Bartertown.com

Was wondering if anyone could help me out on shipping to Canada.I have been doing some trading to CA and my PO tells me the only way to get any kind of confirmation of delivery is to A)use registered B)get insurance on it.Both options are kinda exspensive.I dont pay the shipping anyway but thought I could help my northern trade partners out by finding a cheaper solution.If its a large amount of stuff they usually dont mind paying 20 to 25 dollars shipping but lately Ive sold some smaller things and the shipping comes up to more or almost the price of the item.This morning I tried to send a single $7 blister and to send registered it was $11.If anyone could offer some advice it would be appreciated.
THANKS PETE

Me personally, I don't ship with confirmation to foreign countries, it's just too darn expensive. I just keep my receipt as proof that I sent out the item to the destination.

I have yet to have had a problem, and I have sent to the UK, Spain, and Canada.

Erik

As I recall, there is no other option.

I'm sure kturock will (hopefully) see this thread and give you the lowdown. He's a USPS employee (long time) and is pretty thorough about jumping into threads about shipping and sharing his knowledge. If you, essentially, take his "suggestions" about shipping as "rules," you'll do all right for yourself.

I the mean time, have you looked into UPS? I know they tend to be more expensive at the low end, but maybe they'll be cheaper once the $ cost of shipping hits a certain amount?

Oh... and a word to the wise. Not that it came up but, since we're discussing shipping to foreign countries (in case you didn't know); Declaring something as a "gift" that is not actually a gift is against the law... a Federal offense, IIRC.

Eric

Might want to be careful with UPS, i've heard dozens of horror stories about insane "brokerage fees" that UPS charges (in addition to customs fees) on things going through customs. As i recall, the recipient gets charged on delivery and a lot of senders had no idea there would be an additional fee because it wasn't included in the shipping price they were quoted.

yup MM nailed it on the head on all counts.

1st... use the internet to compare prices. all shippers have rate calculators.

2nd... go to the actual shipper, not a mail box store. they charge you a handling fee in addition to the actual shipping cost. [mailboxes etc. is a store front for ups, but some are franchise, others are not.] prices vary.

3rd...compare apples to apples. understand whart is 'free' and what isn't, and what's included.

shameless plug to keep me employed.
you can go to usps.com and set up a FREE account. you can use you own computer, printer and paper and buy postage and ship; including international. you need an accurate scale. local office supply stores as well as usps sells them. last time i checked usps was cheaper. but i don't think they take returns or give refunds. [i'm not saying to go 'rent' 1 from an office supply store, by buying it,(on a charge card) using it, then returning it when your done, (and getting a credit refund).].

when you buy your postage online at usps.com you can use a credit card, possibly a debit card, and then drop the package off at the local usps. no lines, no waiting. you even fill out the customs forms online.

you can also get FREE priority mail and express mail boxes, labels and have FREE pickup. [with your local mailman/letter carrier comes at his/her normal day and time].


here's the reasons you can't get d/c from usps to international address.
the local [in the other country] mail service doesn't use the same equipment, or have the same rules and regulations governing the delivery of mail.

ONLY IN THE US IS IT A FELONY TO STEAL OR TAMPER WITH MAIL.
[felony = breaking a federal law.]
not even canada or UK. [5 years and/or $5000 fine PER item]

explanation of terms:
registered mail is the slowest and most secure way to send anything. EVERY person who handles the item, signs for it, it is also scanned. [note, usps handles its transfers of $$ and stamps from station/branch/office to main office via registered mail.
in some foreign countries, making an item registered is an invitation for theft. [if you pay that much to send it, it must be worth $$$]

insured mail. even though an item is insured, if it's damaged, you don't automaticlly get paid/reimbursed. the pacakge gets inspected and the claim gets reviewed by a specially trained employee. if it's not packed/packaged properly, you don't get paid.
newspaper or other paper DOES NOT PAD OR PROTECT anything. it continues to compres and then is nothing. use foam, styrofoam and/or bubble wrap.
the box must be strong enough to protect the item. large thin sided boxes, like paper towels, are very easy to puncture.

delivery confirmation. item is supposed to be scanned at delivery. it may get scanned as it get handled along the way, but it's not promised.
[NOTHING IS GUARANTEED EXCEPT EXPRESS MAIL].

express mail is the fastest, way to ship, via usps. it is insured for up to $100 included in the price. it can have additional insurace coverage, for an added cost, up to $5000. when you send express, it's given a GUARANTEED delivery date and time. if it';s late, for any reason, you get the $$ back.. [unless you used an incorrect address] if the planes crashes or is delayed, you get your money back. if the area is shut down due to flooding or other natural disaster, you get your money back.

MM gave a quick explanation about customs forms; here's a bit more.

customs fees are the way a country generates revenue. it's a tax. it's a tax on 'overseas' goods. all countries charge it. no 2 countries charge the smae amount as each other. sometimes it seems they don't even charge the same within the same country.
it is a federal form. like your tax forms. purposely falsifying any information on it, like worth, number or content, or gift or not, can cause the receipieant to pay a fine or additional fee. it's tax evasion/fraud.
.

wow..i've spent way too much time here....sorry to be so verbose...

vesrian wrote:Might want to be careful with UPS, i've heard dozens of horror stories about insane "brokerage fees" that UPS charges (in addition to customs fees) on things going through customs. As i recall, the recipient gets charged on delivery and a lot of senders had no idea there would be an additional fee because it wasn't included in the shipping price they were quoted.

with gas prices increasing, ups has stated to add all tuypes of surcharges. they haven't raised their rates, but have added or increased their surcharge.

oh yeah.. ups, fed ex, emory, dhl has actual employees handle the package overseas. you've seen ups's ad with the brown truck/uniform in different countries.
that's part of why you pay more, but can get the item tracked.

but if it gets stoeln, there are no laws protecting them.

Wow! Holy @!#$% thanks for all the info.So I guess the Canadians are going to have to live with more exspensive shipping .no matter what I do its still going to be more than the good old mailing boxes and dollar fifty something delivery confirmation we got here.I think Ill stick with USPS makes me feel safer somehow.Thanks again guys!
Pete

Always choose USPS over the couriers, the couriers nail us with brokerage fees, while Canada Post and USPS have a reciprocal deal.

The last few packages I've had sent to me were able to track using the customs form numbers.

I don't know how it works, some people do it and others don't, but it's somewhere to start when you're at the post office asking about it

First, kudos to kturock for the awesome information. You sir, are a god!

Second, in response to brettness, I can't speak for the boys in brown, but I CAN speak for FedEx (off the record of course) and assure you that they do NOT charge brokerage fees. What they DO charge is fuel surcharges that can go up and down as the cost of Jet Fuel goes up and down. And given the way gas prices are going, it's a safe bet it isn't likely for them to be going down any time soon. They do not - let me repeat this - do NOT - charge brokerage fees for someone shipping via FedEx.

Any fees charged by the Receiving country (generally refered to as Duties and Taxes) are levied SOLELY by the Receiving Country - FedEx (and the same would hold true of UPS and USPS) has NO control over what the countries charge, nor do we have any way of knowing how much the countries charge. As kturock mentioned, even if you send it to the same country there's no guarantee they'll charge the same amount each time.

FedEx will generally cost more than the USPS to ship internationally - sometimes substantially more depending on where you're going. However, for that difference in price you get A: Faster delivery times, and B: a Tracking number that will allow you to tell where your package is at any given time, and the ability to view the signature of the person accepting the package (if you select that option) so that you have proof of delivery AND acceptance.

-Dwarf

Brian Khazad wrote:First, kudos to kturock for the awesome information. You sir, are a god!

Second, in response to brettness, I can't speak for the boys in brown, but I CAN speak for FedEx (off the record of course) and assure you that they do NOT charge brokerage fees. What they DO charge is fuel surcharges that can go up and down as the cost of Jet Fuel goes up and down. And given the way gas prices are going, it's a safe bet it isn't likely for them to be going down any time soon. They do not - let me repeat this - do NOT - charge brokerage fees for someone shipping via FedEx.

Any fees charged by the Receiving country (generally refered to as Duties and Taxes) are levied SOLELY by the Receiving Country - FedEx (and the same would hold true of UPS and USPS) has NO control over what the countries charge, nor do we have any way of knowing how much the countries charge. As kturock mentioned, even if you send it to the same country there's no guarantee they'll charge the same amount each time.

FedEx will generally cost more than the USPS to ship internationally - sometimes substantially more depending on where you're going. However, for that difference in price you get A: Faster delivery times, and B: a Tracking number that will allow you to tell where your package is at any given time, and the ability to view the signature of the person accepting the package (if you select that option) so that you have proof of delivery AND acceptance.

-Dwarf

true about the surcharges.. at the moment, usps isn't allowed, by federal mandate, to charge any fees for delivery to certain areas. [ay least yet. expect it to change with more privatazation..use of private contractors].

but, we're comparing apples and oranges.. compare fed ex to usps express mail.. both have tracking and insurance.. prices vary per country.
[fed ex used to deliever some international usps mail. now, under agreement, [contract] usps delivers some fed ex for them, and fed ex transports [via air] for usps.. thats why there are fed ex drop boxes on usps property.

.

Kturock,
in regards to Customs forms, and following what brettness37 mentions about them, was/is there a way to 'track' a package by the Customs ID number assigned? (I remember there was a 1-800 # to call at some point, but can't find that info now). I know it is not delivery confirmation, but could not the information from that ID 'track' provide a proof of shipping? Does it not at least tell you what country that package was/is in?

I'm not necessarily interested in an international Confirmed Delivery (since alot can happen along the way that the Seller/Sender is not necessarily responsible for) but some sort of Proof of Shipping that can be used to help settle the you-never-sent-it-yes-I-did disputes, if it unfortunately comes to that.

customs forms are supposed to be scanned when they enter and leave the customs department of both countries.
note i said supposed to.
the last package i sent to canada was shown it was at customs in the US, but never shown to have left.

1 month ago.

i haven't heard anything from either the receipant or the customs.
so, it must have been delievered.

as far as checking go to usps.com and type in the number in the "track/confirm' box. it's on the front page.

the 1-800-222-xxxx, i don't recall all of it, is for express mail only. it's handled by an outside contractor, maybe not even in the US.

.
anymore questions i'll be glad to answer.. either via pm or post.

good gaming to everyone.

If memory serves me correctly, if you are sending a package to someone in the US military stationed overseas, tracking of said package also ends when it enters the APO/FPO system.

Heya,

Not sure what distinction kturock is making regarding tampering with the mail in Canada. It is a federal offence here:

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs ... codese:356

In my experience, shipping with USPS is the cheapest; the recent flat rate increase has made it less affordable. As a CDN buyer, I just expect to pay $10-$20 for shipping, and adjust my budget as appropriate.

The various couriers are certainly faster, and more easily trackable, but I have run into brokerage fees--that's where they "helpfully" clear your package through customs for a substantial fee, sometimes as much as $50 (or even more).

Recently, as long as you are shipping models and not airsoft guns, I have found customs to be very straightforward. Packages valued at $20 CDN or less are not charged any duty, and "gifts" valued at $60 CDN or less are also duty free.

EDIT [AFAIK in Canada,] the "gift" designation is pretty flexible (I give you something--you give me something) but I would tend to avoid it if the transaction is largely financial.

With the sagging American dollar, outright purchases are becoming more viable, and what I save in taxes and other costs often vary neatly balances against the cost of shipping.