Shipping to Canada

[skypinkblu]

A couple things,

 

1.) Many people have voodoo beliefs about shipping to Canada, dont believe the fiction

 

2.) If you ship courier (UPS, FedEx etc), they add their own invented "Broker" fee for bringing it across the border. USPS is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. They don't tack on extra broker fees.

 

3.) Your books are valuable, so shipping priority makes sense, and not lying on the customs forms is important so the books can be insured for full value.

 

4.) A lot of US shippers get all worked up about having to have wire to wire tracking, and force the highest possible shipping on their Canadian customers, which is double or more the standard options .You can ship USPS 1st class air mail, have a tracking number, and delivery confirmation, at a fraction of the cost of the higher up stuff. The only difference is during delivery the tracking number will say, "crossed the border", "delivered" and nothing in between. There is still a tracking number, and options should the package fail to be delivered, but the majority of US shippers dont get it.

 

For less expensive books, even single slabs, and certainly raws...its the best way to go.

 

Flat Rate boxes are the next best option, and Priority should only be used for high value items.

 

 

 

my opinions/experiences with comics of all values, from all parts of the US, raw and slabbed.

 

 

I'd say 2 out of 3 Canadians will ask me to mark an expensive package at $15

 

It's not the person shipping who wants to do that.

 

Also Tony is correct about first class, you cannot add insurance, nor can you for flat rate envelopes.

 

I pay for private insurance, which I trust a lot more than I would the USPS insurance. They require signatures over $250. You can only do signatures with Priority express or Global Express.

 

or Registered.

 

I miss surface mail, but that's the way things are now.

 

[RJamesWennblom]

My CGC Comics have always come from USPS?

[Low Grade Guy]

It all seems very straight forward to me. I'm amazed at the number of people who refuse to ship to Canada.

 

Because it costs twice as much to ship but the buyer is rarely ever willing to pay the extra costs.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Don't forget to include a little bottle of maple syrup.

 

It's like crack to Canadians.

 

I was of the understanding that you need to soak the entire package in maple syrup to even get it through customs. Is that wrong? My plan was to throw in a few complimentary hockey pucks, and the used blades from my old skates, for good measure. Don't know what else I can do for positive ebay feedback.

 

That will work. Also, add a recording of Mike Myers singing "Oh, Canada!" as Shrek.

 

Surefire positive feedback.

[CBT]

It all seems very straight forward to me. I'm amazed at the number of people who refuse to ship to Canada.

 

Because it costs twice as much to ship but the buyer is rarely ever willing to pay the extra costs.

 

It costs the seller nothing, and millions of dollars are spent doing it every day, so wrong squared.

 

The reason so many dont is because they think its "complicated" and cant be bothered. They end up missing out on lots of extra money, especially in auctions, and dont even know they are leaving lots of money on the table due to ignorance.

[CBT]

A more in-depth look at this would be worthwhile. I ship a lot of packages including packages to Canada and the UK.

 

Priority Mail International has a maximum insured value to Canada of $675. A three pound package insured for the maximum to Canada would cost about $41

 

Priority Mail Express International has a maximum insured value to Canada of $5000. A three pound package insured for $750 would cost about $47

 

First Class International Package is a service to keep one's eye on as far as shipping. It is the cheapest for packages that weigh up to it's limit of 4lbs. By itself, it cannot be insured but is tracked. If you are shipping to someone you know and trust or if the items are not worth much this is the cheapest - a 3 lb package to Canada is $18.50. But First Class International is also a good - really the only - choice for 2-3 books that are VERY expensive. Because for $13.65, you can add REGISTERED mail service to First Class International. This allows you to purchase insurance at the registered mail prices and limits. Which is to say inexpensively and a maximum limit of $25K. In the case of books in question, a 3 lb package sent First Class International, Registered and insured for $750 is going to cost the least - about $35 - and be the most secure.

 

It is worth noting that all registered mail - domestic or international - has to be done in person at a Post office branch. You cannot prepare it at home and hand it to the postal carrier that delivers the mail to your house. All edges have to be sealed with brown paper tape (PO will have a roll that they will let you use) that is then hand stamped all along those edges by the postal clerk.

 

Balancing convenience and risk, if I were shipping the books in question I'd probably use Priority Mail International insured for the maximum of $675. The cost is about $6 more and it saves me a trip to the post office as I can do the postage/mailing label online and hand it to my mail carrier when she drives by. But if you go to the PO to mail your packages, First Class International registered is the least expensive, the most secure and gets insured for the full value. I guess it should be mentioned that like all registered mail, it is also the slowest. Probably looking at 10 days or so delivery.

 

If these two books in question were worth $7500, there wouldn't be any other viable option. It would be first class international registered and insured.

 

 

I'd buy from you all day sir

[Tony S]

A couple things,

 

1.) Many people have voodoo beliefs about shipping to Canada, dont believe the fiction

 

2.) If you ship courier (UPS, FedEx etc), they add their own invented "Broker" fee for bringing it across the border. USPS is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. They don't tack on extra broker fees.

 

3.) Your books are valuable, so shipping priority makes sense, and not lying on the customs forms is important so the books can be insured for full value.

 

4.) A lot of US shippers get all worked up about having to have wire to wire tracking, and force the highest possible shipping on their Canadian customers, which is double or more the standard options .You can ship USPS 1st class air mail, have a tracking number, and delivery confirmation, at a fraction of the cost of the higher up stuff. The only difference is during delivery the tracking number will say, "crossed the border", "delivered" and nothing in between. There is still a tracking number, and options should the package fail to be delivered, but the majority of US shippers dont get it.

 

For less expensive books, even single slabs, and certainly raws...its the best way to go.

 

Flat Rate boxes are the next best option, and Priority should only be used for high value items.

 

 

 

my opinions/experiences with comics of all values, from all parts of the US, raw and slabbed.

 

 

I'd say 2 out of 3 Canadians will ask me to mark an expensive package at $15

 

It's not the person shipping who wants to do that.

 

Also Tony is correct about first class, you cannot add insurance, nor can you for flat rate envelopes.

 

I pay for private insurance, which I trust a lot more than I would the USPS insurance. They require signatures over $250. You can only do signatures with Priority express or Global Express.

 

or Registered.

 

I miss surface mail, but that's the way things are now.

 

 

Sharon offers a lot of good insights here. Our Canadian friends are overly focused on saving postage costs and are not seemingly concerned about packages being signed for and insured.

 

If someone pays me via Money Order or cash, I'll ship it any way they wish. Otherwise, when it comes to Paypal or Credit cards, insurance protects the seller, not the buyer, from "I didn't get it / it was damaged when I did get it" charge back claims.

 

So unless the books are inexpensive enough I'll just shrug off any loss - when I ship anywhere including Canada the books are insured. And signed for if over $200. That means shipping is going to cost more.

 

Sorry to all of you Canadian boardies - but a few bad apples that will swear they never got a package in order to scam some free books ruin the cheap shipping options for you

 

[Tony S]

A more in-depth look at this would be worthwhile. I ship a lot of packages including packages to Canada and the UK.

 

Priority Mail International has a maximum insured value to Canada of $675. A three pound package insured for the maximum to Canada would cost about $41

 

Priority Mail Express International has a maximum insured value to Canada of $5000. A three pound package insured for $750 would cost about $47

 

First Class International Package is a service to keep one's eye on as far as shipping. It is the cheapest for packages that weigh up to it's limit of 4lbs. By itself, it cannot be insured but is tracked. If you are shipping to someone you know and trust or if the items are not worth much this is the cheapest - a 3 lb package to Canada is $18.50. But First Class International is also a good - really the only - choice for 2-3 books that are VERY expensive. Because for $13.65, you can add REGISTERED mail service to First Class International. This allows you to purchase insurance at the registered mail prices and limits. Which is to say inexpensively and a maximum limit of $25K. In the case of books in question, a 3 lb package sent First Class International, Registered and insured for $750 is going to cost the least - about $35 - and be the most secure.

 

It is worth noting that all registered mail - domestic or international - has to be done in person at a Post office branch. You cannot prepare it at home and hand it to the postal carrier that delivers the mail to your house. All edges have to be sealed with brown paper tape (PO will have a roll that they will let you use) that is then hand stamped all along those edges by the postal clerk.

 

Balancing convenience and risk, if I were shipping the books in question I'd probably use Priority Mail International insured for the maximum of $675. The cost is about $6 more and it saves me a trip to the post office as I can do the postage/mailing label online and hand it to my mail carrier when she drives by. But if you go to the PO to mail your packages, First Class International registered is the least expensive, the most secure and gets insured for the full value. I guess it should be mentioned that like all registered mail, it is also the slowest. Probably looking at 10 days or so delivery.

 

If these two books in question were worth $7500, there wouldn't be any other viable option. It would be first class international registered and insured.

 

 

I'd buy from you all day sir

 

Well thanks!