Is shipping to Canada a risk or other??

[deebro041]

I have only been a member for a year and a half. I have learned quite a bit in my opinion from this board. Since I have become a collector/fan(since1976) I have found that collecting baseball items in Canada is somewhat a challenge(Hockey,hockey,hockey). I have chatted through email and dealt with many members here and through other various memorabilia sites. My question here is, is shipping to Canada risky or just a bias issue? I understand that some items need to remain in the U.S., but why not let the collecting industry grow?
My posting here is not to offend anyone, just to get an understanding as to why some sellers insist on not shipping to Canada?
I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone, it is not my intent.
I appreciate any responses and want to include that my goal as a collector is to learn as much as possible about my passion of baseball and to share my knowledge and hopefully spread the love of the game here!
Dan

[ebbets55]

Hey Dan,

I'll take a crack at this. I'm just a collector but have shipped gloves to Canada many times and still do. However, I hate it. We have to fill out customs declarations and physically take the item to the Post Office and stand in line. I always ask the counter if I can just leave the package with my mail carrier and they always say I can't. I need the circle stamp from the desk. Secondly, I have to declare what I'm shipping. Not a problem but the buyer always wants the value reduced so he doesn't have to pay as much tax on his purchase. Thirdly (from two eBay transactions), I have had gloves stuck in customs and the buyer threatens me with negative feedback saying I never shipped the glove when in fact I did. I'm the promptest shipper I know. I work in an office. Fourthly, it's expensive. It usually costs $18-$25 to ship a glove to Canada. Maybe it's more for me because I'm in Zone 1 in CA and I often ship to say Toronto or Montreal or Eastern Canada it seems.

I don't have a problem with gloves going to Canada. There are plenty of gloves here and they should get into the hands of the people who will enjoy them, no matter where they live. I don't think it's riskier but it is a lot more difficult on a seller. Food for thought. Would be interested to hear other opinions here.

JD

[Rickybulldog]

I would have to agree with Jim on his reasons. I'm not sure if there's any tracking involved , but I've heard horror stories over on other boards about Canada shipments which naturally made me kind of leery. If the buyer has a reputable feedback on Ebay, I don't mind the extra work at the post office. I will definitely deal with Dan anytime!

[Number9]

JD, you can send a package to Canada using a USPS.com account. I do it all the time. No need to stand in line. I drop all of my packages off at the PO, but I never wait. I just put it on the counter and say "have a nice day". Processing an international label using paypal hasn't worked for me. But now that I know that I just go straight to the PO website.

I've found the tracking to be pretty good to Canada. I can usually tell when the item has cleared customs and delivery has been made or attempted. However, there are many issues with shipping internationally, in general. As a seller, all you want is to get the product safely to the customer without issues. Unfortunately, with a lot of countries, their postal systems are terrible and tracking is non-existent. I usually add insurance to those packages to cover myself, at my expense, and it is usually substantial. Without tracking I have no recourse if the buyer puts up a dispute (rightly or wrongly), so now I'm potentially looking at a total loss of both my item and the payment combined with being on the hook for 3-4 times the domestic shipping/insurance costs. Sadly, a lot of sellers just say no to selling anything outside the US for all the reasons mentioned, just as a blanket statement. When you throw ebay into the equation it's a whole other level with final value fees including the shipping costs, etc. The easy way is to say US only, which leaves collectors like yourself with the short end of the stick and feeling left out.

[murphusa]

I ship all aound the world and mostly use Fedex International for it. It cuts down on alot of the BS but does cost more for the buyer.

[ebbets55]

Shipping to Canada via FedEx is great. I have often resorted to it to avoid the USPS B.S. I can drop it off without waiting in any lines (or leave it with my FedEx guy) and it is trackable. It is quite expensive though and when you sell on eBay you don't really have that option after the fact in changing invoices. I hardly ever sell on eBay and probably won't again for a long time. I use the auto shipping calculation where I put in my address, the buyer puts in his/her address and it automatically calculates the postage. The invoice forms on eBay aren't so changeable. I'm not going to stop shipping to Canada. I just needed to bitch about it for awhile so thanks Dan.

JD

[deebro041]

Thanks for the replies guys! Thanks Ricky, you are always great to deal with! I am still amazed Ricky that your shipments seem to arrive the fastest and you are the farthest away from me. I live in Ontario and usually all items I have purchased, no matter what size, take 2 weeks to arrive. I find with the tracking via USPS not all the numbers carry on into Canada. I have had a couple, but the tracking usually stops at customs. I have learned to be patient when i make purchases, not always easy when one feels like its your birthday and you are opening presents.
I just want to add that I never have and never will ask a seller to mark an item as a gift. I haven't had to pay duty in a while and I am wondering if the new rules that went into effect this summer about the increase in the amounts we are allowed to buy in the U.S. also apply to mailed items.
Thanks again
Dan