what's up with "shipping CONUS"?

[Nanahanman]

I live up in Canada and have had occasion to want an item that is listed for sale, then see "shipping to lower 48" or " shipping CONUS only"

Is there some reason that it's hard to ship to Canada?

I have shipped stuff to the US and , yes, there are a couple of extra boxes to fill in on the form but not really a hardship.

Is it pricing? Perhaps you have some kind of flat rate shipping there?

 

[Madmudder]

Shipping almost doubles going to Canada & the mystery brokerage charges that sometimes get applied by the government of Canada make it difficult. So much for free trade

 

[huron52]

Generally I don't buy from a company that don't offer shipping to Canada. Then when I do I buy from ones that ship USPS. Or have it shipped to a UPS store and drive over and pick it up.

 

[RaYzerman19]

If you're interested in picking up in Niagara Falls, there are a few choices....... try this one, $3 per package, they keep it up to 4 months for free......... Canadian company, Park's Furniture.

www.nyaddress.ca

 

[Fred W]

I've sold a lot of stuff person to person and the times it has been to someone in another country have always been more work.

If I sell to a US citizen I can ship it via USPS Priority Mail (lowest prices), use their online "pay and print", slap the label on the box and walk out to the end of my driveway and hang the package from my mailbox and the delivery person takes it away. I get free tracking, $50 insurance and 2 day delivery within the US

Can't do that for international shipments. You can still pay and print for the label (and customs form) online but then need to bring it to the post office and wait in line. The shipping costs are far more (more than double in my experience), and the delivery time takes weeks.

I don't see why shipping to HI or AK would present any of these problems though.

 

[08FJR4ME]

As someone who ships quite often also the rates going to Canada have over doubled in the last couple of years. Small flat rate box is now around $30.00 and then add customs charges. First class has gone up also. Was $9 and some change last year for an envelope but has gone up again to almost $11.

My experience anyway,

Dave

 

[wheatonFJR]

It's almost like it's a separate country or sumpin!

 

[Pterodactyl]

I don't see why shipping to HI or AK would present any of these problems though.

When I lived in Alaska I found that most companies shipped to Alaska, but the charges were significantly higher. Free shipping offers seldom applied. Some shippers were convinced that UPS ground was not available, but it is.

We now live about 200 miles from the Canadian border. Some of the Canadian riders maintain a postal box in the US that they share with other riders for the purpose of online purchases.

 

[Bellerophon]

I have sold a few items on eBay that shipped to Canada. On a couple of occasions, FedEx came back to me later to collect customs fees. At that point I figured it just wasn't worth it, so no longer sell & ship anything in to Canada. This is just my experience. I love Canada and Canadians, but getting stuck with customs fees made it not worth it to me.

 

[huron52]

How did Mark get to be so smart?

 

[wheatonFJR]

How did Mark get to be so smart? :fool:

Hanging around Tom, Rob, and that Bungie guy.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

I bought many things from members in this forum and they sent me these in Greece Europe without any problem..

 

[sapest]

The Canadian govt collects duties and taxes on items shipped across the border. The courier companies have no problem charging $25 in 'brokerage fees' on a $20 ( or less) item. USPS does not charge these outrageous fees. In the last couple yrs the Can govt has eased up on charging anything on small amounts, somewhere under $75 or so, but the couriers are still collecting brokerage.

M/c parts are duty free, but there are still Prov taxes that are collected, if items are new.

So OP, yes its a PITA for our US friends to ship things to the great white north, & much more expensive for everyone.

As pointed out, there are mail services in the US that charge by the package to accept your shipments, or find an US FJR buddy near you who's address you can use.

At the border, I have often found that you can bring to Canada much larger $ amounts without being hit with taxes than if items are shipped across. Maybe border guards are more sympathetic than postal inspectors.

-Steve

 

[Nanahanman]

This post was started to question why someone selling on the forum lists with no shipping to Canada. Or more accurately, shipping only to the continental US.

Now I do understand it costs more and there can be extra fees but that is payed by the Canadian buyer so I don't see how that is a hardship for the seller.

As for Canadian duty charged to a US seller, there is something very wrong with that! Never heard of that before.

I am reluctant to accept shipments via couruier as they do gouge on the 'landing fees" and one person did post that it was more trouble to send something USPS to Canada.

So, basically, it's inconvenient to ship to Canada. Fair enough.

Sometimes it a bit of a drag to see something you want in the For Sale forum and it's listed as Lower 48 or CONUS only.

Not helpful to a brotha up in the Great White North

 

[Bounce]

Same here. Nearly every time I've sold and shipped outside CONUS it has cost me enough difference that I took a bath on the sale. eBay is the worst because it's shipping calculator figures a much lower cost to the buyer than it does to the seller. Eating the difference on something that's "priced to sell" means I'm the one that takes the hit.

The only time this didn't happen was through this list to someone in Aus. He knew ahead of time and agreed to pay all fees to get it to his door. It ended up doubling the cost of his purchase but he wasn't surprised and stepped to the plate.

I I were to list something like this:

$100 + shipping CONUS

$200 + shipping elsewhere

It'd never sell to "elsewhere".

There's always the option to contact the seller and agree to pay for all fees in advance at 150% of the selling price with their agreement to refund any difference.

 

[wfooshee]

My experience, too. Shipping costs are hard to know beforehand. you list something with free shipping, you have to limit it to CONUS.

Buying from Canadian listings sucks, too. Years and years and years ago I bought an iPAQ, (HP PDA in the pre-smartphone era) used, for 65 bucks. A couple of weeks after arrival i got a bill from US customs for 85 dollars, because the imported item was worth 500 bucks. Well, yeah, new retail was 500, but I paid 65 for a used one. Took MONTHS to get rid of that!

As far as I'm concerned, Canucks are on their own, buying or selling. Crossing that 49th parallel is expensive!

 

[HotRodZilla]

It's easy...We usually have an idea of the shipping costs when we post something. So something small that's listed as $45 shipped CONUS could be changed to:

$45 shipped CONUS

OR

$40 + Actual shipping to anywhere else.

Doesn't have to be done by anyone, but if I was in Canada and KNEW shipping to my door from the US was more expensive, I'd be sure to contact any seller who had an item I wanted. Make a fair offer to get shipping handled and problem solved. Hell, I'd do that any day of the week.

AND, yes, I took a bath one time selling something for cheap and miscalculating the shipping. **** happens, and I didn't lose my house over it, so, oh well.

 

[Nanahanman]

My experience, too. Shipping costs are hard to know beforehand. you list something with free shipping, you have to limit it to CONUS.


As far as I'm concerned, Canucks are on their own, buying or selling. Crossing that 49th parallel is expensive!

Good point on the free shipping. Makes sense IF free shipping is included.

So am I to understand that if I see a post that says "shipping to CONUS" that means the shipping is included in the price?

Or does it mean "I would rather not have the extra hassle of shipping elsewhere"?

I figure shipping is always extra unless specifically indicated as included.

Shipping doesn't have to be expensive (and surprising) if you do it right. No courriers is a good start. They are bandits!

Canada Post had a web site that is very accurate in quoting shipping costs when you enter the size, weight and destination of the package.

How you declare value and country of origin is a factor as well.

Shipped an item to Alaska recently and... easy peasy!

 

[yamafitter]

How did Mark get to be so smart?

Hanging around Tom, Rob, and that Bungie guy.

I was with you until you mentioned Bungie.