Shipping via Canada Post as a new seller - tips please!

[baylou]

I'm thinking about getting into selling. Haven't much for years, just been a buyer, so am very rusty, so I really feel like a new seller! Thinking now about selling my vintage jewelry collection and clothing on eBay, so I will be needing mainly to mail small to medium packages.

I don't have a regular, registered business or anything. I am just a regular jane wanting to sell some stuff on eBay Canada and am trying to figure out how to make it worthwhile -- ie not all my time and profit eaten up in shipping efforts.

I had a look at Canada Post online, and don't find it very clear. Can someone like me (not a registered business with a business tax number etc) use Snap Ship or other Canada Post services? Anyone with insight or experience, advice, please reply!

And any other shipping tips appreciated. Or anything else you think someone just starting ought to consider. Thanks.

[ypdc_dennis · Accepted solution]

Sign up for Canada Post's Solutions for Small Business membership (if you're selling on line, you are in-the-business, and qualify).

It gives you some shipping benefits and you can buy some strong plastic envelopes (406 mm x 305 mm) with the eBay brand name at 25 for $3.50 including shipping. I'm still finding way to use them.

Most (but not all) of the other supplies Canada Post has, can be bought from your local business supply store for less.

Shipping to Canada:

Up to 500g, up to 2cm thick you can use oversize lettermail

One flat rate anywhere in Canada, but no tracking or insurance.

Not recommended for your jewelery if the item is valuable.

Up to 2cm thick

051-100g .. 1.80
101-200g .. 2.95
201-300g .. 4.10
301-400g .. 4.70
401-500g .. 5.05

Over 2cm thick, you need to go to parcel. Expedited parcel is recommended.

Comes with tracking, $100 insurance included (more available), and a delivery guarantee (or your shipping cost refunded). Buy shipping through eBay (the sale info will have a Print shipping label link) or elsewhere using your Solutions for Small Business membership.

Drawback: variable cost depending on location, but if listing on eBay.ca you can have eBay calculate the cost to your buyer automatically. Size of package required, so you need a ruler/measuring tape (in cm) and scales (in grams) (I recommend the Canadian Tire Starfrit when it's on sale). A rough idea of the package size/weight is usually all you need for your eBay listing.

Expedited Canada weight ranges: 0-750g, 751-1kg, then 0.5kg steps up to 30kg

Caution: Don't use too big a package or you may find the cost will jump due to dimensional weight charge.

For Canada: length x width x depth (in cm) divided by 6000 will give the dimensional weight. Shipping cost is based on the higher of actual or dimensional weight.

Example: 20x20x20 cm would be treated as 1-1.5kg package, even if you only had a 200g item inside

...

For your items, if you decide to sell outside Canada, I'd suggest USA, UK and Japan as countries to consider.

-..-

[baylou · Accepted solution]

Thanks so much ypdc_dennis. I was just also reading about the new Shippo starting this summer for printing labels etc. Pretty confusing, but hopefully gets clearer. The bit about the Canada Post options that are excluded especially.

[ypdc_dennis · Accepted solution]

I'll have to do some more reading. For Shippo I thought all the parcel options were available for inside Canada (oversize lettermail does not count as a parcel). For out of country, Light Packet is dropped (think of it as an upgraded oversized lettermail option). eBay having Light Packet in the past was a special deal with Canada Post (you normally only can buy it over the counter at a postal outlet). So your least expensive out of country option becomes Small Packet Air (avoid surface as it takes too long for eBay sales).