Canada Post confuses me...

[Serah-Marie]

So what method do you use to ship your zines?

Given, mine are heavy, but whew, is it expensive to mail out from Canada. I can't help wondering if there is something I don't know?

[Dorian Shaw]

Canada post ships by dimensions and weight. Letter post usually costs 55 cents-so that means anything that can fit into a regular sized envelope and is not too heavy. I found there is at least a 55 cent difference if you use one of those smaller white letter envelopes than a larger brown one (that isn't that much bigger). If you're shipping in a padded envelope, it definately makes a difference on the thicknesses-you can save money by spreading stuff out allowing it to fit in the letter size slot the post people check by. Even though it weighs the same, the thinner the better. I work with a postal outlet beside me, and I know the fellow well, so he always lets me know I can save money if I flatten stuff out or use a smaller envelope. Just ask them when you hit the post office.

[amy // twelveohtwo]

i find this helpful:
http://canadapost.ca/Personal/Tools/RC/Canada.aspx


also, serah-marie you might want to consider getting youself a venture-one small business card seeing as (multiple copies of) your publications are large/heavy. the card gets you discounts on business packs of expresspost envlopes and discounts on shipping within canada.



(i worked for canada post for a while..)

[Misti Ko]

Yes, Canada Post is expensive. I've found that generally speaking, the thinner your package is, the less it costs to mail. Example - I took a package in and was told it would cost $10 to mail (from Vancouver to Toronto). I took it home and repackaged in a larger envelope, so that it was flat enough to fit through their letter slot, and it cost $2 to mail.

Sometimes, if I have enough mail at one time, I drive across the border and mail from the US. Of course, I live close enough to a quiet border crossing that I can do that.

[silverinsanity]

They just stopped allowing people to ship media mail... which sucks. And yeah. The rates just DOUBLED to ship with. I've done some comparative shopping at other shipping companies... and in reality... our cheapest option is still Canada Post. But if you're looking for something quicker, then the couriers actually might be better for you. If you want, I can post my findings here.

[Serah-Marie]

For sure post any findings here!

silverinsanity said:

They just stopped allowing people to ship media mail... which sucks. And yeah. The rates just DOUBLED to ship with. I've done some comparative shopping at other shipping companies... and in reality... our cheapest option is still Canada Post. But if you're looking for something quicker, then the couriers actually might be better for you. If you want, I can post my findings here.

[silverinsanity]

Canada Post is pretty horrible compared to many other contries piostal services. I did some looking around at other outlets but by far, Canada Post is still the cheapest, unless you compare their priority rates and the time it takes. So unless you're paying to get something somewhere in a hurry... Canada Post is it.

Lets hope something comes up where we can get around and work with it.

[Serah-Marie]

Just a little update - I had a large stack of orders to send to the US (I offer subscriptions) and I decided to drive them over the boarder to save the shipping and the boarder guard asked me for a receipt for every single order (there were like 200, and since it's a subscription, some made the purchase years ago). Eventually he let me through, but he said he could have charged me a 5$ duty on each one if he wanted. THEN, when I tried to mail them from the post office, the clerk said it was illegal to mail them any place other than where the return address reads. Finally I went to another post office and they didn't notice the return address and they all got out.

Has anyone else had any luck crossing the boarder to mail stuff? How do you deal with it?