im sure the US will be open to sharing costs with us, since they do not make profits like CP, any cost cutting for them would be as beneficial as it is to us.

Because to my knowledge the only justification to our 50% higher rates is because we have a lower population and thus less correspondence/packages going to those foreign destinations, so its only logical (assuming CP has execs with logic) that we send our foreign shipments to the u.s ports to save some $$$$$$$. We canadian sellers wont mind adding an extra 1-2 days, even 3 days to shave atleast 25% on international shipments, both customers and sellers would agree its worth it.

Please kim respond to this....

[phoquebooks]

Hey ronsgood......
we are all very upset, but i think you'd get your 'points' and 'barbs' across to EVERYONE better, if you'd turn off your caps lock and compose coherent sentences. JMO.

[phoquebooks]

To: addobbi
Hi Cornwall, i'm now Ottawa, was Kingston.
So when's the last time you went to Messena?
Try userID at Rogers.

[phoquebooks]

To: maryo1961
but also to KIM....
Lemme tell you about labels/forms size.... i still have an untended enquiry at Canada Post over this story....



Background: i do understand the need for basic "minimum measurements"... CP can't be expected to handle ring boxes and 1960s kiddie Valentine cards in cute 1"x2" envelopes.


Question: but why can't the current minimums for small packets [obviously "letterPOST", since we stupidly don't have Sm.Pkt. letterMAIL] be the same minimum when it is over 1 Kg. and has to go Expedited-USA or Xpresspost-USA???



I bought 1000s of commercial boxes from Chiswick to hold my hoped-for multiple paperback sales, then last month when my 9 book order weighed 1003 grams I found the box that HELD the 9 books perfectly, that i had used 100 times to send under 1Kg. of books, wasn't BIG ENOUGH to be a "parcel" !!!!!! I had to box that box into another box. Then i found out why [unofficial answer] ..... THE FORM IS 5" x 8", and the gal at my local outlet has been told to STOP lapping the form onto the side of the box. The minimum in this case is just because when CP re-designed the form [i still have some old "43-074-236 (00-07)" right here, that were smaller so don't say this isn't so] they made it BIGGER than "small packet" minimums measure.



SO EVERYBODY GET SET.... not only do you have to switch from OSL to Sm. Pkt. you probably can't even use your already purchased small envelopes / rigi-mailers, etc. when paying the "enforced" rate.... you'll have to throw all those away and buy a BIGGER container [especially if they do get you useless tracking barcodes] cause those trackable forms will be too big for Sm.Pkt. current minimums and CP will up the min. measurements to accomodate the new form !!! As if they couldn't just take a USPS "Global Priority" form [about 4"x5", i think] and stick a maple leaf where the eagle is now! Wonder how much they paid the person who couldn't design a new Expedited or Xpress form under 5" x 8" ????? [pardon my age slip... 14cm x 23cm.]

[rare_keychains]

If any of you are curious to see the actual difference between the prices of CanadaPost and USPS just have a look at the table below. USPS does not care weither your item is in a thick box or a flat envelope, they simply look at the weight of the item and charge postage accordingly.

[wonbyyou]

Hello Kim.
Please confirm my understanding of the new letterpost is correct.
Today I sent a Canadian 25 Cent coin to Europe.Letterpost $ 1.45.
After Sep.19.05, CP will charge me Small Packet Air.$ 6.95.... ????

Will CP/Coin, Charge the same to US and overseas subscribers of Coins and send it as Small Packet ??

[celestia_13]

I have been extremely frustrated with the postal system this summer. I have had several small packet packages to the US go missing. In the past when my air shipments went missing, I could file a claim within two weeks, but now i have to wait 45 days!! That is ridiculous. To make matters worse, when I phoned to start a claim, I found the "customer service" rep to be extremely unhelpful, condescending and rude.


I have also had several air shipments take over 14 days to arrive to the US. That is unacceptible as far as I am concerned and it has caused me great stress in trying to make people understand why this is happening when I don't even know why it is!! Adding tracking would be a nice idea.


In addition, as many people have mentioned already, it makes no sense that I can ship a package to the US or even around the world for less than I can in my own city! It distresses me because I am about to launch a website focusing on service in Canada and shipping rates are high and variable and it makes it difficult to set shipping rates. I feel I am at a disadvantage even in my own country both on eBay and the web in general as compared to companies in the US based on cost of shipping. A domestic small packet service would be great!


I feel there has to be better customer service and a way of better ensuring packages arrive in a timely manner. (Pretty sad when a customer in the US can get an item in three days by air from Hong Kong and it takes 14 days from me by air. I am sure there are a few people that won't come back to buy from me based on the slow shipping.)


Natalie
(celestia_13)

[sunraycity]

I think that we should organize a pseudo shipping service to the US for shipments with USPS. If we have enough interest it can really be worthwhile. Ebayers unite! I live in Toronto and would be happy to meet up with others in my area who would like to do the same. Contact me if your interested.

Moshe

[hamutie28]

I am so frustrated during this summer, I don't know why but every week I received email from buyer asking "where is my item" the mail is soooo slow......I am so tired to explain , it never happen in the past 2 years!

I am wonder what is wrong with CP, also the lost mail had increase....usually mail can take 4-10 business days to arrived my customer but is look like the shipping time is changing....sending to USA can take up to 14 days! Oh my......I live in BC, was sent a parcel to Victoria and take more than 4 days to reach my buyer, if send to Ontario which take a week to 9 business days. Buyer will not care is this CP problem they only think seller shipping slow, is so unfair for seller, since we mail the item out of our hand and the rest of thing is CP job...how can I control this?

[nickie*nine*doors]

Kim: I would also like to know the answer to the questions asked by celestia (post # 440). Especially regarding the time it takes for parcels to arrive. So many times I have been given "it has to do with US Customs and Homeland Security" as the reason for the delay. My packages also often take well over 2 weeks to arrive to US destinations, and are being sent via AIR. When I try to explain this to my American customers, they get very angry (and I lose face), because they are able to receive shipments from Australia, Japan, or any other country in less than one week. If the problem was with US Customs, shouldn't all incoming foreign shipments not be processed the same way? Something here just does not add up. Why are we paying such a high rate, but receiving 3rd-world service? Can you please explain exactly what happens to our US-bound Air shipments, and why it takes so long, compared to similar shipments coming from other countries ???


Another problem I share with celestia is that this summer, I have had more than my fair share of parcels that were either delivered late (the ones that had guaranteed delivery times), or that went missing altogether. Why is this? Is there some correlation between summertime (and perhaps regular postal workers being on holiday, and temporary part-timers taking their place) and the success rate of deliveries? The process for making a claim is simply ridiculous. For each late or missing package, it takes several hours of my time which hardly makes the process worthwhile at all. I concur with celestia that the CP reps on the phone are kurt, condescending, and less than helpful. Some do not even know their own jobs (recently I was denied a claim for an Expedited (domestic) parcel that was delivered a week late, as I was rudely told by the CP rep handling the trace that "Expedited has no guaranteed delivery time, and that if I wanted a guarantee I should have chosen ExpressPost." (We all know that domestic Expedited service does come with an on-time guarantee.) This claim has now been closed by that rep, and she is no longer returning my phone calls. When I try to speak to another rep, he/she tells me they cannot do anything because the file has already been closed. Why does CP have customer service reps that do not even know about the services and standards that exist?

P.S. How do I apply for a job there? I will be needing one come September 19.

[threewishesboutique]

Why is Canada Post "picking" on us little companies, yes registered little business, on raising the rates for what I am able up until Sept 19th to send as an over-sized letter, now it will be from 1.70 to US what I am paying now, to over 5.00 dollars!! I dont think Canada Post will have it to my customers within 3-4 business days ( I think I am being fair if I am having to pay that kind of price asking it to be delivered in the amount of time) cause now its like 7-15 business days, most being at least 2 weeks. Is every oversized letter come Sept 19th going to be insured! I think you are asking for trouble if it is. I have been in the ebay business for years, now, and I can count on 1 hand packages that werent delivered to customers. I think this is a ploy for Canada Post to suck the money from us small business's. What happened to the breaks for us! We dont receive excellent/ high quality service as it is, my american customers seem to get quality/traceable services for more the half the price we pay for our shipping here in Canada. I can handle the time it takes to be delivered to US and international address's but dont punish us with high costs, we are trying to make an honest living just like Canada Post is! We dont make near the wage that Canada post workers make, nor the salaries that the executives in Canada Post either. But we are trying to survive. Quality price for third world service. Not fair.

[grandmotherwind]

Yes,I agree whole hearted with everything you have said.This is a ploy by our own governemnt to get more money out of us.For myself it will probably finally break the back of my business because I will not be able to compete with the US-great for America-Bad for Canada.