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Shipping Lesson Learned

7K views 55 replies 19 participants last post by  thomas1389 
#1 · (Edited)
Got a note from a lady in Kitchener, Ontario who wanted a (what else) Polish Eagle for Xmas. I figured I'd add an extra $5 on top of the regular Etsy shipping rate, which she agreed to. Well..................... the finished product (a tad bigger than normal) wrapped a little better for the postal exchange added about 10 ounces to the total weight, and pushed the cost up another $12 over what I had originally charged. I was already going to have to eat $5 of the original shipping cost. I guess it also included the customs charges. Now we're not talking anything oversized or valuable (under $100 and just over 3 lbs) here. Total distance is about 230 miles from my place. Now I can relate to RainMan when he says whatever he buys in the USA costs about double to get it delivered there. $34 to ship it to Canada and about $10 anywhere in the lower 48. Wow!!
 
#5 ·
I build crokinole boards (crokinoleworld.com) and between 20% and 40% of the cost of a board goes to shipping. I used to be able to do international shipping all over the world. Now, I won't do international or Alaska or Hawaii. With the cost of shipping what it is, you have to offer "free" shipping and include that cost somewhere in your product price...people will balk at paying $80 for shipping crosscountry in the U.S. via ground. And then certain countries have certain package size limitations...for example, to Australia, a package has to be under 75 inches (girth + length) to qualify for the lowest USPS shipping rate whereas most countries are 108 inches. My record shipping estimate was to Poland...$832. Of course the buyer declined that and did not get a board. I am not a real fan of the shippers. I know part of the reason is that I'm paying so Amazon can get extremely cheap shipping on their products.
 
#8 ·
+ S&H Canada is a Socialist country which means tax at every turn. NAFTA has actually kept my consulting work out of Canada, even though there's no one there doing what we do. Costs about $2,000 in gov. imposed fees per trip, per person to go there.
 
#10 ·
I've been looking at buying a Musclechuck for my table router but Amazon wants nearly $50 just for shipping and I'm not sure it would be much cheaper from Musclechuck directly. It's already $100 Canadian with the exchange rate.
 
#14 ·
The type 12 for a Hitachi Brian. Semipro offered to get it and then mail it to me too. He can get it shipped to him for free and according to USPS the 1st class postage is about $15.50 US.

I also looked at replacement woofers for an old set of Radio Shack speakers I have. I could get free shipping if I lived in the States. Shipping to here is exactly $100.
 
#13 ·
Yes, we get royally raped whenever something is shipped to the Great White North. I'm fortunate to be right on the border, can be in Detroit,MI in 15min if the border isn't backed up, and more fortunate to have been able to use Mike McGrath for a shipping destination. Still have to pay any applicable taxes for importing, but that's a WHOLE lot cheaper than paying the brokerage fees the delivery companies tack on.

There is even a couple of companies in Detroit that have set up storefronts that you can ship things to. They charge a $5 fee for each shipment... still cheaper.
 
#15 ·
Welcome to our world, as Chuck just stated the exchange rate on the $ is also a big factor. Imagine when we buy a car built in Ontario and pay several thousand $ more than someone anywhere in the USA. To purchase from the USA we must be desperate or it is something un available in Canada. I used to build Hot Rods and Muscle Cars as a hobby, it would cost me on average double what the same build would cost in California. Last year I toured the western part of Canada and came back east through the states. I have a Class A motorhome with a pretty big fuel tank. In British Columbia I filled twice at $250 each time. In Montana and North Dakota it cost $135 and $132. Most of that gas in from Canada !
No sense complaining, it is part of being Canadian.
 
#19 ·
The only way I can get a shipping price to New Zealand that makes it feasible to buy anything from the US is by using a New Zealand postal service facility which allows me to quote the Portland, OR address of a NZ Post forwarding depot. When they receive the item in my name, they send me an invoice by email for the cost of the international postage and they consign the item soon after electronic payment is made. A great service which is still not dirt cheap, but is manageable. Of course, it doesn't overcome the problem of the currency exchange rate which means the dollar price is almost double of the US price!
 
#21 ·
I did and I wasn't pleased. They promoted their service and quoted a $5 service fee. It seemed too good to be true. It was. The bill was over $100Cdn.
If they'd been honest and upfront in the first place, I wouldn't have bought the item OR used the service...oh, wait! *Light goes on*
 
#29 ·
Stop complaining you fellow Canucks, Quebec is the highest taxed place in North America. 15% sales tax the gas is also at least 10 cents more except for B.C. which is about the same. Income tax is ridiculous at about 30%, wait ! why do I still live here ?, oh yeah, my wife won't even consider elsewhere.
 
#33 ·
"Whenever I'm down Brantford way I get it from the natives on the reserve for less than that. Not too bad, eh!"
Not scalped then? ;)

You could have knocked me over with a feather; I just ordered a corebox bit, Freud, from my local lumberyard...I'll pick it up in the morning (maybe $3 in gas).
It was cheaper than anything I found online, Canadian sources of course. No waiting and no shipping cost, other than my gas I mean. There must be a catch...
 
#34 ·
Awhile back I decided to check shipping costs on something I made, a cane I think, from here to the west coast. Can't recall just what the post office would have charged, but quite reasonable, something over $10 I believe. Then checked with the local UPS office. The only quote they gave me even remotely close to the post office quote was if they delivered it in my town. Dosn't sound realistic, but that's what they said.
 
#35 ·
Not sure if this would make a difference in Canada, however, I have been buying online from HD, WalMart but having delivery at local stores. No shipping charges that way. I started doing this as a price check and was surprised to discover their prices are sometimes lower, and delivery, returns are easy, just a mile away. Canadians near the border could drive across for some of these items. I'm curious to know if it would help. Living in Taxafornia, I've become sympathetic to those living in other socialist areas.
 
#37 ·
HD has a pretty extensive on-line site as does Walmart. I've ordered from both. Unless it's a surcharge for special shipping, as in large or heavy, then the item is listed in our dollars and stated shipping charges from my experience. I've seen items on the US website for Walmart that weren't on the Canadian site so make sure you are on the .ca version.
 
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#40 ·
I think you would have to order it from the dot com site and you would pay the extra shipping in those cases.
 
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