Shipping from Canada compared to the U.S. : eBay Guides

This guide is intended to educate all ebayers about the difference between shipping from the U.S. to Canada or within the U.S. as compared to shipping from Canada to the U.S. or within Canada. Being a Canadian seller, we do have some shipping obstacles that our U.S. based competitors don't have to deal with that not too many typical buyers are aware of or have misconceptions about. 

Quick Snapshot

Not to put too fine a point on it, shipping from Canada is expensive compared to the U.S. Whether you compare with the postal service or a courior, Canadian rates will always be more expensive due to the simple fact that there is more volume of shipments flowing from the U.S. than there is flowing from Canada. It comes down to economies of scale - more shipment volume reduces overall operating expenses which translates into cheaper rates.

Postal Service

USPS has certain classes of mail and products that Canada Post does not have. An example of this is Media Mail rates that allow U.S. sellers to send a certain amount of weight worth of media (i.e. CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, trading cards, etc.) for a set price. Canada Post does not have anything like this.

At this time, a regular Strategy guide for game consoles which is about the size of a magazine would cost a Canadian seller $2.24 US plus taxes to ship within Cananda and $5.39 US plus taxes to ship this item to the U.S. via regular mail. Conversely, our U.S. friends would pay $1.59 US within the U.S. and going to Canada, the rate options are as follows:  Regular post $2.95 US, Airmail $3.95 US, Priority Post $4.25 U.S.

This is a significant difference. Add the cost of packing material and package tracking or signature confirmation, and you can see how the cost of shipping can quickly add up as a huge expense for the sale.  

There are huge differences in parcel shipping costs as well. You can see for yourself by comparing the rates from Canada Post and the U.S. postal service web sites. (ebay prevents me from placing the link to either site so please Google "Canada Post" or "USPS" to find the websites) 

UPS

We ship exclusively via UPS at this time and there are a few reasons for that. First of all, the UPS system fully integrates with our auction management software allowing us to fully automate our shipping process, and secondly, their service provides everything our customers want - timely delivery and the ability to track their shipments at no extra cost, unlike the postal service.

Like postal rates, UPS rates from the U.S. are vastly different than the rates from Canada. When checking a seller's shipping rate to see if they are trying to rip you off, be sure to check it on the proper countries UPS site. Here's an example to illustrate the cost difference between countries. When we operated a golf club site based in Orlando, Florida, we were shocked to see that it was less expensive to ship a full set of clubs from Orlando to Vancouver than it was to ship a single driver from Toronto to Montreal.  

Another difference is how UPS Canada and UPS U.S. handle the brokerage aspects of delivering the parcels to you. Packages going from the U.S. to Canada by UPS will be subject to a brokerage fee ranging from $25-$35 US plus taxes. Going the other way from Canada to the U.S. via UPS, there are no brokerage fees or any additional taxes as long as the total value does not exceed $200 US. Canadian buyers need to be aware of this when dealing with U.S. based sellers who ship via UPS only.

In closing....

A responsible seller should always clearly list their shipping terms and provide a shipping calculator if possible to allow their buyers to be fully aware of what they can expect for shipping if they win the auction.

Having said that, it is the responsibility of the bidder to find out what the shipping will be before bidding and avoiding issues after the auction ends. Assuming what shipping will be based on previous auction experience is really not a good idea considering the fact that shipping rates are all different around the world and each seller has the right to charge what they feel is a fair rate to cover the cost of shipping, handling, packaging etc.

It is easy to assume a seller is trying to rip you off on shipping if your not comparing apples to apples. The sad reality is that there are buyers out there that bid first and ask questions later that then try to back out of a deal which ends up costing a seller a sale,  un-recoverable ebay fees and wasted time in trying to resolve the issue and then relisting the unpaid item. In may cases, the seller may get an undeserved negative feedback which is really not fair.

I hope you found this information useful. Happy bidding !!

Rob Cerroni

Blue Silver Auctions