@dutchman48 wrote:
@hlmacdon wrote:
So what was CP's excuse or story for the last umpteen years. You want to send a collectable dime or quarter to the US today and it costs $6.84.
As far as customs, they can open anything they want, letter mail, light and small packet, and parcels. It is CP that gouges the public with their rules so they can charge huge prices..
Couldn't speak to Canada Post's policy. The UPU is reforming how lettermail is treated and classified. There will now be two separate services, one service for physical goods and one for documents. They still get classified as letter, but there is a clear delineation between documents (up to 500grams) and goods (up to 2kg). The existing international system separates mail into two classes: letter (up to 2kg) and parcels (up to 30kg)while the new system is based on content: documents or goods.
From a read of the situation there are a few different problems. One is physical goods are being via lettermail services, regularly not identified as containing goods, and they are often processed in the parcel stream (I would guess this relates to irregular sizes that can't go through automated sorting). With existing terminal dues largely based on lettermail remuneration it isn't profitable for these packages to be delivered. It would seem by better segregating the types of mail, appropriate terminal dues can be set to reflect what is actually being sent and how it has to be processed.
The other component relates to evolving customs requirements which will require any shipment with physical goods to go through a separate process which requires electronic data sharing of the contents of the package between origin post service/carrier/customs so they can be assessed for risk. This will require packages to be formatted with barcodes using the AA NNN NNN NNN AA S10 identifier format, ie LZ 123 456 789 US you see on US shipments, UR 123 456 789 CA on Canadian shipments. Barcoded shipments go on a manifest and the carrier transmits that to customs ahead of time. From that you can see while they want to retain a "budget' offering to service the ecommerce market, they want those packages readily identified as containing goods so they can be barcoded with the S10 identifier.
As a UPU member Canada Post has to ensure compliance, hence they can't go off and do their own thing here. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out when the mailing changes are announced for 2018 by the various postal services. I suspect we'll see light/small packet rolled into one service. I'm also interested to see how this effect pricing. Below are a few of the slides showing how things are organized.
@dutchman48 wrote:The joys of mailing.
Will be very interesting what happens next year as I believe CP and the Union will also be at it again.
My guestimate is many e-commerce sellers will find it unprofitable to continue under all these new guidelines and probably higher costs.
It will also be interesting what happens if people don't use parcel for goods as is done today.
Will people still be able to use stamps and put in mailbox with all of these new rules coming out?.
I think next year could be very interesting depending on how this plays out. I mail on both sides of the borders so I'm curious to see how this effects USPS as well. I started off shipping international orders via light/small packet before making the transition to USPS and have watched as prices have risen during that time. I'm less interested in what I sell and I am more interested in the logistics side as that is what can make or break you.
With USPS it was interesting to watch as they were previously using the equivalent of small packet for parcel airmail before transitioning to the Post Expres program (our tracked packet). That started off reasonably priced then got whacked with a large price increase which hurt international sales. USPS offers a lower cost alternative service with delivery confirmation called commercial e-packet which is up to 2kg but requires sending in bulk to a postal wholesaler. They are located at one of the international terminals and perform a presort/manifesting, which is where the savings lie for USPS. For the average small business or casual seller, that program isn't readily accessible as you need to have enough volume for to qualify or for it to be worthwhile. How this has been implemented is rather annoying as e-packet has been made more readily available through partnerships with other countries.
CEP services the same group of countries but with additional locations as well. I'm interested to see if they transition this service or add a new tier to reflect the UPU changes to the lettermail class small packet service that is meant for goods. It was specifically carved out at the request of members for ecommerce shipments, but how that plays out in member countries remains to be seen. Likewise I'm interest to see what changes Canada Post makes. The current pricing model they implemented for Tracked Packet is way too expensive for use outside of the US for lower priced goods. Light packet was in the 0-500gram lettermail class that the UPU is eliminating, so we may just see a small tweak with small packet now covering the entire 0-2kg weight range. Where the prices fall within there who knows. It would be nice to see a new service that bridges the gap between where small packet and tracked packet are priced.
With respect to the casual or small business e-commerce seller I suspect that changes over the next several years will become problematic for lower cost goods. We've seen lettermail for goods being phased out followed by a push to tracked services which ultimately saw price increases that offset their appeal. My worry would be that lower cost services suitable to ecommerce (ie tracking) get walled off into programs meant for the mass retail/wholesaler/forwarder market. The export side has been used to shore up losses from insufficient terminal dues on the import side. The UPU changes are part of addressing the terminal dues issue, carving out two classes that better represent what is being sent, which gives greater justification for raised terminal dues. In theory this should lead to some countries (China and other countries relying on registered mail) to pay higher terminal dues which may easy price pressures on the export side. Small glimmer of hope there.
As to how lettermail will be policed your guess is good as mine. It is certainly possible that shipments could be rejected/returned as there is now a security element that is falling into place and customs wants information about shipments. For now it seems largely about barcoding so shipments can be manifested more readily, which allows for better pre-screening and sorting. I don't think stamps are going away, but you may see more scrutiny/mailing requirements phased in. Maybe x-ray vision will become a job requirement for carriers and clerks? 
