Free Domestic Shipping Tuesdays in October with Canada Post

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

Just in time for the (potential) strike!

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/business/shipping/free-shipping-tuesday.page?ecid=murl|pdn|cd|164

Free shipping Tuesdays are back – and as epic as ever! Members of Canada Post Solutions for Small Business™ program can ship for free every Tuesday in October.

All you have to do is sign in to our simple online shipping tool, Canada Post Snap Ship™. Then send a package (up to 5 kg) for free anywhere in Canada using our Xpresspost™ or Expedited Parcel™ service using a unique promo code every Tuesday in October. We'll even come pick up your package for free!¹ It's that easy – and it's how we're thanking Solutions for Small Business members.

The best part? There are 5 Tuesdays this October! Not yet a Solutions for Small Business member? Sign up now – it's fast and free. Remember to come back every Tuesday in October for your free shipment.

[ypdc_dennis]

Like last year they underestimated how heavy a demand the free Tuesday would create. The early birds (like me) were the lucky ones this year.

...

From what I've read in 2017 they emailed codes (good for any day) to those that complained as an apology after they finally got the free Tuesdays working properly. They might do that for 2018 as well.  However, that's not going to help you today.

-..-

[teenytrinkets]

Thanks - I was planning to call tomorrow and send a copy of my $20 shipping receipt from today to ask for a coupon for a do-over.  Since they've done it before, I can ask for it again.  And I'll make sure to save it for a super expensive package! 😉

[maximus7001]

This is all we get: "We are currently experiencing issues with some of our online tools. We apologize for any inconvenience, please try again later. "

What a joke.....

[ypdc_dennis]

Warning is still up on the website, but

Am now able to sign into my Solutions for Small Business account, and access SnapShip -- neither were accessible for a good chunk of Tuesday.

-..-

[triber]

I just phoned Canada Post, they apologized and said that the next free shipping day would be next Tuesday. I asked if we had lost this weeks and was told that they hadn't been told anything different than that.

[jt-libra]

I don't recall it being this difficult last year.  There were some delays but I was able to get the label every Tuesday.  Yesterday, I tried from early morning to bedtime.   The local postal clerk was inundated with people asking if she could print the label for them.  By the time I went over to drop off some parcels, she looked very flustered and had put a sign on the counter "Free Shipping Tuesday -- On-Line Only!!"

Surely Canada Post has some way to prepare for increased traffic (Christmas has to be much busier than this day).  Let's hope it works next Tuesday.

[teenytrinkets]

I called this morning and asked for a coupon, since I couldn't use free shipping Tuesday and had to pay.

Agent tells me free shipping Tuesday has been extended to Nov. 6.

I say, "Oh really?  So you've fixed the problem - and we'll be able to use all 5 Tuesdays coming up?".  Agent says yes.  I say, "So, what was the problem?"  Agent replies, "Too much traffic".  And then I go, "OH...so you didn't anticipate higher traffic yesterday, and now miraculously today, that problem is fixed?  And won't happen again next Tuesday?"  Agent replies, "That is correct.".  Then I go, "So why didn't they anticipate this higher traffic knowing the EXACT same thing happened last year?  And what will happen when the EXACT same thing happens next Tuesday???  Will you be giving out coupons then?"  And of course, he didn't know.

Ugh, what a joke.  They'll just keep extending the promo until the strike happens, rather than fix the problem...

[kosmic64]

"Let's hope it works next Tuesday."

That's fine and dandy but I'm still out about $20 thanks to the CP site screw up. I charged one customer $0 for shipping thinking I'd pass on the savings from Free Ship Tuesday on to him. CP drops the ball and I have to eat the loss. I'm sure I'm not the only one...

[jt-libra]

"Agent tells me free shipping Tuesday has been extended to Nov. 6."

Thanks for posting that.

[jt-libra]

The next Tuesday(s) you're eligible, don't cancel the buyer's shipping cost so, hopefully, you can make up that $20.00.

[kosmic64]

That's assuming I have a package to ship within Canada on one of the following Tuesdays. Most of my shipments are to buyers in the USA. It just happened that I had one shipping within Canada yesterday. Even if I get another Canadian location shipment that falls on a Tuesday...how do I know that their site won't have the same issue again.

Others have suggested a different format for Free Ship Promo...make available a promocode that is good for any day in the given week. Is that really so hard to do I wonder? It would prevent having a HUGE influx of users in one day overloading a system that obviously can't handle the traffic. 

[triber]

I agree, most of my sales are to the US also, I was so happy to have one within Canada yesterday, but I couldn't use the offer.

If they had too much volume yesterday, what assurance can we have that they won't have that problem next week?

[jt-libra]

---

@kosmic64 wrote:

Others have suggested a different format for Free Ship Promo...make available a promocode that is good for any day in the given week. Is that really so hard to do I wonder? It would prevent having a HUGE influx of users in one day overloading a system that obviously can't handle the traffic. 

---

Good idea!

Do you have someone in your family, or a friend, to whom you ship parcels fairly regularly, in another part of Canada?  Christmas is coming!  I was made aware this time last year that a shipping label that you "purchase" on a free Tuesday can be used at a later date.  The only issue is the parcel would not be able to be tracked.  But it really wouldn't matter if it was someone you knew well and where there have never been problems with parcel delivery.

[tomerific]

i don't know what year this promotion started but has this promotion always been just ship 1 package free on tuesday only within canada? when i first heard about it i thought it was ship anything anywhere for free on tuesdays only from the start to the end of october, now it seems to be an amended promotion.

[momcqueen]

From its origin, the Free Ship Tuesday has applied to one package per Tuesday in October within Canada.

[tomerific]

what year did canada post start this? because i never knew about it....

[ypdc_dennis]

It was started in 2016 as an attempt to win back customers to Canada Post after the bitter summer contract dispute. CPC lost a lot of parcel business, and it was slow building back so this was a way to kick start things and let people know CPC was back in business. 

...

It has always been for in Canada packages, since out-of-pocket variable expenses* for a "free" parcel are small, and easy to estimate. And the delivery end-to-end is all Canada Post.  Sending to other countries involves other organizations and higher costs. This is something to promote Canada Post usage (not to help USPS or someone else).

* - some out-of-pocket expenses might be a scanning fee or the pickup fee at a postal outlet (Shoppers and other stores that have a postal outlet are paid fees and commissions for handling the packages).

...

It has always been Tuesday -- perhaps selected because is normally a low volume day and to tie into the Tuesday specials universe (movie theatres, KFC did Tuesday specials for decades). There is an exception, when things screwed up in either 2016 or 2017 an apology code was apparently given out that was for any day.

...

The label is bought on Tuesday -- it does not have to be shipped on Tuesday.

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In 2017, the only change was to push the then new SnapShip program for buying the label (I have heard one report that the old EST Online will also still work for a free label in 2018).

...

In 2018, free pickup seems to be the new suggested bonus on offer.

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If you are on Canada Post's Solutions for Small Business membership mailing list, email notices were sent out about the event.

-..-

[tomerific]

thank you to both for the clarification. if canada post really wanted to thank or help their customers they would improve their way over priced tracked shipping options. even their untracked shipping options are too high, americans must have amazing shipping prices through usps and other courier services like ups and fed ex, it's very hard to compete with them price wise on ebay without it killing any sort of a profit.

[ypdc_dennis]

Off topic:

Americans have better domestic prices because the USA population density is 8.6 times that of Canada.  You can tap into the USPS rates if you are in the Vancouver area, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto area, Montreal or Halifax. Those parts of Canada all have crossborder reshippers that will take your package (under $800 value) across the border for a small fee and let you use the USPS for mailing. Some even have discounted Canada Post rates for shipping in Canada.

[tomerific]

yea, i know about places like chit chats express, the problem is if you live too far away from any of these locations. the trip there is not worth it unless you have a lot of items to ship all at once or you're getting a super high CPC shipping quote that gets cut by half to 2/3's by these other services making the long trip to and from worth it to waste the gas and time.