Canada Post Possible Stike

[stanley613]

What happens now that orders are in the mail with a possible expected delivery date of September 30 and early October, what happens if not received there is no way of knowing whether these items will be received after strike is over.  Will eBay delay delivery date?

[momcqueen]

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@hlmacdon wrote:

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@momcqueen wrote:
Yet I see nothing on the Canada Post website. Nor have I been informed of this by Canada Post as an account holder. Is it on their Twitter?

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Nothing. Just press coordination via the media. Pretty clear this is a pressure tactic direct from CP and the government. Legislate them back to work already.

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I am less than impressed by the way I'm being used as a tool as both an online shopper and online seller and it's giving me the urge to knock people's heads together a la Three Stooges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6_7DTVN8Q

[ypdc_dennis]

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@zee-chan-jpn-books wrote:
Now my other question is: I just got a $150 USD sale to the states. Should I ship it with Expedited Parcel USA tomorrow (which will sit in the postal outlet until Monday), or should I head to CCE next Tuesday to get it mailed? I'll have to set up a CCE acccount etc, but I have time to do it next Tuesday.

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Personally, I'd go with the Chit Chats Express option -- it has the additional benefit of giving you an alternative shipping choice for future sales...

[hlmacdon]

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@momcqueen wrote:

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@hlmacdon wrote:

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@momcqueen wrote:
Yet I see nothing on the Canada Post website. Nor have I been informed of this by Canada Post as an account holder. Is it on their Twitter?

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Nothing. Just press coordination via the media. Pretty clear this is a pressure tactic direct from CP and the government. Legislate them back to work already.

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I am less than impressed by the way I'm being used as a tool as both an online shopper and online seller and it's giving me the urge to knock people's heads together a la Three Stooges.

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Pretty much. While Royal Mail is doing the polite British thing of holding on to packages until further notice other countries are just sending everything back to sender. I'm surprised ebay hasn't chimed in on this more today given all of their top source markets for Canadian purchases just got completely shut off. No more cheap e-packets or registered mail coming in. There goes the market.

[kays_place]

And so it starts!  I just got my first INR request.  The buyer has patiently waited for four weeks (lives in Michigan).

I now send a note to the buyer before shipping explaining the strike and giving them the option to cancel their order.

If nothing happens next week I will probably cancel all my listings.

I read that the union did not present the latest offer with the Sunday deadline to the workers.  Maybe the workers are ready to return to work but the union isn’t.  Doesn’t the union get paid even during the strike?

[hlmacdon]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

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Personally, I'd go with the Chit Chats Express option -- it has the additional benefit of giving you an alternative shipping choice for future sales...

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I would second the recommendation as well. Canada Post may move to shut off outgoing international should things go further south. Just have to bear in mind with CCE to set an extended handling time to account for when things will actually cross the border and get a tracking scan. 

[hlmacdon]

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@kays_place wrote:

I read that the union did not present the latest offer with the Sunday deadline to the workers.  Maybe the workers are ready to return to work but the union isn’t.  Doesn’t the union get paid even during the strike?

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The union is not sending it to members for a vote apparently, hence this new pressure tactic from the other side.

[momcqueen]

I know, I am very fairly hot under the collar about this. 

I can only hope it means that ebay corporate knows something that we cannot yet know.

As an online shopper, I am trying to get my (redacted) together for Christmas and that involves, of course, shopping from UK and USA. As an online seller, I'm not going to have any money to spend at Christmas on my family this year if I don't sell my own wares to pay for what I am required to buy.

Last weekend, I had more sales than I could easily accommodate. This week, I hear crickets. 

[ypdc_dennis]

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@hlmacdon wrote:

... While Royal Mail is doing the polite British thing of holding on to packages until further notice other countries are just sending everything back to sender. I'm surprised ebay hasn't chimed in on this more today given all of their top source markets for Canadian purchases just got completely shut off. No more cheap e-packets or registered mail coming in. There goes the market.

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For the UK and the USA sellers, eBay still has the GSP.

[cumos55]

A local postal outlet...  a Shopper's Drug Mart ..... did not provide a clear understanding of what is happening 

I got the impression that the person at that outlet  understood that the strike will end on November 17....

We are slowly getting an understanding of the reality....  but even that appears to be extremely convoluted....

[cumos55]

CUPW said the new offer was a .... NO GO...

[lachnrd]

CUPW is a joke. If they allowed members to take a vote I bet they would be back to work.

[oldhousejunk]

So, just wondering if you all think its foolish to keep listing?

My local post office clerk told me this week that mail to the US from Canada goes directly to the border, they don't hold it.   

I'm kind of thinking that mailing to the US will be okay if it includes tracking, and within Canada it will already have tracking, and people should be aware of the long delay in arrival. 

Like most sellers, November is my biggest sales month and I'm already taking a huge hit, so I hate to stop selling.   

And yet, it doesn't seem very smart to just keep mailing packages that are just going to end up in the giant truck pileup. 

I wish ebay would give us some sort of advice on this before we all lose our Christmas sales entirely. 

[femmefan1946]

@oldhousejunk

My local post office clerk told me this week that mail to the US from Canada goes directly to the border, they don't hold it. 

I think the clerk misunderstood.

For example, if I mail something here in Victoria BC going upisland to Nanaimo, it goes first to Richmond/Vancouver, then back to the Island and to Nanaimo.

Victoria has no capacity to handle outgoing mail. Never mind international.

I suspect that what the clerk was told was that international mail is being given priority over domestic mail, and from the terminals that handle international mail (Richmond, Winnipeg, Mississauga, Montreal) there are still trucks and planes heading out, while domestic mail is being held if it is going to striking areas.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

For what it's worth, passed by the Calgary Sort Plant last week(early AM) and the parking lot was packed trucks and trailers. A beehive of activity. Believe it was a day or 2 following a recent day of picketing. Went by the sort plant yesterday AM at approximately the same time, the parking lot was busy but definitely not as full. No beehives noted. Not to say that there may be some smoke and mirrors at play here? Trailers automagically disappearing. Curious to know detailed specifics regarding where ALL the trailer backlogs are located across Canada and parcels going internationally? Or maybe CUPW staff is just being creatively rescheduled or re-directed?

-CM

[triber]

It was on ctv news tonight, something like they are discouraging incoming international mail, nothing about outgoing. They stated 600 trailers full of mail.

[hlmacdon]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

 Curious to know detailed specifics regarding where ALL the trailer backlogs are located across Canada and parcels going internationally?

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Those are likely to be Mississauga and Richmond as that is where all the CCC floods into the country. Canada Post is quoting 30 day delivery backlog which would likely specifically apply to that junk. Trailers full of sub $10 junk. Kind of funny how we've turned the country into one giant dollar store customer for the UPU and their cozy partner.

When the backlogs are really bad they do tend to move trailers around the country. Workers are being told not to work any overtime so the strategy seems to be let all the landfill material pile high for maximum dramatic effect on both sides.

[forester_studios]

The workers at my local post office thought the latest offer from Canada post was "very good", so yes if they were allowed to vote it would not surprise me if they got back to work (I believe these folks because I have been a regular customer for years and have an excellent relationship with them).

Sadly the union heads seem determined to destroy the very company that pays their members salaries.

[forester_studios]

It was on both Global and CTV National newscasts. CTV said that Canada post had requested that the UK, China and the USA cease sending parcels to Canada until the backlog is cleared. I can't imagine how much anger this will create among buyers who need items delivered in a timely manner. This could create long term damage to Canada posts reputation. This needs to end soon.

[forester_studios]

My sales are a slow trickle to what they should be in November. My patience ran out a few days ago. It is obvious that the CUPW head honchos have no intention of reaching a reasonable agreement with CP. I can not imagine what they think they are gaining by creating animosity with people who are both sellers and buyers. Even fewer will use CP in the future. I will not be surprised if the FEDS order them back to work next week.

If nothing is done soon the 4th quarter will be a right off. Even if they start back next week how long will it take for the system to recover? Global and CTV both reported that other countries are not shipping to Canada anymore. The damage this is doing to the National economy could be enormous. Many small businesses and lives could be damaged/destroyed. This nonsense has to end!

[forester_studios]

Looks like there may be hope after all. Feds could act by Sunday. Link to CTV story.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/government-looks-to-end-canada-post-strike-if-deadline-breached-sour...