01-30-2017 10:26 PM
Lately I have been getting complaints from US buyers who are asking me to lower my shipping rates to make the sale. All my lisitngs are buy-it-now and I pre-box and weigh every item to keep things accurate. I also have a long standing policy of refunding any excess shipping charges. My sales are being affected by the high shipping rates and there is no alternative that's reasonably priced Canada to US. Is anyone at EBay or Canada Post listening?
01-30-2017 10:37 PM
We all live with it, and there is not much we can do.
You can explain how much the American buyer will actually be paying in 'real money' or US dollars. The 25-30% exchange may be baffliing some.
Are you sure that Expedited Parcel is the cheapest rate?
And that transistor radio is nearly as expensive to ship as the television. Really? (I'm not doubting you, but it was a surprise to see it.)https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1
I assume you are using discounted Paypal shipping labels already.
01-31-2017 01:28 AM
If you're within range of a reshipper there is some money to be saved for sales to the USA. The reshipping company (for a small fee) takes your parcel across the border (values under $800us) and mails it using the cheaper US domestic shipping rates.
These are the ones I've heard of (their websites have the details):
chitchatsexpress - Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax
dykpost - Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary
runninred - Winnipeg
stallionexpress - Toronto
-..-
01-31-2017 09:58 AM
@acrossthedial wrote:Lately I have been getting complaints from US buyers who are asking me to lower my shipping rates to make the sale. All my lisitngs are buy-it-now and I pre-box and weigh every item to keep things accurate. I also have a long standing policy of refunding any excess shipping charges. My sales are being affected by the high shipping rates and there is no alternative that's reasonably priced Canada to US. Is anyone at EBay or Canada Post listening?
We sometimes get requests for cheaper shipping costs to the USA.
We patiently explain that the cost quoted IS the cheapest - there is nothing cheaper.
THEN - we ask the person in the USA what it would cost if THEY were shipping that same parcel TO Canada.
We usually go to the USPS web site and figure it out and tell them what we found. They can check it out for themselves.
Here's an example.
We recently sent a parcel to Ohio, USA. Wt. 2.2 kg. Dimensions; 32 cm x 22 cm x 21 cm.
Cost to send from Canada to Ohio by Expedited Parcel: CA$31.61 (discounted to CA$27.83 with Venture Discount).
Same parcel shipped from Ohio to Canada by equivalent service which is US Priority Mail : US$48.65.
If First Class Mail is available it may be about 10% less. !st Class was not available for this parcel.
The equivalent amount in Canadian dollars would increase the cost by about 30% depending on the exchange rate.
Conclusion - Canadian International shipping is not that bad compared to US International shipping.
Usually this puts the demand for cheaper shipping to rest.
Enough said.
01-31-2017 01:37 PM
I have to say you do have a challenge with your items -- they're both heavy and subject to breakage or damage, as well as being fairly large. They must be a bit of a nightmare to pack!
Personally, I think that anybody interested in antique electronics should expect to have to pay for premium packing and shipping.
However, for what it's worth, to reduce the shipping cost issues, you could try a combination of the suggestions made above, by rolling some of the shipping cost into the asking price and referring U.S. buyers to the USPS site if they still think the cost is too high.
Shipping is never easy unfortunately.
01-31-2017 04:24 PM
@ypdc_dennis wrote:If you're within range of a reshipper there is some money to be saved for sales to the USA. The reshipping company (for a small fee) takes your parcel across the border (values under $800us) and mails it using the cheaper US domestic shipping rates.
These are the ones I've heard of (their websites have the details):
chitchatsexpress - Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax
dykpost - Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary
runninred - Winnipeg
stallionexpress - Toronto
-..-
If anyone knows of a re-shipped in Nova Scotia please let me know. I have a friend there who is looking for that kind of service.
01-31-2017 07:20 PM
@westernstargifts wrote:
@ypdc_dennis wrote:If you're within range of a reshipper there is some money to be saved for sales to the USA. The reshipping company (for a small fee) takes your parcel across the border (values under $800us) and mails it using the cheaper US domestic shipping rates.
These are the ones I've heard of (their websites have the details):
chitchatsexpress - Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax
dykpost - Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary
runninred - Winnipeg
stallionexpress - Toronto
If anyone knows of a re-shipped in Nova Scotia please let me know. I have a friend there who is looking for that kind of service.
How close are they to Halifax (chitchatsexpress.com) ?