Canada Post is broken

[dsti3254]

I regularly order small value items from the UK and shipping time to Canada has become awful. I live in a major Canadian city with regular postal delivery, not in a rural area with limited service. Over the last 3 years postal times for Airmail have gone from approximately 1 month to 2-3 months from the UK.  Tracked items are a waste of money because the UK Royal Mail does the scanning for tracking, but as soon as it enters Canada, usually in  couple of days, the tracking ends because Canada Post doesn't do the scanning they are required to do (I'm convinced that this is to hide some serious problems in the system) 

By comparison, sending similar items in the other direction takes 5-10 days, and once or twice I've got stuff from the UK in 6 days.  So where are these parcels languishing for 2 months?  I'm seriously considering asking senders to just send items surface mail, as it would take about the same amount of time.  Over the last few months I've had to begin cases on almost every order from the UK. I know the shipper is not to blame, but Ebay rules only give me a limited time to do this to have buyer protection. 

So, if you sell to Canada on Ebay:

1) Items are probably going to be massively delayed and you might need to refund the buyer.

2) Tracking is a waste of money, as Canada Post won't do it.

Please put pressure on Ebay to put pressure on Canada Post to deliver the service they are being paid for. Right now it's broken.

[zee-chan]

So without a customs sticker how do you know it was held up at customs for 2 months? <--- they had actual tracking, so my tracking status would say it's handed to customs, and then 2 months later it'd say it left customs and is processed by CP

[zee-chan]

From what I can tell, the majority of my orders are sent International Tracked <-- international tracked air or surface or SAL? SAL can take as long as surface.

[dsti3254]

Definitely International Tracked airmail.  No Ebay seller would knowingly send anything by surface mail to Canada.  Although I may consider asking for that as it couldn't be slower.  I'm not familiar with SAL... Signed? Some of my parcels come tracked and signed, but definitely the minority as it is expensive.

[hlmacdon]

---

@dsti3254 wrote:

Thanks, that's interesting information. From what I can tell, the majority of my orders are sent International Tracked, yet they take as long as the other two services. I find it odd that International Tracked and Signed, which costs the most of those services, is a lesser (slower) service. That's definitely not how it's seen in the UK, and I suspect Ebay sellers would be concerned by this.

---

That would be down to the signature requirement. Typically signature confirmation is an option only for the UPU courier class expedited services (think our Xpresspost) but the registered mail system is a way around that to offer a signature option at a lower price. The problem is postal services like the Canadian and US services are discouraging the use of registered mail as they only get paid lettermail rates in reciprocal terminal dues even though they are delivering parcels. This is where the dispute between Canada Post and other countries lies. For consumers this whole situation is needlessly confusing as all of the possible UPU services typically get rebranded by the various domestic postal services (for example Post Expres gets rebranded as Tracked Packet International by Canada Post and First Class Package International by USPS). While this allows flexibility to align the service naming with other services offered by the domestic postal operators it also allows them to create their own pricing for the services and not worry about people questioning why the same service in Canada for example may cost significantly more than another country. The various services can be identified by their S10 identifiers which is the prefix system that shows on the barcodes, ie RR, LZ, etc.

Customs plays a role here, but the root cause is postal operators kicking and screaming about how much they get paid to deliver each others mail. The older lettermail/register mail systems are a serious bone of contention at the moment as it pertains to shipments containing physical goods.

[dsti3254]

Thanks, that fits with my suspicions, that it was a widespread dispute between Canada Post & Royal Mail over how to deal with a certain class of mail, and that the main problem isn't CBSA. I'll know to try to dissuade sellers from any signed service now, but unfortunately in the UK that is seen as the safest & best service as it is the most expensive.

[hlmacdon]

---

@dsti3254 wrote:

Thanks, that fits with my suspicions, that it was a widespread dispute between Canada Post & Royal Mail over how to deal with a certain class of mail, and that the main problem isn't CBSA. I'll know to try to dissuade sellers from any signed service now, but unfortunately in the UK that is seen as the safest & best service as it is the most expensive.

---

The issue isn't limited to Royal Mail, it effects other countries that use registered mail as well as countries like China that still ship a significant portion of physical goods using lettermail services. All are in the same boat with Canada Post. 

[mcrlmn]

I completely agree with mjwl2006momcqueen.

As a seller shipping same day or day after, I have no issues with Canada Post delivery times. Canada Post's business day delivery schedule is on the mark.

I receive a lot of compliments regarding fast delivery.

Don't know if it's me, but I feel registered mail can take longer.

As a Vancouver (Ladner) buyer knowing Canada Post delivery times to or from various parts of Canada, 75% of the time I am checking my mailbox daily, 10 days to 2 weeks after purchase, to no avail.

Being aware of S&H costs and when I'm overcharged to economy mail coin(s), I hope those that gouged were encouraged to go to the post box with some semblance of urgency. Nope.

Most trickle in just as eBay's estimated time is about to expire 3 weeks after purchase.

Odd that my obvious favourite sellers can deliver from Ontario or Quebec in 4-5 business days. Or that I can receive from moneychest or others, in Florida, Texas, or New York, in a week... sometimes less.

Yes, I know sometimes things go awry. I received an item from Ontario recently post marked Oct 05, and received it Nov 03. But that is far from typical.

Marked as shipped doesn't always mean shipped. It may just mean a seller marked as shipped.

[nobleco]

I get shipments from the UK on a regular basis and have one on the way right now. Tracked but not insured and usually about 8 to 10 days. Box about 8 x 8 x 6 inches so not large. Longest it has taken is 2 weeks and that was this past Christmas, most likely due to the volume gone through.

Tracking does continue at the boarder and they use the same tracking number. Canada Post slaps a number on the package over top of the UK one and scans it at major ports of entry.

[dsti3254]

Hi nobleco,

May I ask where you are? In the better part of a hundred items over the last three years I've received something from the UK  in less than 10 days only twice, and both were letters. I've never got a parcel in that time. Usually it's 1 to 3 months, and tracking has never continued past the Canadian border. Somewhere between Toronto which it reaches in 1-2 days and Calgary 1-3 months later, we have a big delay, and it's not all customs.

[mrsaad27]

I'm in the same situation here although my delivery is from the US. All is been cleared through and is out for delivery since January 6th and it's the 24th. I never seen a major time lapse as this. I've had to contact Canada Post several times it never have been too inclined to help out situations like this. For me it's like being on the phone with a dead person. Meanwhile, no word from the sender...

[mrdutch1001]

ZOMBIE THREAD from 2018.

It may have been best to start your own thread to bring attention to your specific problem

[reallynicestamps]

@mrsaad27 

Before the thread gets closed down as a ZOMBIE, because the problem with Zombie threads is that the out of date information may now be incorrect, you should know that you may be asking the wrong question.

When you paid, eBay gave you an estimated window for delivery.

Depending on the service your seller used and her handling time, that could easily be a full 30 days.

In my long experience with mail order, 21 days for delivery from pretty well anywhere in North America is normal.

It's often earlier which is nice, but I don't worry about it for three weeks.

If the last date for delivery has passed, forget the Post Office. It will either arrive or it won't.

But the seller owes you a refund.

Go to the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page and open a Not Received dispute.

Unless the seller can prove delivery, you will be refunded.

Do NOT accept an offer of a replacement, it won't arrive either.

If the item arrives after you have been refunded, you can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service.

Note that your seller may not have shipped the item herself. No matter what her Item Specifics say, it is not unusual for a seller dropshipping from China to give her location instead of properly the location of the purchase. Some do this accidentally.

Has the last day for delivery passed?

[pjcdn2005]

@mrsaad27 

If it after the estimated delivery dates, open an item not received case through the resolution Center.  

Have you tried entering the tracking number directly on the USPS and Canada Post websites to see if they have more information?

[mrsaad27]

Yes, according the tracking information it was marked on January 6th to be out for delivery. From my experience, a major time lapse like this is unheard of. I just feel bad for the seller that he may lose his money because Canada Post misshandeled it and was not too inclined to rectify despite opening up the ticket number and then closed it in a short week?...

[pjcdn2005]

What do you mean by this...?

....was not too inclined to rectify despite opening up the ticket number and then closed it in a short week?...

You opened an item not received claim and your money was returned or....?

Just so you know, they may close this thread as it is 2 years old...it's always better to start your own thread.  If the do close it and you need help, please start your own thread.