Registered Mail for Tracking OS Lettermail?

[teenytrinkets]

Has anyone Registered their smaller sales sent lettermail?

I'm selling so much to the GTA, and I either pay $2-3 untracked or nearly $18 tracked from BC. For my tiny items that are over my $40 risk threshold, I've tried using Chit Chats but shipping takes WEEKS. I can't think of any other affordable alternatives for tracked shipping to the east - and then someone mentioned Registered mail. Adding $9.75 to $1.94 is cheaper than local tracked mail!

But... I'm not sure how Registered mail works though - can it be oversize? Is CP more strict about it being paper contents?

[travis7s]

I've done it a few times, you can register any piece of lettermail including the oversize. As far as I know there are no special rules about contents or anything like that.

[marnotom!]

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@teenytrinkets wrote:

But... I'm not sure how Registered mail works though - can it be oversize? Is CP more strict about it being paper contents?

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Information on Canada Post's US and International Registered Mail services is available here:

https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGregistus-e.asp#1378529

My two takeaways:

1.  International registered mail cannot be used to send non-document items

2. International registered mail is only good for proof of mailing.  Tracking is not guaranteed, as many countries (including Canada) do not give international Registered Mail special treatment, as per Universal Postal Union convention.

[teenytrinkets]

thanks, I'm going to try it. You get a tracking number, right? And does your buyer sign for itat the post office?

[kawartha-ephemera]

With registered mail the label comes with a tracking number and I think 100 dollars insurance, tracking works the same as for the other services.

If you're using a smaller envelope remember to leave room at the top right for the label. Whenever I use registered, I let the clerk apply the label first before affixing postage, this only applies if you're using stamps.

I've never asked about signature confirmation, that is probably available for an extra charge.

Whenever I've received registered mail, it had to be picked up in person and I had to provide identification with a photo on it. 

The one advantage with registered is that there are no zone rates involved. If it's a cross-country shipment there are some savings to be had, local not so much.

Our local postmistress is very thorough and efficient, a stickler for following regulations, she would likely question sending beauty products in lettermail.

CP closed the office here that was literally a 2 minute walk from our door, they took everything, even the big red mailbox went, no easy way to avoid scrutiny around here.

[clemowbooks]

Registered Mail will only track to the border.

So don't use it for US or overseas shipping of anything.

The cost of registration is ON TOP of the postage cost, so if you the cost of your  500gram O/S letter is $5.47, the registration adds $9.75 to that.

Plus tax and fuel surcharge.

How does that compare with Expedited to the destination?

Canada Post is not doing Signature at the moment.

You can mark the envelope DO NOT SAFE DROP  for free. The carrier will then leave a Notice rather than signing herself and leaving the it in the mailbox.

Remember we get a small discount on some package rates with our Solutionsfor Small Business/Venture ONE number.

[esclyons]

you can register any letter, you tell them how much insurance is required, up to 100$ is included, and they are not collecting signatures right now, also remember it has to be under 2 cm. in thickness, it has to go through the slot , that they use to check thickness.

[ricarmic]

As far as I know registered mail only includes $60 of insurance. Note that if one sends merchandise, it won't be covered because merchandise isn't supposed to be sent via registered letters, so technically one has ZERO insurance.  (always made me wonder what the $60 of insurance actually covered).

In days gone by I have sent registered letters primarily to China and at least then, more than 50% showed tracking to the destination. Slowly but it did show up.

Of course PAYPAL and Ebay do not recognize registration so it won't do any good in an INR situation either.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Good points. Had no idea insurance coverage was only $60 or that registered is not accepted as delivery confirmation, why not? Having carefully read Canada Post' s TOS regarding parcel insurance I'm of the opinion it's not worth adding in most cases, better off with cookie jar type coverage unless a very expensive item. There are a lot of limitations and outright exceptions, the main benefit is coverage for lost shipments on which I've had successful claims in the past.

The clerk always requires a "value" for the registered label so they must insure certain contents , maybe legal documents? Those cost money to prepare.

[teenytrinkets]

I'm typically fine with cookie jar insurance, especially for most items under $40-$50, but I've been hit with a couple of INRs lately for small lettermail sent to the GTA. I'm thinking stuff is getting held up or lost at the Mississauga DC.

I won't pay $18 for a $40 item, but $12 I could do. I'm not interested in insuring... I want the tracking# to ward off the INRs.

[ricarmic]

I will say that I agree that something that appears to be tracking and "Watching" while the item is en-route does seem to help.

I in all my eBay time have NEVER had a registered item INR. (but I haven't sent 100s and 100s of them either).

[kawartha-ephemera]

I'm shipping from just outside of the GTA region, from the local collection points everything deposited before 3:30 pm travels that day to various GTA facilities dependent on what direction the mail is heading. The majority of my Canadian lettermail shipments are within Ontario, haven't had a single INR on those this year.

I've always felt oversize is more susceptible to problems than regular too, especially if using stamps. This comment is strictly anecdotal and a small sample, but most of the time when I receive "where is my item" messages they involve the few oversize items I have stamped and dropped in a box somewhere, whereas items with a meter label applied at the PO don't experience delays. I'm speaking of domestic oversize here.

[ricarmic]

In my case everything I mail has desirable current souvenir sheet(s) and some older stamps as well on it, with the exception of risky countries where I use nondescript stamps on the package.

Anyone who knows anything about stamps would know that the stamps on the outside of the package have value, so presumably would the ones inside.

I also was very hesitant to use ebay branded packaging for the same reason, it was advertising that there might be something of use inside (again except for risky countries I use plain non branded packaging for them).

In both cases, as you know from my annual "cookie jar" reviews, neither have seemed to cause any noticeable increase in lost packages, or so it seems......

I do also feel that oversized stuff does tend to be more likely to be INR, I suspect that is because it is more likely to be destroyed by equipment in process. I've seen some fairly heavily damaged #10 envelopes that have gotten "stuck" in something along the way. If the same happens to an oversize, it likely got "exploded"..... but who knows....

[teenytrinkets]

I think you're cruisin for a bruisin if you send any OS in a #10 envelope. From what I hear, they don't separate these envelopes like they do the larger kraft or poly envelopes - and they're left to the mercy of the machines. I can only imagine what jams up the machines and comes flying out... lol

[ricarmic]

Ooops I was confusing. The #10 envelopes are <5mm normal stuff, my point was that if the normal thin envelopes can get caught and destroyed the bubble packs bear a higher risk of something similar happening, although I assume the OS stuff goes through different machines...

[ricarmic]

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@teenytrinkets wrote:
I think you're cruisin for a bruisin if you send any OS in a #10 envelope. From what I hear, they don't separate these envelopes like they do the larger kraft or poly envelopes - and they're left to the mercy of the machines. I can only imagine what jams up the machines and comes flying out... lol

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This did remind me of a US guy that used to send me packages of stamps years ago now, but they were crammed into #10 envelopes, I mean the #10s were almost ROUND wayyyyy beyond what they should have been thickness wise, and he just put the regular rate on them!

Generally they survived the journey ok, some were missing pieces of the envelope, I don't recall any that never arrived. 

I haven't thought about those for a long time!

[ypdc_dennis]

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@ricarmic wrote:

As far as I know registered mail only includes $60 of insurance.

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Canada Post has $100 for registered domestic mail. With option to buy more insurance.

Registered mail for USA/International has a maximum of $60 of limited insurance.

Documents only for out-of-country. 

Coins, jewellery, postage stamps, etc are all allowed for in Canada. Dangerous or illegal items are not allowed.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/personal/sending/letters-mail/registered-mail.page

[ricarmic]

Good catch, I was only speaking of the international aspect, I should have clarified it, I've never used registered for USA/Canada......now we've got the whole picture!

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

How many lost packages are you experiencing?

The truth is, there is no tracked option with low economic cost. Unless you have tons of lost packages, the most efficient thing to do is to send untracked, and eat the cost of the lost packages. Even if registered mail is 9.75, that's 9.75 extra you could make with each order.

Regardless of whether you charge the 9.75 as a shipping fee that the customer pays, it still comes out of your pocket, because if someone will pay you $30 for an item, it's worth $30 regardless of whether you're selling it for 27 + 3 shipping or 17 + 13 shipping. With 27+3, you increase your margin by 9.75 x your number of sales. Your amount of INR refunds would have to be extremely high for registered shipping to make sense.

[teenytrinkets]

Yeah, it's not something I'd use very often - but mostly as a cost savings to the east for something very tiny, but more expensive, that I may normally send tracked. And it's a nice option to have in my back pocket if I feel the sale may need some "insurance". I'm also curious to see if it moves any faster than my usual tracked shipments.