why is it so expensive to ship small car parts from the U.S to Canada,shipping is more than the part is worth!!!!!!

[trapline2877]

was looking on 55 chev parts and the shipping is way too much.

[femmefan1946]

Yes.

The thing to keep in mind is that this is mail order.

Many things are not worth selling by mail, because the shipping cost is higher than the value (or perceived value ) of the item.

You can look around for other shippers than Canada Post to carry your items, but frankly none of them are any cheaper and most are much more expensive.  Think a dollar a pound within Canada for most shipments. And if the item is bulky, it could be higher.

You might, if your items are hard to find, do better by using a Fixed Price that covers all your costs, including packaging and domestic shipping, and then offering the items as “Free Shipping” within North America.

Smart buyers know that shipping is never free, but it is still a good selling point. Do check that shipping to Iqualluit is not less expensive than shipping to Puerto Rico however.  It is the far flung customers who have the highest shipping costs.

But if your items are genuinely difficult, you will find customers for them. It’s the easy stuff that is not worth offering.  Which is easier 100 sales at $10 each or one sale at $1000.?

[femmefan1946]

Apparently I did not notice you are a buyer rather than a seller.

While most of what I wrote still stands, you should also be aware of a couple of quirks in shippingfrom the USA ro Canada.

For a seller to be covered by Confirmation of Delivery, the only USPS service he can use is Global Priority, which starts at $25 and goes up.

If he uses UPS or another courier, the buyer will be charged a customs brokerage fee, plus applicable duty (none for car parts) and taxes, on his doorstep if the purchase was over $20. The courier will not release the item without that payment. The US seller may not be aware of this.

If the seller is using the new Global Shipping Program, he gets a tiny break on his eBay fees, but Pitney Bowes who run the program get a fat fee, which the buyer is charged and for that fee will definitely include duty and taxes. But at least it won’t be unexpectedly on the doorstep.

Oh, yeah, since the US seller ships to a central facility, you can expect delivery to be slow. Again, this has not been well explained to the sellers.