Canada Post Strike

[salvadord]

I am a little confused as to why eBay is still showing a "ship by" date for sellers in Canada, shipping via Canada Post.  First off, the suggestion that we update our listings to show a longer "handling time" is not realistic.  Most seller have hundreds, if not thousands, of listing, and they expect us to change those listings?

Second, since eBay is well aware that there is a postal strike with no pick up or delivery of mail, why are they not eliminating the "ship buy" until this issue is resolved?  Many sellers will not want to drop envelopes in mailboxes that are not being serviced, and often these mailboxes become overloaded.  It would be much safer to drop your mail off at a postal outlet, once the strike is over.  However, then a seller will be penalized for not meeting their "handling time" - "ship by" date.  Why is eBay not taking action to protect sellers from being penalized for not meeting shipping times?

I will be inclined to mark my sold items as shipped, even though they are not shipped, and once the strike is over, drop the mail at a postal outlet.

[mrdutch1001]

My experience has been that I sell more to the USA if I am listing in USD, but I also sell to the USA when listing in CDN...It does seem though, that I sell more within Canada when listing in CDN; so I am now back to alternating many of my listings between the 2 sites...That way the buyers can make their own choice as to whento purchase & in whatever currency they prefer, if currency is an issue...

[ricarmic]

I too (when my store is open) sell about 50/50 on com and .ca.

My results are similar, US folks are more likely to purchase from .COM and Canadians from .CA, however there is some crossover, moreoften Canadians purchasing from COM.

As a note, I also list stuff more likely to sell to US folks on .COM and stuff more likely to sell to Canadians on .CA so that will also increase the likelihood that folks purchase from their "domestic" site.

[canadianglassmountain]

There needs to be a "Shipped By Date" no matter what platform you sell on, except FBMP.  Since the strike I have created a new shipping bus policy..... all my listings are to be delivered via UPS & FedEx. My customer base is 99% USA, which for the most is cheaper than CP except for items under 900 grams. So no matter where or how you sell you still need a Ship by date via platform policies.

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@salvadord wrote:

I am a little confused as to why eBay is still showing a "ship by" date for sellers in Canada, shipping via Canada Post.  First off, the suggestion that we update our listings to show a longer "handling time" is not realistic.  Most seller have hundreds, if not thousands, of listing, and they expect us to change those listings?

Second, since eBay is well aware that there is a postal strike with no pick up or delivery of mail, why are they not eliminating the "ship buy" until this issue is resolved?  Many sellers will not want to drop envelopes in mailboxes that are not being serviced, and often these mailboxes become overloaded.  It would be much safer to drop your mail off at a postal outlet, once the strike is over.  However, then a seller will be penalized for not meeting their "handling time" - "ship by" date.  Why is eBay not taking action to protect sellers from being penalized for not meeting shipping times?

I will be inclined to mark my sold items as shipped, even though they are not shipped, and once the strike is over, drop the mail at a postal outlet.

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"Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed"

[recped]

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

  Like I said, we'rer paying the same amount of selling, FV and promotional fees.

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Yes and no, Canadian Sellers do not need 1 day shipping and 30 day sellers paid returns to qualify for the TRS discount on FVF's.

The fixed transaction fee of 30 or 40 cents are in CAD, US sellers pay the same amount but in USD.

The International fee for Canadian sellers is .4% for US sales, 1% for all other International. In the US they pay 1.6% for any foreign destination (except for sales via EIS which does not have an international fee).

Store subscription fees, in Canada a Basic Store is CA$24.95, in the US it's US$27.95 ( almost CA$39)

[mattsfinds87]

what if i never made a shipping policy before , i make a new one but i dont see where i can select my current 400 listings ? is there a away 

[pjcdn2005]

If you dont already have shipping policies set up you can change the handling time in bulk in sellers hub. I would probably do 100 at a time and it shouldn't take very long for 400 listings. 

[intimewithmusic]

  @recped  ,Thank you for your debate however, can we please forget about eBay USA and stay on the strike topic?  I've heard it all before. eBay Canada and eBay USA are what they are. 90% of Canadians can drive across the border for lunch.  Canada amounts to peanuts in their total revenue. It may explain the deficiencies but it just doesn't matter.  I could go on an on about the cost of our missing features... video , coupons, Germany etc etc... I could refer you to the  huge list of deficiencies @lotzofuniquegoodies  posted in the summer . It just doesn't help those wondering if they should close stores, go on vacation, switch couriers or wing it. what happens down south is moot. Nothing is going to change so forget about the USA, please.

   As of November 20 this strike is hurting folks who need income and eBay Canada has been MIA since November 12. No support so far, nothing,  none. nudda. Not even a peep...  You have experience. How about sharing THAT to assist others who NEED to  weather this strike instead of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?

 Suggestion for eBay: This might be a good time to offer eBay Canada sellers who wish to remain open for business during this strike a reasonable discount on fees please.

SUPPORT YOUR EBAY CANADA SELLERS

[intimewithmusic]

Hi @mattsfinds87 

  I use shipping policies for everything from a guitar pick up to a complete drum set.  If your items generally are about the same size and can use the same service it's easier but you still need to have different ones for extra insurance on the more expensive items like that Moody Blues collection you sold. You may need a few of them such as one for shipping posters in mailing tubes to collect that extra fee etc.

Policies are great however they can be  complicated to set up. As well Ebay also has a nasty habit of creating copies of your new policies. 

I recommend taking your time to make sure they are functioning the way you want for combined shipping, type of service and insurance etc. There is a learning curve. You should check them periodically to make sure no new ones have magically appeared.

Once you perfect them they can really save you a lot of time. 

[byto253]

"Policies are great however they can be  complicated to set up. As well Ebay also has a nasty habit of creating copies of your new policies" 

I do the same with business policies, and when I was setting them up I had a lot of eBay auto created policies showing up.   I kept deleting them and now that I am basically using the same set of policies, the auto creation of new ones seems to have stopped.  It was crazy for a few months and I still keep an eye on it.  It was really whack a mole for a while.   

[sherwin3501]

I agree. I have been selling on Ebay for just about 25 years and I will not be shutting down any listings. I will explain to buyers about the strike and for the most part they agree with me holding their items until the strike is over. I tried a few couriers (UPS/Fedex) but their prices were 4X more.

[reallynicestamps]

which for the most is cheaper than CP except for items under 900 grams.

Thank you for clarifying that point.

I rarely sell anything over 500 grams (and many are under 30 grams) so those are not useful for me, but I think you are the first to mention a breaking point for choosing courier over postal.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@38e_avenue 

It would be interesting to know for anyone who wants to make purchases from US sellers what carriers they is their replacement after USPS? With eIS it may be mostly a lottery for the current future. You usually don't find out until it processes at the hub. Surprise!!!!!! In doing some research it appears the #2 choice for most eCommerce businesses is UPS. Followed by Fedex, DHL and Amazon logistics within the USA. Biggest drawback when it comes to couriers and international shipping would be that surprise customs clearing charge. Knowing in advance of committing to buy would be good info to have. (That is if any Canadian buyers are chancing it.)

[blurl]

I'm in Canada. An item I ordered from a US seller on Nov 9 arrived at the Ebay shipping hub on Nov 18, then was turned over to USPS, which shipped the item to Canada Post on Nov 20. The tracking status per Canada Post is "Waiting for item".

Why would eBay knowingly ship an item to a carrier that is on strike?

[mrdutch1001]

I would guess at this point that USPS has NOT halted the shipment of mail to Canada and therefore the persons working at the HuB are "doing their job" and the shipping process continues as usual...

[fergua3]

Ebay didn't make the decision.  They leave that in the hands of the third party they hired to handle EIS.  Most likely it was DHL's decision.  The more expensive items go to Canada Post, the less expenisive items are delivered by UniUni or Intelcom.  It's not quite that cut and dry but that is usually the way it goes. 

As to why they did it?  Who knows, maybe the lesser couriers are swamped with extra business so items have to be sent to CP.  Or maybe whoever sent it to CP was just unaware of the CP strike or goofed.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@fergua3 wrote:

Ebay didn't make the decision.  They leave that in the hands of the third party they hired to handle EIS.  Most likely it was DHL's decision.  The more expensive items go to Canada Post, the less expenisive items are delivered by UniUni or Intelcom.  It's not quite that cut and dry but that is usually the way it goes. 

As to why they did it?  Who knows, maybe the lesser couriers are swamped with extra business so items have to be sent to CP.  Or maybe whoever sent it to CP was just unaware of the CP strike or goofed.

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@fergua3 

@blurl 

According to the dot com announcement on the CP strike it mentions pivoting. Pivoting is not explained. See attached. 

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are on strike as of November 15, 2024. This will disrupt normal delivery schedules throughout Canada. 

If you use eBay International Shipping, you are automatically protected from late or no delivery claims and your seller performance standards and service metrics won’t be affected by international shipping.  Any negative or neutral feedback from handling during international transit will be removed from your account. 

As eBay International Shipping has the capability to pivot and leverage multiple carriers around the world, eBay anticipates only minor disruptions to eBay International Shipping deliveries in Canada at this time. 

[blurl]

Thanks. That's what I would expect, i.e. eBay using other carriers. Although tracking of my item shows up on the Canada Post website, I hope it will be diverted to another carrier. Otherwise, I wait.

[recped]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

I would guess at this point that USPS has NOT halted the shipment of mail to Canada and therefore the persons working at the HuB are "doing their job" and the shipping process continues as usual...

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There hasn't been a peep out of USPS about service to Canada.

I just checked the service alert page and still absolutely nothing! The last update on the 15th was a notice that USPS is not accepting mail destined for Haiti. The one before that was on Nov. 8th stating that they are not accepting mail for Iran.

Canada? What's that?

[intimewithmusic]

Hi @byto253 

Thanks. Nice to  hear from you. I agree fully.

According to the San Jose "powers at be" the gliche was fixed.  That being said, depending on a seller's size of inventory/variety of dimensions/weights/values and services, Biz Policies could be a blessing or a curse during the learning curve.

I recommend them after a seller obtains a complete understanding of their account settings including combined shipping and shipping preferences. Always best to start with one policy and see how things go. 

This strike is a good time for eBay Canada to offer eBay Canada's hard working Sellers who in turn support them to offer a reasonable discount on fees . 

eBay Canada, Please consider SUPPORTING YOUR EBAY CANADA SELLERS!

[recped]

Update to my previous post......

I just received a DMM Service Update message from USPS.

They have announced a suspension of the Service Guarantee  for Priority Mail Express International to Canada, no mention of suspensions for regular Priority International or First Class International Package which are the two main services US sellers use to ship to Canada. fwiw there is still no update posted on the Service Alert page.