Shipping from Canada to the US

[mr55er]

Hi all. I  find that shipping costs from Canada to the US are high. What is the best way to list my items so that I don't scare off US buyers?

Thank you for your answers !   Glen (Mr55er)

[pierrelebel · Accepted solution]

It depends on the value of your items.

Many sellers currently offer "free shipping" meaning the cost of shipping is absorbed in the selling price.

That of course would not work for low priced items or those (bulky or heavy) requiring high shipping charge. .

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

While many buyers are bargain hunting, almost as many are concerned about the reliability and professionlism of the online seller.

So, in addition to considering Free Shipping, which is very popular with buyers, a clean listing with good spelling and grammar, complete details about the item, and clear pictures will make the customer more comfortable.

In addition, don't add negative or threatening or whiny notes to your listing. All too often we see a foolish seller demanding in SCARLET CAPS!! that the purchase be paid in 48 hours or an Unpaid Item Dispute will be opened. Or demanding that 'only serious buyers' should bid. Or that bidders have at least 10 positive feedback before bidding.  Or complaining about Canada Post rates.

The buyer doesn't care.

He wants to know that the seller knows what he is selling.

He wants to know the actual payment he will make.

He wants to know when it will be shipped and how long it will take.

[pjcdn2005 · Accepted solution]

There are some less expensive methods but that  really depends on the size and value of what you are selling. Many sellers here use lettermail within Canada for lower cost items that are less than 2cm thick.

If you do have to use more expensive shipping, as suggested, some sellers offer 'free' shipping and the cost of shipping goes into the item price. Or, some will charge less than the actual shipping cost but charge more for the item.

If you give us an idea of what you will be selling it will be easier to give you a more specific answer.

[38e_avenue · Accepted solution]

Glen (Mr55er), please remember that the "goods" (as defined by Canada Post) CANNOT be shipped to US in a letter. Just for such shipments Light Packet (since January 2015 will be much more expensive than a letter-post) has been created.  

[pjcdn2005 · Accepted solution]

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@38e_avenue wrote:

Glen (Mr55er), please remember that the "goods" (as defined by Canada Post) CANNOT be shipped to US in a letter. Just for such shipments Light Packet (since January 2015 will be much more expensive than a letter-post) has been created.  

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You are not supposed to send goods to the U.S.  by letterpost  but I am sure that many people do.

[38e_avenue]

I am sure many do

[treasure.hunter.d · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

Although the cost of shipping from Canada to the US is problematically high, after looking at all options, Canada Post still ended up being the least expensive for me. I am not located close enough to any of the services that take your packages to the US to be sent via US Post so they are out and the couriers well, with brokerage fees, they are just too expensive.

Once I decided that I was stuck with Canada Post I decided to attack my shipping costs from another angle.

As the costs to ship are set and not negotiable the only other part of the equation left was my shipping supplies. Boxes, bubblewrap, wrapping paper, foam, tape etc all cost money and add up bigtime in the long run. Therefore I set out on a mission to see how many of the items that I use to ship I could sourse for free. Boxes are easy. Free boxes are plentiful from many retailers and most are available simply for the asking. I identified specific brand boxes that are sized to suit my usual needs and now collect them regularly from various retailers before they hit the compactor. Bubblewrap, styrofoam peanuts and foam wrap are not nearly so plentiful but I have identified certain types of business that receive goods packaged with these items on a regular basis (not saying where as you do need to do your own legwork) and have the items set aside for me as often as they get them.It's not 100% of the time as I do have to buy this stuff on occasion but it does not my costs way down. Tape unfortunately, well, that you just have to bit the bullet on but purchased in bulk the cost can be beaten down to a fairly large extent. Don't fall into the Dollar Store trap for tape as even though it is cheap it basically only sticks to itself which means using twice as much to close a box and negates any savings.

The last thing I will mention is one small error I made early on. In my zealous attempts to save money I was using free newspaper to pack items instead of styrofoam peanuts. The peanuts, if you have to buy them, are expensive and I thought that paper, while doing an adequate job of cushioning and being free, would save me money, I was wrong. The weight difference between paper and the strofoam peanuts is significant enough as to push up your shipping costs on every package to the extent that the increased costs outweigh your free paper savings.

Anyway, I hope that helps you somewhat. For me, the high cost of shipping caused me no end of stress and I was constantly railing against Canada Post as let's face it, the reason for the high prices are completely unrelated to the service quality etc and are fueled by the excessive wages and pensions/benefits paid to the workers. That's a completely other story though, lol.

Good luck.

Cheers,

thD

[mr55er]

Hi thD

Thanks very much for taking the time to give me such great information. I appreciate your practical advice ! 

    Merry Christmas to yo and your family !   Mr55er (Glen)

[mr55er]

Thanks for your advice...mr55er

[mr55er]

Thank you for your help.  Mr55er

[mr55er]

Thank you for your advice.  mr55er

[mr55er]

Thank you for answering and for your advice.  mr55er

[mr55er]

Thanks for your advice....mr55er

[mr55er]

Thank you ....mr55er

[skretnica]

If You live in GTA ( Toronto area ) I might help

[alwayspreciousco]

I've been sending items to US via Letter Mail for item about 50g, in a bubbly mailer because that is what suggested by the Canada Post counter person. That costs me about $3.20 (inclusive tax). Light packet to US I believe is about $5.00. This 2 options, although i think is the cheapest way available, it does not provide delivery confirmation or tracking, hence the risk when you are sending. The next cheapest method via Canada Post with tracking, is a registered parcel which costs $16.95. Ridiculous if your item is small and less than that value. Hence, I rather just take the risk. No choice. That being said, after much research, Canada Post is still the cheapest way to send to US, unfortunately. 

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[pjcdn2005]

Tracked packet USA is slightly less expensive than that. If you use Paypal shipping to print your label the price starts at under $14. It's still not a bargain so it only makes sense to  use it for more expensive items.

[cumos55]

Sometimes you do not have to include all of the price of shipping in the price of the item being sold.

You may choose to make adjustments to make the cost of shipping look comparable `to a US price.

Let us say you have an item valued at $40 US  and would cost $16 to ship using Canada.

List it at $40 US and $6 shipping... and in so doing $10  of the cost of shipping is included in the price of the item.

In so doing you are playing with the perception of the buyer... shipping cost relative to the price of the item....

Once the buyer gets the purchase that buyer will the know what the exact cost for postage was...

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I am also in a situation where buyers... in total ....pay more for the shipping of all parcels....  and it is this extra paid postage with all buyers  that accumulates and covers that $10  amount in the example... Right now that buffer is about $250  Canadian dollars for 2015

It is what the potential buyer sees, and then makes a comparison with inventory listed by other sellers...... Price plus postage.

and ...then sometimes experienced potential buyers will look at a seller's record on eBay....

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or alternately they may choose to make a multiple purchase, and in so doing reduce the cost of postage per item purchased.

For me,  with books weighing more than 500 grams each, the first book purchased is always the most costly to ship using Canada Post ,  and the  cost of each additional book purchased  adds about $1 to $2 in Canada,,, and then $2 to $3 to the US.  

Ultimately with a multiple purchase,  the cost per item purchased is reduced with each additional item purchased.... and sometimes  the price of postage per book looks similar to media mail cost for one book with USPS.  

This means that focusing on specific categories of item to sell, and building up numbers of listings in that category make multiple purchases look good in relation to postage per item purchased.

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Right now Canadian sellers can also play with the relationship  between the US and Canadian dollars..

List it at $40 US... a US buyer pays $40 US, but you as a Canadian seller get $50 Canadian.....  which covers that $10  for cost of postage included in the price of the item in the example above.

[femmefan1946]

Letter Mail for item about 50g, in a bubbly mailer because that is what suggested by the Canada Post counter person.

Why?

You can buy poly envelopes much cheaper on eBay (about 15c or less each) which are indestructible and waterproof. For your handkerchiefs use light card as a stiffener, some tissue and a pretty sticker and there you go.

Sometimes you can buy branded eBay poly envelopes from canadapost.ca for larger items.