@shoppersessence wrote:
Using a shipping option without tracking number, a dishonest buyers may deny he or she has received the shipment. However, with tracking number, shipping fee sometimes is more expensive than my item for sale. This will make my item unattractive. I am wondering how experienced sellers handle their shipping fee. Thanks.
It depends on what you sell. Some types of items tend to attract more fraudsters. I send a lot of stuff untracked with few problems. I self-insure (my loss rate is less than 1/200 packages).
For Canada:
If the item is more than 500g or 2cm thick, your only choices are tracked. My usual choice is Expedited for best cost.
For items under $50 (and under 500g an less than 2cm thick) I usually use oversize lettermail with discounted stamps (usually bought from stamp sellers on eBay). No tracking, self insured.
Alternatives (if you are local, which I'm not): ChitChatsExpress.com (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax) or StallionExpress.com (Toronto) both have discounted flat rate tracked shipping for the provinces.
To the USA:
Small Packet USA - has an internal trace number, doesn't count for tracking (but does make the package look like it is tracked), inexpensive, max of 1kg.
Tracked Packet USA - does have tracking, max weight of 1kg
Expedited Parcel USA -tracked, max weight of 30kg
Most of my cheap stuff goes Small Packet to the USA, over $50 or bulky usually via Expedited.
Alternatives (that let you use USPS cheap tracked domestic services):
ChitChatsExpress (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax), StallionExpress (Toronto), RunninRed (Winnipeg), DYKpost (Calgary, Edmonton) -- as long as the package is under $800 they can take (for a small fee) your parcel across the border and mail it with the USPS.
To the rest of the world (effective 2018):
Small Packet Air for inexpensive, lightweight stuff (although the max rate is 2kg, I seldom bother with anything over 1kg).
Tracked Packet while it does have tracking, is not available for a lot of countries.
With my mix of products countries I'm quite willing to send untracked parcels to:
Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK
(there is more, but that's the top of my list)
For many of the items I sell I don't bother with the rest of the world. Some things are not valuable enough to be worth selling worldwide because of shipping.
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