Why do people still buy during the canada post strike?

[lud-4367]

Ever since the canada post strike, I've sold three items so far. Of course, I had to cancel the orders almost immediately since these items are cheap and small items that I only can ship with lettermail. The listings clearly say shipped with lettermail from canada post, but somehow people still buy them. I just wonder why. I can only assume, 1 . they still don't know canada post is on strike 2. taking advantage of situation for freebies. 3. they think ebay sellers will ship them out with ups and others just like walmart. What would be it? 

[mrdutch1001]

if you kept your items active, potential buyers would consider you "open for business". If you didn't want sales, the items should have been ended or you should have put yourself on "Time Away". For many sellers, who have alternate shipping options to Canada Post are indeed "open for business".

[sin-n-dex]

---

@lud-4367 wrote:

Ever since the canada post strike, I've sold three items so far. Of course, I had to cancel the orders almost immediately since these items are cheap and small items that I only can ship with lettermail. The listings clearly say shipped with lettermail from canada post, but somehow people still buy them. I just wonder why. I can only assume, 1 . they still don't know canada post is on strike 2. taking advantage of situation for freebies. 3. they think ebay sellers will ship them out with ups and others just like walmart. What would be it? 

---

I got a message from a Canadian buyer asking why he can't buy my stuff anymore (he purchased many times before). the thought maybe I didn't know Canada was blocked... I told him it's just about the strike, and when the strike is over Canada will not be excluded anymore. He said "oh I forgot they were on strike".

Perhaps that's why. People aren't really thinking that much about the strike unless it directly affects them. Today at work I learned of new people who are running small businesses who can't ship their orders and losing money to ship more expensive things by courier to try and fill orders.

C.

[byto253]

Expecting buyers to read that it is lettermail, then connect that to CP on strike and that shipping won't happen is not reaonsable.   Folks do not always read terms or understand them, and they may also assume that if you are listing when CP is on strike that you another way to deliver.   

I am now on Time Away until after Christmas but sold a good amount to Canada the last couple of weeks.  About 1/3 of them messaged to check on delivery methods before buying.   The others went with the terms I stated, which were correct. 

eBay as a platform would be insane to allow sales with no delivery parameters.  Yes, BUY here and we will deliver whenever at an unspecified time.   Not good to build trust with buyers.  Seller's are responsible for their shipping and listing parameters.  

[chicweb]

I don't understand why you still have lettermail if you cannot deliver ?

As others said, you should put yourself in Time Away or provide another way to ship.

If you keep your listing up, no matter how you ship, people will think you are open for business. Time Away tells them there will be a delay.

If your listing says Lettermail, some may assume you have another way to ship to them for the same price and did not change it.

[fergua3]

i now have a handful of orders, packaged and ready to go when the strike ends.   In each case i explained to the buyer the situation and asked them if they would be willing to wait or would they like an immediate refund.  In all cases so far the buyers were willing to wait.

Don't cancel sales without asking the buyer if they will wait.   The majority probably will.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Not everybody knows about the strike, or the extent of it. Which sounds crazy, but it's not 2012 anymore. People in urban areas who are younger and don't receive letters probably sort of know there is a strike, but don't understand the extent of it because they are still getting almost everything they would normally order just through different carriers or Amazon. Most places have not closed up, so it's been almost seamless from a consumer POV for anybody not in a rural area. 

I think the issue is that you still have your listings set up like Canada Post is not on strike, and buyers rightfully assume that you're open for business. If they click on your listing and your shipping says it will ship in 1-3 days, they will buy it and assume that you will ship it in 1-3 days. They aren't going to investigate much further. Even if it says Canada Post Lettermail, they are receiving other stuff from other retailers, so they likely assume you are unaffected by the strike. 

[reallynicestamps]

I stopped listing. New listings lead to Visibility and more sales.

I closed all Promoted Listings. PL leads to Visibility and more sales.

I have been politely refusing Best Offers, explaining about the strike. We'll see how that goes.

And this weekend, I started closing all listings that will close in the next 24 hours. Closing Soon is a popular Search and leads to sales.

So far, so good, by which I mean bad sales.

[recped]

---

@fergua3 wrote:

i now have a handful of orders, packaged and ready to go when the strike ends.   In each case i explained to the buyer the situation and asked them if they would be willing to wait or would they like an immediate refund.  In all cases so far the buyers were willing to wait.

Don't cancel sales without asking the buyer if they will wait.   The majority probably will.

---

I have 9 Canadian order I "can't" ship....I could ship but I'm not spending $20 to ship an order that is a total of $15 (including paid shipping).

All were offered the wait for the strike to end or cancel at any time.....none have cancelled.

It might be different if I was selling "needs" or time critical items but I'm not.

This is the exact same strategy I have used in previous strikes with the same results, the only difference is that during those older strikes there were very few alternatives.

If I was listing on .com I might simply block Canada but I list on .ca so that option is not available. In the meantime I will ship Canadian orders where there are viable alternatives, if you live in the "sticks" you have to wait or ask for a refund.

[gaffnkel_zkfcx4xn]

I ordered 3 gameboy games day 1 of strike as my son wants for christmas, i honestly ordered because i thought the strike would of been over by now lol sad

[fergua3]

Your're not alone.  I thought it would be a very short strike, about a week,  because i assumed the gov't would never let it happen at such an important time of the year.

But as it turns out they've turned their back on tens of thousands of small businesses, thousands of rural communities who are now completely cut off, hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are waiting for important items in the mail from wedding dresses to passports and the millions of Canadians who rely on Canada Post to provide a happy and economical Christmas for their families.

I'm shocked they are letting this happen and very sorry i voted for them.

[msau4301]

As a seller here I was well aware of the strike before it happened and for myself I decided to stop my sales (I am not selling for income, rather for downsizing and thinning out my own collections).

When buying items (not from eBay, from anywhere/everywhere else) I looked to see how they were shipping and decided if it was worth the risk if I received item after Christmas. I realize not everyone does this.

I bought a few items I was very skeptical would arrive before Christmas (coming from China and such) and was shocked that they arrived even faster than I think would have been under normal circumstances (by normal I mean without the strike).

I only have one item and will refrain to use the store name (as tempting as it is) who I only bought from because they had a big banner at the top of their site "Don't worry we are still shipping during the strike". I unfortunately took that as they were using a courier instead of Canada Post but since it was November 17th and hasn't updated since that date. Because they put that "don't worry" banner that is what infuriates me, and I won't buy from them again. 

I have had a number of regular buyers message me asking why I had not been listing lately (and making sure I was alright). This tells me not everyone is aware, especially not international and US buyers.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@fergua3 

Kinda ironic when you think about it but the image for Strike Update announcement is one of a CP vehicle moving moving down the highway!!! 

[reallynicestamps]

I stopped listing.

I've delisted all my PL listings.

And I have been delisitng daily my About to Close Listings.

All of these encourage people to buy.

But I still got an order today.

And one "Not Recieved" from Roumania. Yah think?

Well they are all packaged and ready to go as soon as the strike is over.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@reallynicestamps wrote:

I stopped listing.

I've delisted all my PL listings.

And I have been delisitng daily my About to Close Listings.

All of these encourage people to buy.

But I still got an order today.

And one "Not Recieved" from Roumania. Yah think?

Well they are all packaged and ready to go as soon as the strike is over.

---

@reallynicestamps 

How you marking the system once you package. Untracked you should be able to get away with shipped even if it is not. With tracking could be a bit more dicey depending on how ebay is reacting to the date you enter it. When I have entered tracking after my handling time eBay flags as late. This is known issue. And for the time being, who really knows when the dust will settle at CP?

[teenytrinkets]

The better question is Why do people still sell during the Canada Post strike? Put yourself on time away to save yourself the headaches!

[38e_avenue]

---

@teenytrinkets wrote:
The better question is Why do people still sell during the Canada Post strike? Put yourself on time away to save yourself the headaches!

---

Sellers from large cities are not affected at all. They simply switched - like me - from CP to ChitChats or Stallion  and do their business as usual. 

I am truly sorry for sellers who cannot replace CP with another shipping service. I feel their pain.  😓

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@38e_avenue wrote:

---

@teenytrinkets wrote:
The better question is Why do people still sell during the Canada Post strike? Put yourself on time away to save yourself the headaches!

---

Sellers from large cities are not affected at all. They simply switched - like me - from CP to ChitChats or Stallion  and do their business as usual. 

I am truly sorry for sellers who cannot replace CP with another shipping service. I feel their pain.  😓

---

Chit Chats and the etc's "might" be fine for the fine folks in large cities who ship to other large Canadian cities/towns or are shipping mostly to the USA. Not so good for everyone else. We need  something in place that offers complete service for ALL of Canada. That means everywhere. Not just cities and towns on main highways. And not a piece meal  approach which we are using now. Look at what happened when Greyhound suddenly went poof for passenger service. We ended up with intercity bus services throughout Canada meaning limited, infrequent  or non existant service to parts beyond (there are parts of Ontario that haven't had bus service in close to 20 years) or the alternative VIA that concentrates its services to the Windsor, Niagara Falls, Montreal Quebec City corridor. Leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. It seems to be heading in a similar direction with the mail delivery?  

Good news folks. Your mail has arrived!!! (Please ignore the pricing!!)

[reallynicestamps]

Fun fact-- The Pony Express lasted less than two years before going bankrupt.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pony-Express

[38e_avenue]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

---

@38e_avenue wrote:

---

---

Chit Chats and the etc's "might" be fine for the fine folks in large cities who ship to other large Canadian cities/towns or are shipping mostly to the USA. Not so good for everyone else. We need  something in place that offers complete service for ALL of Canada. That means everywhere. Not just cities and towns on main highways.

---

That's obvious, but how many % of the orders go to little villages in the middle of nowhere? 

A few days ago I got an order from a customer living in a middle of a forest (literally). Susprisingly, it has been delivered within a few days. ChitChats forwared the parcel to a carrier GTA GSM, of which I even never heard about before.  

There is no doubt, that such services cannot replace CP, but it's worth of checking.