Selling on eBay & Shipping to Canada

[pjray55]

I am hoping for some help with this. I obviously want to ship to Canada when selling hockey to increase my sales but shipping through eBay is well over $6 with tracking. I do charge shipping when I sell and I am sure those charges are a barrier to people bidding so my question is there a more cost effective way to ship to Canada (outside of PWE) that I am missing and that I should be exploring? How do others in the US ship to Canada and what shipping fees do you charge?

Thanks for the help, it is appreciated!

Patrick

[k13]

It used to be cheaper now Americans are charging more for shipping than Hong Kong and Australia. I live hour from border, a joke to be charged $7 when I buy a $10 card. Lot of business will be lost..

[quincy]

Speaking as a Canadian:
We hear ya.

I've taken to having low-dollar stuff shipped to a friend, and he mails me a batch about once a month. He accumulates a couple dozen auction batches for me, for which I've paid usually $2-4 shipping per batch. Savings of $3-5 per batch. Let's call it an average of $4/per, and 20 wins - that's $80 saved. He sends me a big-ass package with tracking for $30, I'm still $50 ahead of the game.

Keep in mind, this only tracks savings on the costs of postage. If you include the savings of not getting sodomized by the "Global Shipping Program", it's much more money staying in my pocket. If you're a seller on eBay, the GSP is largely invisible to you. If you're a (Canadian) buyer, the incremental costs are enough to leave you looking for other vendors from which to buy.

[FuriousD82]

There is nothing you can do Patrick.

[bjsports777]

I agree, it sucks. I used to charge $3 Flat Cost to ship to Canada but since the recent hike I've just gone to calculated shipping + a small handling charge. Unless you're willing to eat a lot of the cost to ship to internationally buyers there's really not much else you can do.

[lapierrem]

Its funny to me how there's all these threads about high shipping cost domestically in the US and no one wants to pay $3 for tracked shipping in a bubble mailer. I've become OK with $7 shipping tracked from the US. Better than paying 16+ to the GSP. Sucks to be a Canadian who loves the Jays more than hockey.

[pjray55]

thank you all for the responses and input. I was hoping I was missing something that would allow me to ship for less and pass along the savings but apprently not.

[Kraizd11]

Yeah i am in the same boat. I have recently started to sell my hockey cards that i had piling up in hopes to save up for some new stuff. I charge exactly what it cost to ship to canada with tracking and i barely get any canadian buyers and i know that will be most of my sales. I also heard that prices are going up on January 26th.

[clearblue]

I'm also OK with $7 shipping to Canada. It is what it is. Anything in the $7-10 range seems reasonable depending on the value of the card. What I don't understand, is when someone decides to charge Canadians $30 for anything north of the border. Now that's just pure laziness on research and price gouging on S&H charges.

[koldsurf]

Its funny to me how there's all these threads about high shipping cost domestically in the US and no one wants to pay $3 for tracked shipping in a bubble mailer. I've become OK with $7 shipping tracked from the US. Better than paying 16+ to the GSP. Sucks to be a Canadian who loves the Jays more than hockey.

Use the COMC mailbox service, save yourself some funds...

[223]

Anything less than about $50 isn't worth the hassle. There isn't anything under that amount that they can't just as easily find up there as we can here.

[clearblue]

I also buy a lot of non-sport stuff (as well as other sports), so I'm totally used to paying $7 for S&H. There are plenty of cards less than $50 that cannot be found in Canada. So paying a premium to get it sent up here is totally worth it. We don't all collect hockey cards exclusively. There are still reasonable sellers out there.

[patriots]

Isn't worth mailing to Canada anymore. When I first started selling on eBay in 2001 you could ship to Canada dirt cheap.

[howethegreat]

Guys, stamps.com is a lifesaver and will drastically save you money. It cost $2.20 for a 1 oz mailer with tracking.

[chezball]

I ship to Canada for $3,you have to go to the Post Office.

[wonderful]

Use the COMC mailbox service, save yourself some funds...
I've used COMC service and it has worked very well since November.
$7-$10 shipping is a fact of life using USPS to Canada but it now has a tracking # with it. I use the Global Shipping Program for larger purchases over $100. This service is still a joke because it takes on average 17 days for such high shipping costs. Also, their combined shipping price is too high.

Ex. Subtotal (13 items)$86.81
Shipping$80.73
Import charges$14.83

Total:$182.37

The positive is that both parties are insured.

[chezball]

How much does it cost for one card,before the raise it was $2.25?

[ejs23]

i don't understand why some in Canada are still shocked, and even outraged, by the cost of shipping. it's not the fault of an ebay seller... it's what the USPS charges.

we all wish they'd lower the rate as well.

[Craig]

This is why I have a U.S. PO box address. Saves time and money, and it means I don't get blocked by U.S.-only sellers.

[howethegreat]

stamps.com $2.30ish for 1 ounce large envelope to canada with tracking.

[ejs23]

i tried stamps.com a while back. the reason i didn't continue is because they were charging a relatively high monthly fee. maybe that's changed.

[wingin98]

For anything of low value that I sell on ebay I sell for $3.99 shipping to Canada. I take the bubble mailer to post office and the charge me as a large envelope and have never had an issue(knocking on wood). The cost can range from $2.45 to around $4.00 depending on the weight. I don't even have to fill out one of those silly customs forms either.