Advice on Shipping from USA to CANADA?

[ElliotR]

I met someone online who wants to buy a razor from my collection (my God, how did I wind up with so many razors in 4 months?!?!)
He's in Canada (BC) and I'm in California

Does anyone know if this is a big deal? He says noone on Ebay wants to ship to Canada so I am wondering if I am getting
into a problem sending this razor there

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[rebos]

I've shipped things to and from many places around the world. I make every sale that I ever initiate online, open to every country. I have shipped many hundreds of things around the world. When the buyer is paying for shipping what does it matter where it is going? That's not a rhetorical question.

What could be a "big deal" about sending a parcel a couple hundred miles up north. Drive it up. It's a beautiful ride. Take the 101. BC is gorgeous.

I don't understand the sentiment behind restricting a sale to only domestic shipments. Maybe you could explain that to me. Seriously. I'd be very curious to know, as I don't comprehend the sentiment. That isn't meant to sound snarky so I hope the text doesn't betray my sincerity.

Anyway: Canada is a nice country. Very similar to the US. And extremely close geographically. Shipping a razor to BC will cost approximately $4.50.

Best Regards.

 

[ElliotR]

Thanks rebos.... no offense to you or any of our neighbors to the North, I have quite a few friends and many business associates from Canada.
I've been to BC, Toronto, and Quebec, all beautiful (and sooo clean!)

Thanks for the input!

 

[dreaded_rust]

I think some people restrict shipping to CONUS because they dont want to take a trip to the post office and fill out a customs form. it's a time and convenience thing.

 

[smalltank]

I've shipped there...no issues..make sure you get tracking info...if its reasonable of course

 

[AABCDS]

Here's the issue with shipping internationally from the US if the buyer uses PayPal as the payment method.

1. If a buyer files a 'items not received' case with PayPal, the seller MUST provide proof that the item was delivered to the buyer's address on file with PayPal.

2. If the item is worth over $250, delivery confirmation is not enough. You must purchase signature confirmation so that the buyer MUST sign for it.

3. You, as the seller, are responsible for the item until it arrives in the buyer's hands. This means you either purchase shipping insurance or roll the dice with every package you send out where the buyer uses PayPal as the payment method.

I found all this information on PayPal's seller protection information page.

International delivery confirmation and international signature confirmation are not cheap. I once sent a cased razor to England where the total package weight was less than 13 ounces. I was told by the USPS clerk that the only way to get signature confirmation was to send it USPS International Express. The total postage cost was $37 including $450 worth of shipping insurance. I think the shipping insurance was only $3 or $4. This was last year before the USPS price increase this year.

That being said, I've sent at least five packages to Canada without meeting all the PayPal requirements and none have been lost yet. This was only because the items were cheap, less than $50, so I would not have a heart attack if the package was lost.

The only thing I can think of is to have your international buyers use a payment method other than PayPal like check, money order, or cash. If the buyer is reticent about mailing you cash, tell him that it's the equivalent of you mailing out a package without meeting PayPal's seller protection requirements.

EDIT: Here's another thread about shipping internationally.

 

[ackvil]

Here's the issue with shipping internationally from the US if the buyer uses PayPal as the payment method.

1. If a buyer files a 'items not received' case with PayPal, the seller MUST provide proof that the item was delivered to the buyer's address on file with PayPal.

2. If the item is worth over $250, delivery confirmation is not enough. You must purchase signature confirmation so that the buyer MUST sign for it.

3. You, as the seller, are responsible for the item until it arrives in the buyer's hands. This means you either purchase shipping insurance or roll the dice with every package you send out where the buyer uses PayPal as the payment method.

I found all this information on PayPal's seller protection information page.

International delivery confirmation and international signature confirmation are not cheap. I once sent a cased razor to England where the total package weight was less than 13 ounces. I was told by the USPS clerk that the only way to get signature confirmation was to send it USPS International Express. The total postage cost was $37 including $450 worth of shipping insurance. I think the shipping insurance was only $3 or $4. This was last year before the USPS price increase this year.

That being said, I've sent at least five packages to Canada without meeting all the PayPal requirements and none have been lost yet. This was only because the items were cheap, less than $50, so I would not have a heart attack if the package was lost.

The only thing I can think of is to have your international buyers use a payment method other than PayPal like check, money order, or cash. If the buyer is reticent about mailing you cash, tell him that it's the equivalent of you mailing out a package without meeting PayPal's seller protection requirements.

Excellent summary, James.

I have sent a number of things to Canada and have received a few items from our Canadian neighbors. Shipping to is a lot easier than from.

All it takes is a trip to the post office as said above. The only issue that seems prevalent is the time delay. For some reason it has taken more than 7 days for any item I have sent to reach its Canadian destination. However, one item I got on eBay took more than 14 days to arrive from the date it was sent.

 

[dreaded_rust]

I stand corrected .that actually explains it quite well. thanks James

 

[rebos]

Yep. James, you have summarized it well.

For less expensive parcels I take the risk and ship internationally via airmail. In my case I have lost out on only one transaction where the buyer did not receive their package. For me, losing a package has been a very rare event. Maybe I'm a risk-taker.

For more expensive parcels, I only mean to say that it is appreciated if the sale is left open to international buyers who are willing to cover the expensive shipping costs.

I like your analogy of comparing the risk of sending cash to the risk behind sending a parcel that doesn't meet PayPal's seller protection requirement.

The money order idea sounds better and is less of a risk for buyers.

 

[AABCDS]

You're welcome, everyone. We've got a lot of great non-CONUS members here at B&B. I've wondered myself if there was a good workaround with international shipping and PayPal. It's a shame to have to leave out international members from a lot of BST sales.