w~~_7.JPG "pjcdn2005"){kind=avatar}
@pjcdn2005 wrote:@recped should have some suggestions,
I do but it has already been mentioned by @ilikehockeyjerseys
I used to buy from Uline (in lots of 500), at one time they were 80 cents, I needed another order during covid, at that point they had gone up to about $1.40 (for a 500 piece order) and I think they have gone up since then.
I recently checked the pricing from duplication.ca (redirects to https://www.duplication.com/) looks like they have the best prices now plus they have the other things you might need like inner sleeves, poly bags etc. that I used to buy from EJ Bags. Besides the "standard" mailers they also have some heavy duty versions which would be useful if you are selling any truly high value lp's.
I concur, you do not want to use pizza boxes to ship one or two LP's, there is a good reason that mailers specifically made for LP's are so widely available.
An added comment on shipping LP's
Traditionally sellers would use a standard LP mailer with one or two 12 x 12 cardboard stiffeners inside the mailer. The extra weight of the padding will put most LP's over 1lb (some even over 500grams). I rarely use Canada Post anymore (USPS for the US, PostNL for Overseas and companies like UniUni or ICS for Canada). Canada Post is the only carrier that works with tranches in grams, the rest either work with pounds or by the gram so reducing weight is a serious money issue.
Years ago I switched to using bubblewrap instead of cardboard for "inside the box" padding, While bubble wrap is not free the reduction in weight and therefore shipping cost far outweighs that cost and in my opinion provides better protection than cardboard.
Most of my LP's have a packed weight of 400 - 425g, with cardboard inserts that weight would increase to 475 - 525g range, that can make a major difference in actual shipping cost. If you use a quality "pizza box" you would almost never get them under 500g.
@mrdutch1001 wrote:There is no option within Canada aside of Expedited Parcel
Proibably not at lot if you are in Regina! The OP is in Ottawa, they would have more options.
I'm in Toronto, I only use Canada Post for remote destinations, for "major centres" I can ship an LP for less than $6 (and it's faster than CP). Fo a less than major centre like Regina UniUni (via Stallion) is $7.15
@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:What have your experiences been like with UniUni through Stallion?
My first experience was as a buyer (from Temu), the delivery guy made the delivery at 10:30pm, I had set notification so at 10:30 I got a notice of delivery, went to check for it and found nothing! Fortunately they include a photo of the delivery location where I eventually figured out that it was left at #251 instead of my house at #255. In the middle of the night I managed to figure out the mistake (package had been taken inside by that time) I left a note for my neighbour who dropped it at my front door in the morning.
Shortly after that Stallion started offering UniUni. so I gave it a try. So far I have shipped about 50 orders via UniUni, all have been delivered correctly, the costs are CHEAP, my packages are almost all 400 - 450 grams (a couple in the 500 - 1kg range).
Delivery times are fantastic, from Toronto, 2 days to Montreal or Ottawa, 3 or 4 days to the Vancouver area. The actual delivery times vary depending on which day of the week they are handed over by Stallion (anything dropped at Stallion on a Friday sits until Monday, same as their overseas services). UniUni are constantly increasing their delivery areas, locations they did not serve last year are now served but of course there are still large areas they do not cover. If I can't use UniUni I usually use ICS (though Stallion), they cover a much larger area but not 100% of the country. For those remote areas Stallion provides a Zone Skip service with Canada Post doing the final mile delivery, that service is variable for delivery speed but it's cheaper than Canada Post direct.
Recently for my Temu orders they have switched from UniUni to a company based in Richmond BC called Raven Force, they also use the same type of independent contract delivery drivers for the final mile.
On the related subject about Canada Post, I agree that they are very reliable, I've been a regular shipper using CP for 40 years, out of several thousand shipments I have only had one "lost" (found and delivered after 2 months) but that was during peak covid. To the best of my knowledge I have never had a single piece of Lettermail (including O/S) go missing, even delays of any consequence are rare.
So my opinion of CP is very high with the one exception of the pricing which is definitely not competative anymore.
