Canadians: Ask me about Canada Post and shipping - I work there!

[#1]

On top of my "real" job and my etsy shops, I also work part-time at a Canada Post outlet, for 4 years now. I'm very knowledgeable about all things related to shipping. I can be your resident expert! Ask away and I will do my best to answer clearly.

jackie ♥

Here's the original post from a forum thread I started before etsy did the shut-down to teams :( It describes CP's rate increases for 2011, which took effect on January 17th.

Like clockwork, Canada Post is raising their rates as of January 17th. I work at the post office part-time so I thought I would give my fellow Canadians a head's up. Here's a link to the complete list of new rates including all the price tables you could ever want (a very helpful sleep aid for insomniacs!).

http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/prices/ (click on the red "new prices" button)

I'm not sure how bad the increase is for domestic and US Expedited parcel rates, but here are the new Lettermail, Oversize Lettermail, Light Packet, and Small Packet rates.

Lettermail (max 24.5 X 15.6 X .5cm):
Canada >>
0.59 (0-30g)
1.03 (31-50g)
USA >>
1.03 (0-30g)
1.25 (31-50g)
International >>
1.75 (0-30g)
2.50 (31-50g)

Oversize Lettermail (max 38 X 27 X 2cm):
Canada >>
1.25 (0-100g)
2.06 (101-200g)
2.85 (201-300g)
3.25 (301-400g)
3.50 (401-500g)
USA >> (printed matter only)
2.06 (0-100g)
3.60 (101-200g)
7.20 (201-500g)
International >> (printed matter only)
4.10 (0-100g)
7.20 (101-200g)
14.40 (201-500g)

Light Packet (max 38 X 27 X 2cm):
USA >> 4% increase over 2010
2.36 (0-100g)
4.92 (101-250g)
7.91 (251-500g)
International >> 3.5% increase over 2010!
4.60 (0-100g)
9.25 (101-250g)
15.80 (251-500g)

Small Packet (max L + W + H = 90cm)
USA >> 7.5% increase over 2010!
Surface 5.85 (0-250g)
Airmail 7.46
Surface 8.35 (251-500g)
Airmail 9.90
Surface 12.41 (501g-1kg)
Airmail 15.36
International >> (rates vary according to the country.. please see zone and rate tables through the link above. Amounts below are for shipments to the United Kingdom, zone 02 - surface rates are 10% higher than 2010, airmail rates are 8% higher, except in the 1-2kg category)
Surface 6.54 (0-250g)
Airmail 8.53
Surface 8.95 (251-500g)
Airmail 17.06
Surface 15.02 (501g-1kg)
Airmail 33.45
Surface 21.07 (1-2kg)
Airmail 50.26

I don't know about you, but I am really bummed about this. Increases of 7 and 10% are really going to hurt!

Convo me if you have any questions.
(Posted at 2:55 am, January 3, 2011 EST)

[cindylouwho2]

Brenda, are you talking to me? As I stated, I didn't use any manual labels. I printed small packet labels online. The customs info is included in those, as with all online labels now. I have already put the customs info online, and the value, HS code etc. is visible right on the label, as is the barcode which I thought contained this info as well?

(If you weren't speaking to me, please @ the person you are addressing, or cut & paste their comment. Gets confusing when several are posting!)

[OrchardBerry]

Tigersanddragons, actually I don't ship a lot as most of my sales are digital. So I'm just at a tier 1 with CP. Last week I checked Etsy, Snap Ship and PayPal and PP gave me a discount down to $7.05. I just looked again at PayPal and this week the discount only brings it down to $8.49. Still lower than Etsy but not as low as it was last week.

[ValleyVariety]

Sorry Cindy, no I was responding to Tigers and Dragons talking about small packet customs forms. I thought maybe s/he was talking about the hand printed SP labels you get at the PO.

[SilverCedarJewelry]

I just did a comparison between Etsy labels, Paypal and Shippo for the lightest Small Packet. Paypal is cheapest but Etsy wins for ease of use. It is the only one that automatically fills in the customs value in $CA even though my shop is in $US. Looking up the exchange rate and calculating the conversion for each label is a lot of bother. I will pay the extra 35 cents and stick with the Etsy labels for now. For Small Packet, they do not require a phone number or a tariff number. They are quicker, less clicks, and work well when doing several at once. Also, when a customer once complained that the item hadn't been sent, Etsy accepted my screenshot of the purchased label as proof that it was sent.

[cindylouwho2]

@Irene - Shippo converts the customs value too, if you connect your Etsy shop. I found it easier than Paypal, & the same price for small packet. Once I hit the higher levels for discounts, the difference will be 64 cents per US label, which is a lot.

I suspect Etsy is not going to be able to offer its current label set up for very long, as the barcoded info with the HS Code is becoming standard now. I hope that means they will integrate with the Solutions for Small Business plan eventually. eBay has had this for quite a while now, & the Paypal integration was last fall or late last summer, if I remember correctly.

My understanding is that Etsy will accept proof of purchase of any shipping for non-tracked services, including photos of stamped addressed envelopes for oversized lettermail. Have they changed that? It's hard to keep up with these things, because they rarely make official announcements.

I do plan on contacting them this week to see what they are accepting for small packet now. I need to talk to CP first to see what the policy actually is on entering the info when small packets are dropped off, and what if any proof of shipping I can get from that. Maybe a stamped manifest?

[OrchardBerry]

Cindy, I've just been having the PO stamp the other half of the mailing label (when I use Snap Ship or PayPal). The other day the PO originated my small packet and gave me a receipt, which I don't think I've had before, but was great.

[SilverCedarJewelry]

@Cindy I have connected my shop with Shippo and it lets me change the currency in the customs form but it doesn't change the actual number, just keeps the same number in either currency.

[cindylouwho2]

Irene, mine changed automatically on the label - I didn't need to enter/change anything. You don't see it til after you pay for the the label, I think, so that may be the source of the confusion for you.

Beth, have you taken orders in this week yet? Are they punching in a bunch of numbers for each envelope while you stand there? I haven't had time to waste on the phone with Canada Post today about this, but it seems ridiculous. What the heck is the barcode for, & what is the advantage of buying online other than price, if it takes as long to drop things off as it does to buy them in person? LOL

[ValleyVariety]

I haven't been to the PO this week, but this is what they've done in the past. I have printed my shipping labels on Etsy.

If no one in line, I chat with the clerk while she scans the barcode on the Small Packet label. I always print a second copy of the label on the back of my copy of the order. She always date stamps my copy of the label. Sometimes, she gives me a 0.00 till receipt as well.

If there is a line up, I just drop and go, so have no proof of mailing, but only a copy of the purchased label as proof of at least buying postage.

[OrchardBerry]

@Cindy, I do pretty much the same thing as Brenda from ValleyVariety. I don't remember them entering anything into their computer unless I ask for an "originating" receipt. And then they just scan the barcode, enter the zipcode and print the receipt. It's never more than a minute or so at the counter.

[cindylouwho2]

ok, thanks guys. Yes, my experience is that I only have to wait around to get them scanned if I want them to print me a receipt. But he said the receipts were for him & I couldn't have a copy LOL. So he's just confused.

I will try to phone CP at some point to ask why they would be doing this to me, because he likely isn't going to change his behaviour unless I prove it is wrong.

[ValleyVariety]

That's the worst, Cindy. A postal employee who only THINKS s/he knows what they are talking about. :)

[cindylouwho2]

They are new owners (less than 2 months) so I understand that they don't know everything yet, but his unwillingness to listen to anyone else is kinda annoying.

They kept one former part time staff member but she wasn't there yesterday. I hope she hasn't been let go, because she's the only one that knows anything!

[TalkoftheTown]

Well, the rates have gone up i see. No more light packet now. Not sure what that means. I havne't mailed anything yet. I'm wonderng if i should be hiking up my postage rates. Anyone else going to?

[cindylouwho2]

Patricia, if you go back & read the last several pages, we have been posting the various rates & options. Depending on what you sell & how you ship, some rates have actually gone down. Canada Post announced it was eliminating light packet in December.

[TalkoftheTown]

Oh, great! Will read. Thanks Cindy. Nice that we have a postal worker here to ask.
Much appreicated.

[TigersandDragons]

Jackie started this thread back in 2011 and she did (maybe still does) work at a postal outlet. She did a fantastic job answering questions and providing up to date info, but hasn't posted here for at least the past 2 years.

I don't work at a post office, I just have spent a lot of time on the Canada Post website since I joined Etsy and have been involved with this thread since it started.
There are also quite a few experienced sellers like Cindy who offer advice and answer questions.

[PrairieCrocusStudio]

Can printed paper patterns be sent from Canada to USA as Letter-post?

[TigersandDragons]

Short answer, yes, I know lots of sellers that ship patterns and other paper items to the USA and Internationally as Oversized Letter.

Longer answer, it's a grey area. You are allowed to ship paper Internationally by Letter, and technically patterns are made of paper. But the intention is that people are using Letter to ship correspondence,
not anything of value. Letters are handled differently than packages by the post office, and by Customs.

Technically merchandise should have a customs form, and be sent as a package (small packet, etc.). However, since the USA's tax-free import limit is $800 USD, American buyers wouldn't get charged any taxes or duty anyways.

So if you decide to ship by Letter/Oversized Letter to destinations outside Canada, if they ask you at the post office what is in the envelope, just say "Paper".

FYI if you use stamps, then you are charged GST/HST. If you instead ask for a postage label to be printed, then as long as you spend $5 more on your total bill on US/International postage you won't be charged GST on those items. But any Letters to Canadian destinations will still be charged GST on the postage.

If the postal employee chooses to type it into their computer, your postal receipt will have the Postal code for the USA and Canadian destinations, thus be a proof of shipping. But for international, all there will be is a two letter code for the country, nothing more specific about the address it was shipped to.

Consider self-insuring, as you can't buy insurance for Letter/Oversize Letter. Insurepost will insure Small Packet, likely U-Pic will too (you'd have to check their website).

[PrairieCrocusStudio]

TigersandDragons, I wonder if this has changed recently. CP website now says that goods (sold items?) are not acceptable. Updated Jan15, 2018.
"Letter-post is the most economical method of sending personal and business correspondence....Acceptable items, Paper or other material with the general characteristics of paper (e.g., tickets, photographs, etc.). Unacceptable items, small packets, goods...."

https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGletpost-e.asp

[TigersandDragons]

It's possible that the wording changed, but I believe it said "goods" in the previous version.

What might have changed is info about adding customs forms for Paper goods. Though I believe the form mentioned (CN22 (43-074-076) is the tiny green customs form that has been discontinued (though some outlets may have some old stock).
The white Small Packet form is 43-074-253

Next time I go to a postal outlet, I'll ask them if they have any of the small green stickers, so that I can double check the number. I tried looking on the CP website and Google, but couldn't find a visual.

As I mentioned above, it's a grey "area" IMO. You can decide how you want to run your business, and what services you want to use.

[PrairieCrocusStudio]

Okay, thanks for your help. Grey is not my favorite color, though!
It would be easier if some things were black or white, when you are trying to do the right thing.

[TigersandDragons]

Well, you could try calling CP and ask them.

However, over the years I've gotten lots of misinformation from the employees who work at postal outlets (usually affiliated outlet, not real CP employees), and even on the CP customer service number.

- I've had employees at postal outlets (affiliated, not official), try to talk me into sending jewellery as Oversized Letter Internationally, because it was "the cheapest".

- I've had employees and CP customer service tell me that Light Packet didn't exist (which of course it did until the service was discontinued a few weeks go).
Or that it couldn't possibly be an Air service, because it was "inexpensive" (especially when Light Packet USA used to cost $2.50.)

[WireExpressions]

Does someone have an answer to this question: If I scan my Small Business card at the post office on lettermail labels (even though I don't get a discount), does that count toward my small business volume discount?

[TigersandDragons]

My guess is that it doesn't count, since Letter isn't a Package service.

But you can call CP Small Business to ask
1-877-262-5762
Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. ET
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. ET