Shipping shock - the big cost of shipping small items

[rose-dee]

This is a bit of a rant, more like sticker shock I suppose.  Not that I didn't expect overseas shipping to rise significantly this year, but honestly. 

I just sold two sewing patterns (280 grams total weight) to a customer in Australia.  I haven't sold to Oz in a while, so this was a shipping "update" for me.  What an update.  These two items fit into a standard No. 5 bubble envelope, just under 2.0cm thick, which, with a little taping of the edges used to be able to go via Light Packet Air for a rather pricey but still manageable cost of around $10 to Australia.  

With the demise of Light Packet Air, I had no choice but the Small Packet Air service (forget surface service!).  The cost -- $22.43 Cdn  for essentially an oversize lettermail package.   And if I'd wanted the cheapest tracked  service?  Tracked Packet was -- get this -- $47.48!  Holy cats, who can sell small, inexpensive items to distant buyers anymore?  It's almost laughable.  

Oh well, we'll see whether Small Packet Air can actually make it to Australia in under a month. 

[recped]

Put $13.90 in stamps on the envelope and toss it in a mailbox (no customs form).

[triber]

I mail all my Australian and UK packages by lettermail if under 100g, and small packet airmail for up to 200g. I admit that my items are not usually very expensive, but in all the years I have never had one get lost to Australia, and just one to the UK. I stopped selling anything heavier when small packet air rate stopped tracking a few years ago.

[momcqueen]

It's the weight. I sell minifigs to Australia via Small Packet that is not a shock from Light Packet because they are within the 2-cm depth and under 50 g. That's $10.75 CAD for that. For 280g I am mailing a diecast car in a box, no wonder Canada Post discontinued the service for that at a lesser amount. It cannot have been a break-even proposition for them. 

[kawartha-ephemera]

When Canada Post announced their 2018 rate adjustments they advised customers to expect an average 4% increase . Well, as you've noticed this was simply not true,  not shipping from my postal code!

The new international rates are crushing any chance of selling much of anything requiring an international parcel service. It's too bad because I used to send parcels to Europe and Australia quite regularly.

Over time, after reading some of the comments made on this forum I'm starting to wonder if CP  applied the increases unevenly by postal code. I'm in a rural but certainly not anything resembling a remote area. The domestic regional rates have increased by far more than 4%  too. The lowest regional rate I've seen is now something like 12.65 before taxes, last year it was around 10.00.

Another thing I noticed post January 15th is that if the seller uses counter rates in their listings the gap between counter and discounted (ebay negotiated) rates has widened tremendously.

For instance, counter rates for Tracked Packet to the U.K.  come in at something like 45.00 - 50.00  but the actual discounted rate we would pay is in the 35.00 range. Those numbers are from memory and probably are off a dollar or two.

Same thing with rates to the U.S. the gap between counter and discounted has widened. 

Because of this change and the recent problems with the shipping calculator I am no longer shipping items requiring a parcel service outside of North America. In fact, for the time being I've stopped creating any new listings requiring parcel.

In order to begin shipping internationally again I will need to change from counter rates to a discounted rate, not sure how that could be managed to work well for all countries.

The only other option would be to select a very short list of countries and set a flat rate for each.

[cumos55]

The biggest change for Canada Post  is the increased percentage for fuel surcharge for shipping within Canada  and a less  significant increase to the US and elsewhere

[ypdc_dennis]

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@triber wrote:

I mail all my Australian and UK packages by lettermail if under 100g, and small packet airmail for up to 200g. ...

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The second International Small Packet weight break is at 250g not 200g.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@rose-dee wrote:
... Oh well, we'll see whether Small Packet Air can actually make it to Australia in under a month.

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Small packet to Australia last year was averaging 15-18 business days for me (from Ontario).

[ypdc_dennis]

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@rose-dee wrote:
I just sold two sewing patterns (280 grams total weight) to a customer in Australia.  I haven't sold to Oz in a while, so this was a shipping "update" for me.  What an update.  These two items fit into a standard No. 5 bubble envelope, just under 2.0cm thick, which, with a little taping of the edges used to be able to go via Light Packet Air for a rather pricey but still manageable cost of around $10 to Australia. 

With the demise of Light Packet Air, I had no choice but the Small Packet Air service (forget surface service!).  The cost -- $22.43 Cdn  for essentially an oversize lettermail package.   And if I'd wanted the cheapest tracked  service?  Tracked Packet was -- get this -- $47.48!  ...

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The main reason for the big difference is the weight.

280g was under the 300g weight step break point for the old Light Packet.

The Small Packet Air breaks are 100g, 250g, then 500g -- so your sale went to a pricier weight step. But, if your buyer had wanted 3 patterns the shipping cost would have been the same.

It would also have been less painful with the extra 20% online discount that Shippo and PayPal had from July/17 to January/18 for Small Packet.

Small Packet does not have a fuel surcharge -- Tracked Packet does.

-..-

[reallynicestamps]

[rose-dee]

OK, no need to clobber me over the head with a boxful of stamps!  

Believe me, I've considered using stamps for items going overseas that "look and feel" like documents (e.g. sewing patterns).  Small Packet Air is clearly a rip-off for such things.   (And yes, it's that 250 gm weight break that gets me almost every time).  One thing that has made me hesitate is wondering what would occur if the parcel got opened or inspected by customs in the receiving country with no CL22.  I do like to include a packing slip in every parcel, both for my customer's sake and to satisfy any queries at customs.

Additionally, I was under the impression that the international postal agreements were cracking down on commercial items being sent by letter mail -- the last thing I'd want would be a $30 item being sent back from halfway around the globe due to an incorrect shipping category.     

Besides, I just happen to like using label service -- it's quick, usually easy, it looks professional, the label cost and shipping details get logged online (good for record-keeping), the fact of shipment gets updated on eBay, Paypal (and Shippo or CPC), I can include a matching packing slip, and notifications get sent to buyers without my direct involvement.   Now if I had to lick and stick a couple dozen stamps, create and print my own address label, enter the shipping cost manually for my own records, update the shipped status on two sites, send a notification to the buyer, create my own packing slip, I could probably manage to use up $10 worth of my time.  

I've actually solved this problem in another way on another site, but eBay's policies prevent me from using that strategy here.  So, unfortunately for my Aussie customers, the easiest thing for me to do is just list these items with the actual Small Packet Air cost, and if they really want them, they will have to pay the shockingly high shipping. 

Nonetheless I did feel compelled to apologize to my buyer about the outrageous shipping.  She apparently had expected it, but thanked me for the gesture -- I think Australians know they're going to pay a premium to ship anything that far from North America.   

[ypdc_dennis]

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@rose-dee wrote:
... Believe me, I've considered using stamps for items going overseas that "look and feel" like documents (e.g. sewing patterns).  Small Packet Air is clearly a rip-off for such things.   (And yes, it's that 250 gm weight break that gets me almost every time).  One thing that has made me hesitate is wondering what would occur if the parcel got opened or inspected by customs in the receiving country with no CL22.  ...  

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Except that once you go over 200g, oversize letterpost is also not that great a deal. Unless using discounted stamps to knock 25-35% off the cost you are looking at $20.60 for a 280g package internationally.

If it is a paper product, opening oversize letters for inspection is extremely unlikely -- stuff that shows on X-ray or letters that fail the drug sniff test (usually by a dog) will get priority for inspection.  Even with declining lettermail volumes there is still way too much mail for inspectors to take a close look.

-..-

[femmefan1946]

I've considered using stamps for items going overseas that "look and feel" like documents (e.g. sewing patterns). 

You can use stamps to pay at the post office counter for any service.

Generally, on the 18 cents a minute minimum wage scale, it's not worth the extra time spent.

But it is possible.

I also use Small Packet labels (C22) with stamps and drop them in the postbox. 

But your choices are reasonable too.

[recped]

One thing that has made me hesitate is wondering what would occur if the parcel got opened or inspected by customs in the receiving country with no CL22

Absolutely NOTHING even if it was a one in a million(?) that got checked, if it's under the free limit obviously nothing, if it's over the free limit they would charge taxes as usual and if there is no invoice enclosed they would have no idea of the value of some old paper items nor would they care.

Keep in  mind that in most of those countries they allow merchandise in First Class Mail and it's only from Canada and recently the USA that doesn't.

[rose-dee]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

You can use stamps to pay at the post office counter for any service.

Generally, on the 18 cents a minute minimum wage scale, it's not worth the extra time spent.

But it is possible.

I also use Small Packet labels (C22) with stamps and drop them in the postbox. 

But your choices are reasonable too.

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Right.  But you also just reminded me that I forgot to add in the stamp-licking "to do" list above the time spent to fill out a CL22 manually.   Another few minutes to add to the task (although my problem is usually wasting time trying to actually find the darn forms, I'm notorious for misplacing the most necessary items -- like glasses).   Besides, I don't have one of those little bottle-with-the-sponge-on-top thingamajigs to moisten stamps.  I really don't like licking stamps.  Ickhh.

[pocomocomputing]

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@rose-dee wrote:

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

You can use stamps to pay at the post office counter for any service.

Generally, on the 18 cents a minute minimum wage scale, it's not worth the extra time spent.

But it is possible.

I also use Small Packet labels (C22) with stamps and drop them in the postbox. 

But your choices are reasonable too.

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Right.  But you also just reminded me that I forgot to add in the stamp-licking "to do" list above the time spent to fill out a CL22 manually.   Another few minutes to add to the task (although my problem is usually wasting time trying to actually find the darn forms, I'm notorious for misplacing the most necessary items -- like glasses).   Besides, I don't have one of those little bottle-with-the-sponge-on-top thingamajigs to moisten stamps.  I really don't like licking stamps.  Ickhh.

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CN22

[pocomocomputing]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

I've considered using stamps for items going overseas that "look and feel" like documents (e.g. sewing patterns). 

You can use stamps to pay at the post office counter for any service.

Generally, on the 18 cents a minute minimum wage scale, it's not worth the extra time spent.

But it is possible.

I also use Small Packet labels (C22) with stamps and drop them in the postbox. 

But your choices are reasonable too.

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CN22

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

The other option if you are unable to locate those crazy cn22 forms(My local post office doesn't even stock any longer) is use the online form at Canadapost which will give you a barcode you can either print or send to your mobile device and they scan when you arrive. No cost for that service. As for the stamp licking you can always save that for your paid assistant or a handy kidlet. 🙂

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/cdc?execution=e1s1

-CM

[kawartha-ephemera]

My only comment.... today's stamps are produced with poor glue, don't even try sticking them to tape.

Recently observed this wee problem just last week. The permanent stamps will stick to any surface.

Hopefully the glue used on old vintage stamps sticks to all surfaces?

It had been so long since I had licked a stamp I'd forgotten what a pain that job can be.

[ricarmic]

Lickable stamps will stick to the ebay plastic bubble envelopes.

I suspect they will to any bubble envelope, but my "normal" non ebay (Uline) bubble envelopes are paper surfaced...so I only have ebay plastic experience...

Stamps, in my experience will never stick to packing tape or scotch tape.