Canada Post RANT

[unique-attic-treasures]

Sorry Peeps...I just can't take Canada Post loosing my stuff anymore...

It's disgusting that in the past year we have literally had at least one piece of mail lost per month going to customers...it's beyond ridiculous...  

I have some background on the inside knowledge of how the postal process works(I worked for a year as a janitor at the Stoney Creek processing plant) and for the life of me I can't figure out how this is happening so constantly

The thing is it is happening constantly ...even with a cookie jar fund type thing the losses are to much for a business minded person to accept(I worked automotive retail for decades and know there is a certain amount of shrinkage that is acceptable and how to work my GP numbers to compensate but this is beyond ridiculous)

It's getting worse to the point where we are going to have to start charging for expedited shipping just to make sure our customers receive there stuff

In all the years my better half had been doing this she had never had this issue..

What is even worse is that (knock on wood) we have never lost a package being shipped air to the states...heck we'd only lost 1 in all these years even going regular postage to the USA...

It really sucks for our Canadian Customers but in the end I don't think there is anything that can be done...I've sent numerous complaints online to Canada Post but who knows if anyone ever actually reads the stuff lol

Anyways

Does anyone else have these experiences and have you noticed it getting worse the past year?

Thanks

Jenn and Steve 

[izzame]

Canada Post actually has a very low "lost" rate. With ebay's return policy: no tracking = "I never received my item" according to ebay the tracking is also proof of shipping.
It wasn't until ebay came out with their "return policy" that most sellers started having issue's (ebay has "tarred all sellers with the same brush") Selling since 1998 not even one issue until this buyers favoured return policy. Always shipped small packet USA & International unless buyer requested tracked. Now I only ship tracked, costs buyer more and ebay makes more FVF on shipping (small pkt cost vs tracked pkt cost) Here's something to ponder: If shipping small pkt. and buyer claims "never received" why isn't the parcel EVER returned to me by the postal system? My return address is stamped on every pkg. Yes, it is very painful knowing the buyer has the item and all their money returned but ebay has trained them well, no tracking, it's all free, that's the ebay way. It's not necessarily all buyers are dishonest, it's part of ebay's marketing/policies

[mrdutch1001]

Have been selling online for over 18 years and can still count on one hand the number of my sent packages that have been "lost" in transit... luck I guess, but I have no issues with Canada Post. I send a lot of oversize letter rate packages as well as small packet. Also, I now sell mainly to USA and Canada, rarely anything International.

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

I don't think Canada Post is losing the parcels.  I think more buyers on eBay are being dishonest & claiming they never received the packages.  eBay has made it so easy for buyers to get a refund, that many are milking the system for all it is worth.  Tracking is the way to go even though it costs more. But honest buyers will pay for it if they really want what you are selling. Dishonest ones will stay away.

[pjcdn2005]

I have had very few ‘lost’ parcels over the years and haven’t noticed any recent increase.   I wonder if it is a problem at your drop off point...if you always put your items in one specific mailbox or at a specific postal outlet, try dropping them off at a different location.  

[unique-attic-treasures]

Just to be clear

I do realize that some people maybe dishonest BUT I think it is the fact that a lot of the parcels might just be taking SO much longer its beyond the realm of stupid....

We have had experiences sending things to family members out west and the packages(letter sized mail using stamps) have never been received...so it is in fact a Canada Post problem..but as some have said it might actually be a problem in our area...heck we had a package lost in the past year just going to a family member in Toronto...its ridiculous

We have used numerous different drop boxes and dropping of directly at 4 different postal outlets  with some results

I'm thinking a problem is in our area where the mail gets sorted...it's to the point where I'm switching over most of the items like pins that we sell that are small and inconspicuous that we would normally send regular mail to expedited....it's gonna suck for our Canadian customers but there isn't anything we can do

Also that is a very good point that we never actually get the packages back(well one we sent to my brother n' law out west took 6 months be we did eventually get it back lol)so its a matter of the package not being received in a timely fashion ...to bad we can't have an international ground ship timeline of 60-90 days like we have an option for when shipping snail mail to anyplace else

There has gotta be some way ebay could have a timeline where if a customer doesn't get a package or the seller doesn't get the package back (ie return to sender) then customer is just plain lying lol...I know it will never happen but what can ya do lol

Thanks for listening peeps lol

[reallynicestamps]

It's handy to have a comparison between family shipments and commercial shipments.

However between the possibility of Canada Post losses* and the possibility of dishonest buyers, I suspect there are more losses to dishonest buyers taking advantage of cheap untracked packaging.

Are most of your losses on spoons and badges that travel in a bubble envelope by lettermail or Small Packet?

You could move to Tracked Packet or you could start using Cookie Jar Insurance to cover the occasional loss on these, even adding your CJI premium on your larger more valuable and tracked items.

It's a difficult problem.

*which are usually delays rather than losses or if the shipment is damaged the recipient gets it bagged and with a letter of apology or a misdirected/undeliverable shipment is eventually returned to the sender.

[teenytrinkets]

Very true...but I find the dishonest ones will likely SNAD you anyway, so tracking is pointless.

I've had 3 buyers INR me in the past two years. I guessed 2 were scammers and one was legit, but of course I refunded everyone.

None of those INRs were in Canada. I've had 2 SNADs in Canada, and 2 in the US - all refunded or partially refunded. I'd say they were legit, too (damage, old product being the complaints).

I'd say less than 0.05% of my sales go missing.

[femmefan1946]

Anecdotally that rate seems to be the eBay norm.  Retailers (like WalMart) consider a one percent loss rate normal and allow for that in pricing. That includes shoptheft and damaged stock as well as employee theft some of which we avoid.

I'd call phoney SNAD claims a form of shoptheft.

Cookie Jar Insurance is one way to cover monetary losses, just putting a few pennies from each sale into a virtual Cookie Jar to pay out when nothing else can be done.

But before that it's important to remember than even for sellers with a No Returns policy, we can demand/request the return before refunding. We may have to pay for the return, but quite often the idea of giving back the purchase ends the Dispute.

Smoke and mirrors.

"I regret you are not fully satisfied with your purchase. Please return it for a full refund."

Rinse Repeat.

[teenytrinkets]

Yeah, I laugh when I read "no returns" in listings!

Sure... whatever you say....lol

[katlover1952]

I have often wondered the same thing. I have never received a parcel back that was claimed as "not being received" despite the fact that my return address is on the label. I did received one back that the buyer had changed addresses but forgot to let me know but that is it.

I do think eBay's return policy does make it easy for buyers to make false claims. I sell lower priced items so using the expensive Canada post tracked parcels is just not an option as you would not sell anything.  I still think most buyers are honest. Unfortunately it is the dishonest ones we tend to remember!

[mrdutch1001]

For sellers who use "no returns" in listings , I think it's a matter of knowing that can be over-ridden by both eBay and PayPal. I have used a "no returns" policy in my listings for over 18 years and in all these years of selling on eBay, the number of times I have been asked to do a return is negligible.

[femmefan1946]

I suspect that most sellers with a No Returns policy think it is a No REFUNDS policy.

It isn't.

That seller is just saying he never wants to see the sold item again.
Between eBay and Paypal, the seller refunds the unhappy customer.

[gwrocen]

Hello all,

Here is something I discovered a while ago.

When you send a package by Small Packet,

you will note that there is a barcode on the customs form.

I enter that bar code number for tracking on the eBay page.

It is shown as “not a trackable item” when you check it on the Post Office Sites

whether Canada or US.

However, it appears that after the parcel goes through customs into the USA,

the US Postal Service must scan that BAR CODE and it shows up on eBay tracking.

Here is a screen shot from the eBay record of a recent small packet

that we sent from Canada to the USA.

Try it out and see what happens for you.

Thanks.

[mrdutch1001]

I fully understand the implications and know fully well that "No returns" does not mean "No refunds". For myself the number of returns requests &/or subsequent refunds over the 18 years, has remained negligible...

[teenytrinkets]

Can you show what the barcode looks like when you generate it online? Do you have to use eBay shipping?

I do all of my shipping/ customs forms manually at the counter but my lady there says I won't be able to do it manually for much longer (they are going to force us to do it online).

[femmefan1946]

Uh huh .

That would be a good way to stop all those 80 y.o. ladies from sending their annual Christmas sweaters to the great-grandchildren.

Post Office or Postal Outlet?  Some of the minimum wage clerks in the outlets are very poorly trained.*

EBay pushes you to Shippo labels.

Paypal pushes you to Paypal labels.

SnapShip pushes you to Canada Post labels.

All require the Small Business Solutions number and all are really Canada Post labels. 

It just depends on which label service you prefer.

With the SBS number you have the Domestic Expedited service available for the same price as Regular Domestic parcel. Expedited is also available for US delivery.

Better yet, if you do it online, you can drop your labelled packages in the postbox outside the postal outlet and the outlet won't get paid for handling the parcel.

*And some are excellent of course.

[gwrocen]

Hello,

I generate my customs form online and take it to the Post Office

but I have the post office do the rest - using my Small Business Card for the discount. 

They generate the shipping label and that label has the bar code.

I would imagine that a Small Packet shipping label generated on line

would have the same type of barcode.  It looks like any other barcode on

a shipping label/customs form but is narrower and located

at the top of the Small Packet form.

For our area the bar code begins with UR - 9 digits - CA

I have to write it out for myself before the clerk puts the shipping label

into a "labelope" and attaches it to the parcel. 

I usually use "discount postage stamps" on the parcel and

have to pay only the difference calculated at the PO

which mostly amounts to a few cents as I don't always put

the exact amount of stamps on the parcel.

I do not use eBay shipping.

If you are doing this manually, at the counter,

look for the bar code on the label that the PO clerk generates

and copy it out for yourself.

Then enter it as the tracking number on your eBay sales record

for that sale.

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@teenytrinkets wrote:
... show what the barcode looks like when you generate it online?
Do you have to use eBay shipping?

---

Does work for Shippo and PayPal.

Should also work for over an over the counter label.

the tiny secret code to use for ebay...

[ricarmic]

I can confirm that it does NOT work for the small packet over the counter label bar code..... I tried some experiments for both USA and international, no updates ever showed up....

However, unlike gwrocen I did not fill them out via the online customs form, I've used the hand written ones and I copied the UR number off the bar code label the PO generated so that may be the difference.