Is flat rate possible in Canada?

[burkhankhaldun]

I'm still new to eBay, but from what I’ve read and seen on YouTube, flat-rate shipping seems to be the way to go. I’m in Quebec, and I’ve noticed extremely high price variations when shipping. The same item costs $45 to Nova Scotia but only $12 to Edmonton.

When looking for answers, it seems that whether the buyer is in a city or a rural area is the biggest factor affecting shipping costs. I’m okay with losing a bit on some orders if I can make up for it on others, but how can I implement a flat-rate shipping strategy when costs vary so much, and I can’t set different flat rates by province (because it will vary even within each provinces)?

[ericsells75]

I would never use flat rate personally unless you sell one standard sized thing. I put the approximate weight and dimensions of my items when listing and use calculated shipping. Other than the rare ‘glitch’ never had an issue.

[mrdutch1001]

It is possible, but much depends on the type of items you are listing/selling, average location of your customers, how much variation there is between the distances across Canada,etc,etc . I have been successfully using flat rate shipping within Canada for over 15 years and it works well for me because of the categories I utilize, and the fact that the majority of my customers are in the east and I rarely ever sell to a buyer within my own province. I mostly use Canada Post oversize lettermail, Canada Post flat rate boxes, plus my own boxing materials as needed, but I have worked out my shipping prices over the years so that no one customer is heavly overcharged by my use of the flat rate shipping> there is rarely ever a need to refund on the shipping as my shipping costs don't vary significantly to require that....I know the weight of all my items, size and amount of packaging needed,etc,etc.I know my products well enough to accomplish what is needed. However, with time, experience and adequate know-how about your items, it is something to perhaps work towards in the future if it is doable for your items.

Now having said this, No I do not recommend using flat rate shipping UNLESS you know your products,know their weights,know the packaging that will be used,know within a few grams of the completed packaged ready-to-ship item. With experience and know-how it is possible to utilize flat rate shipping within Canada, but not really a good thing to do for the new seller and/or a seller with limited shipping experience.

[reallynicestamps]

I've been using a version of Flat Rate shipping (Free Shipping*) for years but like the other posters, I am able to send many of my sales by Letter Post which is standardized under 500gr and 2 cm.

The same price from Uculet to Iqaluit.

While eBay requires tracking IF to win a Claim of "Item Not Received" (INR) it is not required if the seller is willing to take a chance on the honesty of their buyers.

It's a matter of risk management.

I am able to accept the minimal risk of shipping Free/Flat Rate to buyers in Canada and the USA, but not overseas.

Lettermail within Canada can be Registered for an extra $13.75. Usually not worth it. Don't register international mail which is not reliably tracked.

There are discounts on buying shipping labels through eBay.

[recped]

City or Rural can make a difference but the number one factor is the total distance. Even rural is not really a factor unless it is a truly remote location.

You can set variable flat-rate charges using Flat Rate Shipping Tables

https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/shipping-items/using-shipping-rate-tables?id=5459

If you are using Canada Post for all your shipping why not use Calculated instead of Flat-Rate?

[flipistics]

---

@burkhankhaldun wrote:

I'm still new to eBay, but from what I’ve read and seen on YouTube, flat-rate shipping seems to be the way to go. I’m in Quebec, and I’ve noticed extremely high price variations when shipping. The same item costs $45 to Nova Scotia but only $12 to Edmonton.

When looking for answers, it seems that whether the buyer is in a city or a rural area is the biggest factor affecting shipping costs. I’m okay with losing a bit on some orders if I can make up for it on others, but how can I implement a flat-rate shipping strategy when costs vary so much, and I can’t set different flat rates by province (because it will vary even within each provinces)?

---

I generally wouldn't recommend flat rate shipping in Canada. However, with some work, 3rd party shippers, and assuming you're listing on eBay Canada,  you can set up shipping rate tables that will allow you to generally offer prices less than what you can with calculated shipping. It's not perfect (sometimes you'll make a little and sometimes you'll eat a few bucks), but overall it seems to work quite well.

[38e_avenue]

The flat rate will never work for Canada. The price varies from $3.50 (recently announced local rate) to $45 (Nunavut) for the same package. However, if your items fit into a letter, it might work. 

[mrdutch1001]

Flat rate will work for Canada IF you know your items, packaging needs,etc such as I have posted earlier. Flat rate shipping within Canada has worked very well for me for over 15 years,but does not work for every seller or for every item category....Know your product,Know your shipping packaging needs,Know your customer base,Know your shipping methods, and does indeed work with Canada Post IF you know all that is needed to know...The most recent Canada Post promo is only a temporary promo so cannot be counted on as a measure of shipping costs.

[recped]

---

@38e_avenue wrote:

The flat rate will never work for Canada.

---

It works for me and has for decades, I ship some via Lettermail (CP)  and some via packages (multiple carriers).

90% of the time my flat-rate more than covers the actual cost of shipping/fees. 8% of the time my flat-rate is just enough to cover actual shipping/fees and 2% of the time I take a small loss.

Over the course of a year the amount of money received from buyers for shipping is about 20% more than what I actually pay (shipping label + eBay fees + packaging expenses).

[38e_avenue]

There was a misunderstanding here about the definition of a "working flat rate". Sure, I also use the flat rate since 25 years, or so, but sometimes I am loosing money. Sold a few times a $20 item with $15 shipping charge and paid $45 for the shipping itself. It happened many times with rural addresses in Saskatchewan, Nunavut or northern BC.  Sure, it happens rarely, but STILL. If it's a "working" flat rate, so yes, I agree - it works 😀

[38e_avenue]

---

@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Flat rate will work for Canada IF you know your items, packaging needs,etc such as I have posted earlier. 

---

It has noting to do with items or packaging. If you get an order from Tuktoyaktuk, you are screwed up, if you are on a flat rate 😅

[recped]

Sure, but if I price my shipping so a couple of Dollars stay in my pocket on 1000 orders it's not really an issue if I loose $10 on 1 or 2 orders.

In any event, doing mailorder for over 40 years and never had a purchase that was shipping to an Air Stage location. Even if I did about 70% of my sales can be sent via Lettermail so same rate no matter where it's going to.

[38e_avenue]

---

@recped wrote:

In any event, doing mailorder for over 40 years and never had a purchase that was shipping to an Air Stage location. 

---

I had one, I do not remember where exactly, but it was one of the Arctic stations next to the North Pole. The shipping price was crazy, but I completed the order.  Maybe I even saved someone's life, because the order was for a rare, detailed map of the region 😁  

[mrdutch1001]

Personally, I don't worry about that>I have not had a sale to a remote location in over 10 yrs...and that was to Whitehorse. I have had a few sales to The Maritimes...that's about the extent of "remoteness" for me...

[sin-n-dex]

---

@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Personally, I don't worry about that>I have not had a sale to a remote location in over 10 yrs...and that was to Whitehorse. I have had a few sales to The Maritimes...that's about the extent of "remoteness" for me...

---

I've shipped to Iqaluit and Dawson City. I had a regular buyer in Yellowknife for a while (until he moved back to Ontario).

C.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Canada Post offers flat rate boxes for as little as $17.99. https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/personal/stamps-and-packaging/flat-rate-box.page

I took a look at your eBay store. It looks like a lot of the items you sell will fit in a X-Small ($17.99) or Small ($19.99) flat rate box.

Items below 2KG will also cost $20 or less to ship to the USA via Canada Post Tracked Packet, so long as they fit in a box less than 90 CM combined (for example, 30cm x 30cm x 30cm, 35cm x 35cm x 20cm, etc). The cost of US Canada Post Tracked packet shipping is like a flat rate, it doesn't change based on destination. The price changes weekly because of something called a fuel surcharge, but it's a very small change. The point is, you can easily budget for Tracked Packet shipping because whether it is going to New York or California, it's the same price. 

What I would do with your inventory, is I would build the cost of shipping into the price and offer free shipping. So instead of charging $20 Buy It Now + $19.99 shipping for an item that fits into a flat rate box, I would charge $39.99 w/ free shipping. I would promise generic economy shipping, aka buyer agrees that you choose the carrier. When someone buys that $39.99 w/ free shipping option, you then know in a worst case scenario shipping will cost you $19.99 - but if an eBay label is cheaper you can use that instead of a flat rate box.

If you haven't tried to do it, you should print your labels using eBay's label printing service. It will be cheaper than buying a label at the counter. You can print it at home on any standard printer, or you can use a QR code to have it printed at a Canada Post outlet.

If you don't own a scale, you need one to weigh your shipments. 

In general, my advice would be to try and standardize your shipping rates in the short term using flat rate boxes in Canada and tracked packet USA. There are cheaper shipping rates, but if you're just building up your eBay store it helps to have a simplified and predictable model at first. 

[38e_avenue]

---

@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

If you don't own a scale, you need one to weigh your shipments. 

---

More appropriate for this discussion board would be rather: "how many postal scales do you own: less than 5, more than 5, etc.  😂

[38e_avenue]

---

@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

Canada Post offers flat rate boxes for as little as $17.99. https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/personal/stamps-and-packaging/flat-rate-box.page

 This is a good advice! It may save some sellers from outrageous charges. Thanks! 

[flipistics]

---

@38e_avenue wrote:

---

@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

Canada Post offers flat rate boxes for as little as $17.99. https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/personal/stamps-and-packaging/flat-rate-box.page

 This is a good advice! It may save some sellers from outrageous charges. Thanks! 

---

Purolator also offers flat rate boxes with some larger sizes and dimensions. My understanding is you can use your own packaging as long as it falls under the dimensions of the flat rate box. I haven't tried the service yet so there's a few details I'm not 100% sure on. It could save you some money if the package is going to somewhere remote and has a size or shape that won't fit into the thin Canada Post boxes.

[transtraders]

I have used flat rates since I started on ebay in 1999. I made my own rate table and converted it to USD as I only sell on .com in USD.