How to Ship to Canada Cheaply?

[Wgg2017]

I need to ship two razors to a member in Canada and was told by my local post office that it would be $42.95 to ship a 6x4x3 inch box that weighs 11 oz. Surely there has to be a cheaper option. I was hoping someone here could point me in the right direction. The USPS website wasn't much help.

I can repackage if necessary but the postal worker said that probably wouldn't help much since it's based on weight. Anyone have any ideas how I can lower the price of shipping the two razors?

 

[Rudy Vey]

If you keep the weight under 8 oz it is much cheaper. I use the basic First Class International and I think Canada is $17, above 8 oz. it goes to $24.80 for the 11 oz package. USPS site gives you pretty good info regarding prices. They just increased early march to the amounts I have just checked out for you.

 

[Barley]

Try shipstation

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Wow! The Royal Mail here in the UK is way cheaper, at around £12, to send a similar parcel to Canada. I now understand why so many PIFs here on B&B state "CONUS only".

 

[Phoenixkh]

I just shipped out a razor today via USPS... $16 and change....and this was just from Florida to NY state. The prices have increased, as Rudy just mentioned. There is no more Priority Mail option for packages, but this package is supposed to arrive at the buyer's house on Monday... so swift delivery.

 

[Wgg2017]

If you keep the weight under 8 oz it is much cheaper. I use the basic First Class International and I think Canada is $17, above 8 oz. it goes to $24.80 for the 11 oz package. USPS site gives you pretty good info regarding prices. They just increased early march to the amounts I have just checked out for you.

Thank you for the info. This is copied from the USPS website regarding First Class International:

First-Class Package International Service™**​

Other than rolls: Min. length 6", Min. height 4", Max. length 24", max length, height and depth (thickness) combined 36"
Rolls: Min. Length 4", "Max. length 36". Max length and twice the diameter combined 42"
Value of contents can not exceed $400.00


My package, which is a plain brown box that measures 6x4x3 inches, would seem to qualify based on my reading of the USPS website. Is the postal worker just mistaken by not offering me that option or am I missing something? I specifically asked for whatever was cheapest and was told it would be $42.95.

 

[mcee_sharp]

Just did some digging on USPS, 42.95 looks like the Priority Mail International price.

I am a little surprised about the 24.80 for First-Class Package International Service as well though. I now have a greater understanding of the Conus only for a lot of listings.

Ironically it's cheaper for me to ship the same item from Canada to the US (I had thought we were getting hosed!)

 

[WThomas0814]

Wow! The Royal Mail here in the UK is way cheaper, at around £12, to send a similar parcel to Canada. I now understand why so many PIFs here on B&B state "CONUS only".

Yeah, it’s a shame. I would have liked to open up my recent PIFs to you lot in the UK, but, it was price prohibitive.

 

[Wgg2017]

I just shipped out a razor today via USPS... $16 and change....and this was just from Florida to NY state. The prices have increased, as Rudy just mentioned. There is no more Priority Mail option for packages, but this package is supposed to arrive at the buyer's house on Monday... so swift delivery.

I've been selling some stuff on the bst recently and was quite surprised by how much shipping has gone up since I last shipped a few years ago.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I've been selling some stuff on the bst recently and was quite surprised by how much shipping has gone up since I last shipped a few years ago.

Guess how I feel when I quote a customer the shipping cost, he pays and I go to the PO and then it costs me $2.40 more...happened to me just earlier this month. Price increases often happen mid month, and never to the first of the year or so. And, the website was not updated, that happened a few days later. Used to ship to Canada for something like $8/9, but now it is double.
Tip at the PO, always ask them for the cheapest rate, looks like they are trained to offer priority mail all the time. I am lucky here as the PO nearest to me has the same person working for years there and we are on first name base. Above the surprise was at another PO as I was traveling.

 

[Wgg2017]

Tip at the PO, always ask them for the cheapest rate, looks like they are trained to offer priority mail all the time

I did specifically ask for the cheapest rate. When she said $42.95 I was clearly surprised and asked if using a smaller box or even an envelope would reduce the rate. She kind of mumbled something about weight and that it probably wouldn't help much. I suspect she either didn't know what she was doing or was intentionally trying to get me to pay a higher rate by not telling me about the $24.80 option.

 

[Phoenixkh]

At our local PO, all the package shipping options show up on the small checkout monitor... I had three choices... But I was a bit shocked the cheapest one got the package to NY on Monday...

 

[haggis]

I love PirateShip as I can compare rates, experiment with packaging dimensions and types, and print labels directly. The rates are slightly discounted, there is no charge to make an online account and use the service. The downside is the occasional use of pirate-speak, Arrrr. Despite that the service is very easy to use.

Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship

Use our free UPS and USPS-certified shipping software to get pre-negotiated discounts for the cheapest shipping rates, which can save you up to 89%.

www.pirateship.com

I haven't dared ship anyone a BST razor in a padded envelope yet but I have gotten many from Japan in tyvek or stiff paper envelopes and they arrived just fine. I think possibly a giant canvas sack full of envelopes may see less harsh handling on average than a tossable box?

 

[Wgg2017]

I love PirateShip as I can compare rates, experiment with packaging dimensions and types, and print labels directly. The rates are slightly discounted, there is no charge to make an online account and use the service. The downside is the occasional use of pirate-speak, Arrrr. Despite that the service is very easy to use.

Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship

Use our free UPS and USPS-certified shipping software to get pre-negotiated discounts for the cheapest shipping rates, which can save you up to 89%.

www.pirateship.com

I haven't dared ship anyone a BST razor in a padded envelope yet but I have gotten many from Japan in tyvek or stiff paper envelopes and they arrived just fine. I think possibly a giant canvas sack full of envelopes may see less harsh handling on average than a tossable box?

Thanks for the tip! I had never heard of pirateship before but I'll certainly try it out after my experience today.

 

[AshleyC]

Tell them you're Ann Margaret.

 

[Frito Ray]

Thanks for the tip! I had never heard of pirateship before but I'll certainly try it out after my experience today.

Whatever you do, do not use UPS.

My sister sent me a gift (US to Canada) and UPS wanted me to pay $46 brokerage fees on the declared value of $30, even though it was clearly labeled a gift. I refused to pay and they took it back to the depot.

Called my sister, she called UPS, they admitted they screwed up and redelivered the package the next day at no cost.

A few weeks later got a letter from UPS asking me to pay up...I explained the situation and gave the name of the person who had admitted the initial screwup and the case number. They checked my story, apologized again for their error and assured me all was now OK.

A few months later I get a letter from a collection agency for that same bill.

Called UPS again, explained the situation, and demanded a written apology. Never got the apology but haven’t been contacted since.

 

[Barley]

Called UPS again, explained the situation, and demanded a written apology. Never got the apology but haven’t been contacted since.

Better check your credit report.

 

[nlife]

I found out that there's been a change in international mail from Canada. I had to ship a GC baseplate in a bubble envelope as international small package as well as declare what was in it along with the value. If it was a letter, it would cost me $4, but because it contained 'goods' it was $12. Not a huge amount, but a difference.

I believe this may now also apply to shipping to the US.

 

[Frito Ray]

Better check your credit report.

That’s probably a good idea. I’ll ask my bank, explain the situation, and see if they can do it.

 

[Phoenixkh]

A while back, I had a package from Italian Barber declared lost by UPS. They sent out another one after a few weeks. Wouldn't you know it? The lost one showed up the day before the replacement arrived.

Of course, I shipped the extra one back. They told me to ship it in a padded envelope, as it was just a SuperSlant base plate. When I brought it to the local Post Office, they wouldn't allow it to be shipped as a letter because, the agent said... It isn't really a letter, is it? It cost $15 to return it to IB... They re-imbursed me, but they weren't happy with the cost. What could I have done?