Wow. Shipping books in Canada

[achickwithstuff]

I was just about floored when the pocket paperback I sent out last week cost $10.00 to ship to Hamilton, ON. All of my rates will have to go up sadly. If anyone actually does buy one I can't lose money on the deal.

It costs me half as much to send a book to Florida as it does to send a book to Ontario! How do Canadian Booksellers deal with this?

[FirstGreenIsGold]

Hi Chick, Yes, I will commiserate with you about Canada Post's rates and regulations. lol

Each clerk at our local office tells me something different. I never know what I'm going to be charged which makes it challenging to sell on-line.

[achickwithstuff]

My problem is: Why would anyone pay the exorbitant shipping rates on a $1.00 - $4.00 book? Oh that's right, they won't. Should be fun trying to explain why it is cheaper to send items to the US than it is to our own country....

[FirstGreenIsGold]

If the item is not extremely sought after, then it's not likely that anyone will pay the shipping. That's true.

If the Cdn dollar comes back down then it would make purchasing more attractive to buyers in the U.S., but that's about the only thing that I can see that would help our situation. We both live too far away from the border to cross the line and ship from the U.S. I remember a book seller on the dark side who did that a few years ago.

As for international, anything in an oversize envelope (like a 100 gram knitting book - over 2 cm thick) is $7 plus 5% GST, so shipping really puts a damper on things.

The other thing that bothers me is that potential buyers may see legitimate rates and be turned off because they think that the Canadian seller is inflating shipping costs.

[osceolabul]

You think that is bad! Try shipping books to England or any other overseas place. If you can set a book in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope it will cost you 12.95, paperback would be 9.50. There seem to be no other option that I can discover, the local post office is no help, just get 'don't care' attitude. Makes it very difficult for any sales "over there".

[islandbuckman]

I shipped a watch to India. No where near the weight or volume of a book. Over $82.00!!! Needless to say, I don't sell to India any more. The shipping that I charge does not cover the actual shipping costs in most cases. Crappy Post is forever changing fees and regulations without informing the public. And go to their website and try to figure out what the cost will be with their online shipping calculator... forget it. When you get to the post office it is always more than their shipping calculator says. It would be nice if eBid could make deals with various countries postal services for special rates and or boxes / envelopes as does the dark side. But Crappy Post, as you say doesn't give a tinkers damn. Typical government agency. Another problem I have had with the postal service is the amount of time it takes for an item to arrive. I have signed up for the "venture program" with C.P. which is suppose to give you a lower cost and better shipping times - JOKE. Shipping to the UK takes a month or more. I could probably swim over faster!
So that is my rant for today. I must be off, I have a booth at our annual carnival /exhibition and am doing airbrushed tattoos. Great money!! Yesterday made almost $100.00 an hour. Today, Saturday is their busiest day so I expect to do more.
TTFN

[deltadelta48]

You think that is bad! Try shipping books to England or any other overseas place. If you can set a book in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope it will cost you 12.95, paperback would be 9.50. There seem to be no other option that I can discover, the local post office is no help, just get 'don't care' attitude. Makes it very difficult for any sales "over there".

If you are US, one other option is first class in your own envelope. This is cheaper if the weight does not go over 4 lbs.So a book is not quite as expensive shipped this way.

You do have to be inventive. I had 3 cases of doll collector books, all very heavy w/ hard cover. Apparently all out of print and worth a bit more than I was charging. I did sell several lots of them to UK buyers and what we did was to use a flat rate box. I believe it was $25, BUT at least 6 to 8 books fit inside, and since I was charging less for those books, the buyer went ahead and we crammed the box full. That priority box is size of a shirt box. Toward the end I was measuring, and advising buyer that another 5x8" book would fit into the end of the box etc.

So if you have something really great to sell, and the postage is high, and you have multiples, and you have not marked up the items over the moon, you can work out postage overseas so that both you and seller are happy. I sold 6 or 8 books, making many times over what I paid, and buyer got rare books not available in UK, that were out of print, for a good price, and the total shipping was not that bad, maybe $3 or $4 a book.

Remember too that there is always a cheaper way to ship overseas, first class, but seller can not add insurance protection. Some sellers refuse to use first class and ship all the premium way so that they can include insurance/confirmation. A CD can go to UK for $5 first class or $29 express. Some sellers refuse to send it out cheaper. I always use the cheapest rate (excluding boat or something that takes 3 months), and just write CHEAPER items off if they get lost. Sell lots of cheaper items overseas because the postage is good. Alternative is charge the premium postage and get no sales overseas. Seller's decision.

[achickwithstuff]

Delta, these ARE the cheapest ways to ship with Canada Post.
The problem, for me, is the dimenions they allow for a letter. 2 CM is the max thickness. Most Paperbacks are over that in size.

[Riverwood]

Delta, these ARE the cheapest ways to ship with Canada Post.
The problem, for me, is the dimenions they allow for a letter. 2 CM is the max thickness. Most Paperbacks are over that in size.

Hi ChickwithStuff,

Welcome to the world of Canada Post! Why we don't have a media mail option like the U.S. is beyond me, and it is indeed sad to be able to ship a paperback around the world cheaper than across Canada! I've found it's not really worth offering regular sized paperbacks, unless you're going to promote multiple sales in one parcel.

The OS lettermail is a not bad price for thinner books, under 500 grams, under 200 mm but as you say, it doesn't work for regular pb's. Makes no sense whatsoever. I complain and complain but they don't seem to be interested in my point of view! LOL!

Have you signed up for the Venture program? It saves you 5% off the top and 8% (or 9, can't remember) if you use the online tools to print your labels. It's not much but it helps. Just tell them you're a small business owner. Once you're signed up, then you use their online bus. centre to print your labels and order stamps etc.
http://https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo...cid=ln10002299

Islandbuckman,
How in the world did you send that watch to India to cost $82? If you used small packet rates, you should have been able to send it fairly cheap, i.e. under 250 grams - $6 - $10, or under 500 grams - $8.60 to $19.50, depending on whether it's surface or airmail, and it's insured to $100.

Cheers,
Shelley

[Riverwood]

Sorry, that link is not working. This one should be better.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/bus...cid=ln10002299