eBay

ecgt · ‎10-24-2025

Just heard back from Luke Bradley, who is the Shipping & Operations Manager for eBay Canada. Luke confirmed via email that the Canadian eIS hub will accept Lettermail shipments.

See attached screenshot.

byto253 · ‎10-24-2025

Wonderful, thank you.

And thanks to the folks who raised this with eBay in communication and interviews.

joels-retrocade · ‎10-24-2025

Great News!

busybeas_books · ‎12-13-2025

My first eis sale (December 3) was to Hungary, which I mailed to the hub as lettermail (no tracking). There is now a tracking number on my sold-items list which links to a page showing tracking that it is on its way to the customer.

gaming-canada · ‎12-13-2025

I can confirm this personaly sent several and they all got tracking out of hub later...

dinomitesales · ‎12-13-2025

As an additional data point, I've had one eIS sale that I've opted to send Lettermail.

Dropped in Canada Post mailbox Thursday Dec 4.

Confirmed accepted at hub Tuesday Dec 9.

Dispatched from Mississauga Wednesday Dec 10.

Popped up in the USA Friday Dec 12. Currently moving through the system (DHL).

intimewithmusic · ‎12-13-2025

Is lettermail still a thing? Why on earth would someone go to the trouble of aquiring, researching, fixing, photographing, listing, stocking, selling, finding, packing, and shipping anything via LETTERMAIL. After fees how much is in the kitty?

CP has repeatedly proven it costs Canadians via Federal subsidies twice as much to deliver a widget as the stamp licker pays. It's not going to change. It's only going to go away.

To be sure, no Canada Post employee has EVER commented here in the eBay Canada Seller Central froum. Lettermail is a very bad long term business model. Regardess of your impressions no Canada Post employees are present in this forum.

Sorry folks. Lettermail's done. Fini. This is a great time to move on. The US market is suspended so none of us are getting younger it may be a good time to start dumping.

flipistics · ‎12-13-2025

@intimewithmusic wrote:
Is lettermail still a thing? Why on earth would someone go to the trouble of aquiring, researching, fixing, photographing, listing, stocking, selling, finding, packing, and shipping anything via LETTERMAIL. After fees how much is in the kitty?
CP has repeatedly proven it costs Canadians via Federal subsidies twice as much to deliver a widget as the stamp licker pays. It's not going to change. It's only going to go away.
To be sure, no Canada Post employee has EVER commented here in the eBay Canada Seller Central froum. Lettermail is a very bad long term business model. Regardess of your impressions no Canada Post employees are present in this forum.

Sorry folks. Lettermail's done. Fini. This is a great time to move on. The US market is suspended so none of us are getting younger it may be a good time to start dumping.

Lettermail is still absolutely a thing, and you can get pretty good profit margins on some things with it.

regs43 · ‎12-13-2025

@intimewithmusic wrote:
Is lettermail still a thing? Why on earth would someone go to the trouble of aquiring, researching, fixing, photographing, listing, stocking, selling, finding, packing, and shipping anything via LETTERMAIL. After fees how much is in the kitty?
CP has repeatedly proven it costs Canadians via Federal subsidies twice as much to deliver a widget as the stamp licker pays. It's not going to change. It's only going to go away.
To be sure, no Canada Post employee has EVER commented here in the eBay Canada Seller Central froum.  Lettermail is a very bad long term business model. Regardess of your impressions no Canada Post employees are present in this forum.

Sorry folks. Lettermail's done. Fini. This is a great time to move on. The US market is suspended so none of us are getting younger it may be a good time to start dumping.

90% of what I mail in Canada is lettermail, without it no one would buy my items lol

intimewithmusic · ‎12-14-2025

Yes. Thank you. We are discussing good business models. and yep, so was the Pony Express which also went away..

CP has repeatedly proven it costs Canadians via Federal subsidies twice as much to deliver a widget as the stamp licker pays. It's not going to change. It's only going to go away.

"No, Canada Post is not making money on lettermail; it's a significant source of financial losses, as declining volumes (down 60% since 2006) can't cover rising delivery costs for more addresses, forcing the Crown corporation to rely on parcels and face major annual deficits, leading to financial unsustainability in its traditional model. "

intimewithmusic · ‎12-14-2025

Sorry... no, I suppose you could say it'a a temporary thing at best..

No, Canada Post is not making money on lettermail; it's a significant source of financial losses, as declining volumes (down 60% since 2006) can't cover rising delivery costs for more addresses, forcing the Crown corporation to rely on parcels and face major annual deficits, leading to financial unsustainability in its traditional model.

flipistics · ‎12-14-2025

@intimewithmusic wrote:
Sorry... no, I suppose you could say it'a a temporary thing at best..

No, Canada Post is not making money on lettermail; it's a significant source of financial losses, as declining volumes (down 60% since 2006) can't cover rising delivery costs for more addresses, forcing the Crown corporation to rely on parcels and face major annual deficits, leading to financial unsustainability in its traditional model.

You asked why sellers would still use it, not whether it was profitable for Canada Post. Sellers use it because it's the best choice for certain kinds of items and sellers can still make good profit on lettermail sales - yes, even after acquiring, cleaning, listing, packing, etc the items.

intimewithmusic · ‎12-14-2025

@flipistics

Thanks you for your input.

To be clear, I said,

Domestic lettermail is a bad long term business model.
Sellers use it because it's the cheapest way to wing a widget anonymously and without tracking,
Lettermail is a major part of Canada Post's continuous deficit,
According to Canada Post every stamp on a widget is 50% paid for by some other Canadian thru govt subsidy.
I speculate that merch contained in lettermail will be surcharged in the cominng years. No Canadian should subsidize the profit of another Canadian who chooses to do business via lettermail.

I've spent thousands of dollars with Canada Post for ad products like admail etc. I like it that my neighbours didn't subsidizes my shipments. I don't care how other sellers ship. If stamps are your long term business model go for it.

Given the nature of the economy, the cross border sales glut (IE no LetterPost) , and the status of Canada Post's financial statement and it's impact in the coming years I feel entitled to say using domestic lettermail is a bad business model.

...That being said folks, I love to hear all the "ifs, ands or buts"

byto253 · ‎12-14-2025

Hope you do not listen to or watch the CBC, it sucks down over $1.5 Billion each year in subsidies.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-14-2025

And worth every penny- have you seen North By North?

mrdutch1001 · ‎12-14-2025

Just sent out 13 Christmas cards last week(including 1 to the USA) via "lettermail"....

and I still utilize oversize "Lettermail" for lightweight items under 500g within Canada(items for which there is still an acceptable profit after ALL expenses are calculated)...so for me, "lettermail "is still very much alive!...and will be utilized by me until I stop sending items that fit within its guidelines!!!

dinomitesales · ‎12-15-2025

@intimewithmusic wrote:
No, Canada Post is not making money on lettermail; it's a significant source of financial losses, as declining volumes (down 60% since 2006) can't cover rising delivery costs for more addresses, forcing the Crown corporation to rely on parcels and face major annual deficits, leading to financial unsustainability in its traditional model.

Why is this a relevant statement in this context? Sure, Canada Post might lose money on Lettermail, but Lettermail isn't going anywhere. The price may increase, but that's nothing new. As long as it sticks around, and continues to be a cheaper alternative than tracked parcel shipping, then many people will still continue to use it for their business.

I would consider it a "good business model" for my business (as do many other Canadian sellers). It has resulted in thousands of extra dollars in profit in my pocket over the years that I haven't had to spend on tracked parcel shipping.

@intimewithmusic wrote:
Why on earth would someone go to the trouble of aquiring, researching, fixing, photographing, listing, stocking, selling, finding, packing, and shipping anything via LETTERMAIL. After fees how much is in the kitty?

I'm not even sure what this means. What does any of this have to do with the method of which an item is sent to the buyer? eBay isn't charging extra fees if we send things by Lettermail - it's the same fees as any other transaction. I'll send anything up to $50 value via Lettermail. The number of losses I've had in the past 20 years I can count on one hand. It's a very reliable (and generally fast) service in my experience.