eBay

westcoastmw · ‎06-02-2024

I am looking for a better understanding of the shipping costs for vinyl records from the US to Canada. I used to regularly purchase vinyl records, both 7" and 12", from US sellers. However, the current shipping costs listed seem incredibly high. The stated shipping cost for an 12" LP is usually around $24 US which comes out to be around $33 Canadian. Interestingly enough the shipping cost of a packaged 7" vinyl record that packaged usually weighs below 200g or just over 7oz has the same shipping rate as a 500 -700g LP package. As a comparison I can ship from Canada a tracked LP to the U.S. through eBay labels for around $13 Canadian and a 7" record for around $9 Canadian. My question is, why are the shipping costs from the US to Canada so high and why does a 7" record cost as much to ship as a 12" L.P.?

marnotom! · ‎06-03-2024

Don't just look at the shipping cost. Look at the shipping method being used.

I bet some if not most of those listings you're finding with pricier shipping are being handled by "eBay International Shipping" (eIS) which is a glorified forwarding service that has a lot of perks for the sellers who make use of it.

As it's a forwarding service, the shipping charge you see is the sum of the seller's domestic shipping charge to the forwarding hub in Illinois plus eIS's charge for getting the item out to you from the hub.

eIS's charges tend to be less than that of the USPS equivalent service, but adding the other shipping charge can make a significant difference to the overall shipping charge. Items that offer "free" shipping within the US can be pretty attractive--I found a listing for an LP that ships to Canada for less than US$15 through eIS because the seller offers "free" US shipping--but usually we're not searching based on shipping price first, item second.

The other possibility for the high shipping charges you see is that the seller is shipping via USPS but using Priority International rather than First Class Package International or a service equivalent to that. If a "generic" shipping method along the lines of "Standard International Shipping from the US" is stated, it may not even be that. The seller may or may not mention the name of the service being used in the listing description.

Does all that make sense and help any?

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-03-2024

@marnotom! wrote:
Don't just look at the shipping cost. Look at the shipping method being used.

I bet some if not most of those listings you're finding with pricier shipping are being handled by "eBay International Shipping" (eIS) which is a glorified forwarding service that has a lot of perks for the sellers who make use of it.

As it's a forwarding service, the shipping charge you see is the sum of the seller's domestic shipping charge to the forwarding hub in Illinois plus eIS's charge for getting the item out to you from the hub.

eIS's charges tend to be less than that of the USPS equivalent service, but adding the other shipping charge can make a significant difference to the overall shipping charge. Items that offer "free" shipping within the US can be pretty attractive--I found a listing for an LP that ships to Canada for less than US$15 through eIS because the seller offers "free" US shipping--but usually we're not searching based on shipping price first, item second.

The other possibility for the high shipping charges you see is that the seller is shipping via USPS but using Priority International rather than First Class Package International or a service equivalent to that. If a "generic" shipping method along the lines of "Standard International Shipping from the US" is stated, it may not even be that. The seller may or may not mention the name of the service being used in the listing description.

Does all that make sense and help any?

@marnotom!

@westcoastmw

One little factor that doesn't/hasn't seemed to be considered is due to the fact eIS(PB) before them are considered high volume shippers they would and do have access to volume discounts. One would think they would have access to better rates with USPS vs DHL/UPS/??? Sounds like the only reason Canadian buyers are paying so much is due to the forwarding from US seller to the eIS hub. From a US sellers perspective it saves them money on FVF's for that shipping but does little in the way to save buyers a penny in the process.

This is the reason why eBay Canada for Canadians has access to a substantial discount(USA Tracked). It's all under 1 CP account with volume discounting attached.

As it was so nicely explained by another very knowledgebable user on here, reason why Canadians do not have access to higher discounts with Expedited postage(within Canada) those discounts are dependend on weights vs just the actual service. Example: Recent parcel to 300 km north of Calgary 250 grams..16.00. Same parcel to Flor/CA/NY would be 10.00. Really no rational sense for that discrepancy.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-03-2024

The eIS charge may include import fees such as duty (on items over $150) and sales tax (on items over $40).

Really no rational sense for that discrepancy.

EBay has a promotion going on that price.

Currently on the public site 250gm BC to FL is $20.25 for Tracked Packet/$26.81 for Expedited.

Regular domestic shipping includes tracking. But $12 for Small Packet USA has no tracking.

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/tools/find-a-rate.page

marnotom! · ‎06-04-2024

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
One little factor that doesn't/hasn't seemed to be considered is due to the fact eIS(PB) before them are considered high volume shippers they would and do have access to volume discounts. One would think they would have access to better rates with USPS vs DHL/UPS/??? Sounds like the only reason Canadian buyers are paying so much is due to the forwarding from US seller to the eIS hub. From a US sellers perspective it saves them money on FVF's for that shipping but does little in the way to save buyers a penny in the process.

The example in my previous post of the LP with "free" US shipping shows an eIS shipping rate of US$14 and change, which is less than the USPS counter rate of US$17. Of course, we don't know if the item is actually going to be handled through the postal system for its journey from the hub to its final destination, but it's certainly less expensive than the base rate for First Class Package International, @lotzofuniquegoodies.

eIS is likely subject to greater savings than what we see on the listing page, but don't forget all those perks for sellers using the service have to be paid for somehow.

For what it's worth, several months ago I found a few listings where the seller was offering both eIS and direct shipping via USPS to some European destinations, and the eIS rate was cheaper. Since the USPS counter rates for international shipping are more expensive for destinations other than Canada, it's quite possible that the shipping rates negotiated by EasyShip are able to handle the addition of the seller's shipping rate more easily than the Canadian rates.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-04-2024

The cost of shipping internationally jumped considerably a couple of years ago.

Here are the current counter rates.

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

Play with them to see how they compare with the prices you remember.

I use 90210 as a sample zipcode.

Note that the US seller sees the expensive Priority rates first, and the First Class International Packet rate, which is also tracked for Canada, is down at the bottom of a long list.

marnotom! · ‎06-04-2024

@femmefan1946 does make an excellent point: after a period of creeping upward, the price of shipping skyrocketed when fuel prices did likewise. As well, the mailing of merchandise by letterpost is being discouraged by the Universal Postal Union and its members as international letters do not have customs documentation. You're probably accustomed to having your 7" singles mailed as oversized letters from abroad, @westcoastmw, and this isn't really possible if one is mailing from a USPS counter.

marnotom! · ‎06-04-2024

@femmefan1946 wrote:

The eIS charge may include import fees such as duty (on items over $150) and sales tax (on items over $40).

I don't think it's likely that the eIS charge would have taxes and duties folded into the shipping price. I know the old GSP sometimes did something like that, but it was actually an estimate of those charges, not the taxes and duties themselves. When charged through eIS, taxes and duty now show up as clearly defined line items at checkout.

What you might be thinking of is the brokerage or processing charges being added to the shipping charge, which would make sense in the context of eIS.

marnotom! · ‎06-04-2024

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
As it was so nicely explained by another very knowledgebable user on here, reason why Canadians do not have access to higher discounts with Expedited postage(within Canada) those discounts are dependend on weights vs just the actual service. Example: Recent parcel to 300 km north of Calgary 250 grams..16.00. Same parcel to Flor/CA/NY would be 10.00. Really no rational sense for that discrepancy.

Another possible reason for the discrepancy, @lotzofuniquegoodies, is that domestic Expedited Parcel is a postal service and handled quite differently than a small packet to the US which goes into the letter stream rather than the parcel stream, and that USPS has a different set of expenses to cover for their negotiated share of stateside deliveries. Remember that Chit Chats got its start by providing Canadian shippers a way of getting domestically shipped items transported less expensively by using USPS.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-04-2024

@marnotom! wrote:
@femmefan1946 does make an excellent point: after a period of creeping upward, the price of shipping skyrocketed when fuel prices did likewise. As well, the mailing of merchandise by letterpost is being discouraged by the Universal Postal Union and its members as international letters do not have customs documentation. You're probably accustomed to having your 7" singles mailed as oversized letters from abroad, @westcoastmw, and this isn't really possible if one is mailing from a USPS counter.

@marnotom!

@femmefan1946

FYI on USPS/etc Fuel surcharges:

Does the USPS charge for fuel?

While other shipping carriers include extra fees like fuel surcharges, the USPS is the only shipping carrier that does not charge this fee to its customers.

CP:

The Fuel Surcharges are as follows:

June 3, 2024 - June 9, 2024:

Domestic Services	24.00%
USA and International Parcel Services	15.25%
USA and International Packet Services	13.25%

May 27, 2024 - June 2, 2024:

Domestic Services	24.00%
USA and International Parcel Services	15.25%
USA and International Packet Services	13.25%

UPS April 2024

DHL USA:

Fedex Fuel Surcharge USA:

Does FedEx have a fuel surcharge?

The fuel surcharge applies to all FedEx Express services except FedEx International Express Freight (IXF) and FedEx International Airport to Airport (ATA) service. The fuel surcharge is updated from time to time and is published directly on our website. You can find the latest rates here.

This may be why Canadians pay substantially more in FVF's compared to our US counterparts and why courier shipments can be more expensive in the long run to buyers. US and Canadian.

marnotom! · ‎06-04-2024

Fuel surcharges are Canada Post's way of getting around the fact that it can only apply for price increases once a year, @lotzofuniquegoodies. I'm not sure if there's legislation that prevents USPS from using them, but I'm sure they try their best to anticipate changes in fuel prices and price their services accordingly. Putin's invasion of the Ukraine probably took USPS just as much by surprise as anybody else, though.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-04-2024

@marnotom! wrote:
Fuel surcharges are Canada Post's way of getting around the fact that it can only apply for price increases once a year, @lotzofuniquegoodies. I'm not sure if there's legislation that prevents USPS from using them, but I'm sure they try their best to anticipate changes in fuel prices and price their services accordingly. Putin's invasion of the Ukraine probably took USPS just as much by surprise as anybody else, though.

@marnotom!

I used to deal with fuel surcharges from Canadian trucking companies in late 80ies/early 90ies. They were low percents compared to what we see now. According to google (so it must be right) CP started in 2003. Fortunately or gratefully we don't pay PST/HST/GST on US/Intl. shipping.

"Effective in April of 2003, Canada Post implemented a fuel surcharge based on the average price of Regular Unleaded gasoline as measured by MJ Ervin and Associates, an independent company that monitors fuel prices in Canada.

More USPS fun facts comparisons:

While other shipping carriers include extra fees like fuel surcharges, the USPS is the only shipping carrier that does not charge this fee to its customers. Moreover, the USPS offers several Flat Rate options that can further help keep shipping costs low, since they are not based on distance travelled.

Why, when you get away with using flat rate shipping, it CAN be a major cost savings.