Why's everyone so grumpy about shipping small items to Canada? *updated with results*

[lektrix]

I dont understand why everyone is so grumpy about shipping small items to Canada such as hard drives, RAM, CPUs, etc.. They can all be sent safely in padded envelopes thru USPS Global Priority and don't cost ridiculous amounts like Fedex.. Ive bought items worth over $300 from the South and I haven't encountered any problems before..

Sellers complain that it's a hassle to ship North..

The only hassle I see is that we, the buyers, have to wait a few days longer for our products and we, the buyers, may run into small problems such as paying customs and duty taxes. But that's related to the buyer, not the seller. The only hassles related to the seller is the custom forms that need to be filled in which in my opinion is not really something difficult to overcome..

Shipping costs more..

Yeah, I know, I've seen the crazy cheap shipping prices on Newegg and I know shipping within US is inexpensive, but so is shipping North via USPS. Global Priority Small Envelope is only $4.00 and Large is $7.00. Weight is maximum of 4 pounds which should cover most small, OEM products such as CPUs, RAM, sound cards.. If need be, Global Variable Weight can be used too..The point is, shipping to Canada is not expensive and im sure a lot of Canadians are willing to pay a bit more..

Things get lost, slow delivery..

That's something that neither buyer or seller can control.. It's not an real issue of shipping North or South, because I've seen it happen domestically too.. When people are dumb and misplace shipments, there's nothing we can do.. when delivery takes 3 weeks instead of 1, there's nothing we can do.. to use the negligence of a few as a reason not to ship North is really unfair :\.. buyers should always know that there is a small risk of having things that get lost and a possible chance of slow delivery and seller cannot be blamed..

Customs, duties, taxes, etc..

Again, that is something the seller should not worry about.. buyer agrees and acknowledges the potential risks that come with buying from the South..

Stories of ugly transactions..

Rarely does US-to-Canada transactions go bad, the ones that go bad are the ones who have not used the proper procedure to shipping cross border or simply bad luck. USPS is the only way to go and if you use anything else, you're screwed. I've done 10 transactions so far and all of them have been flawless. Obviously you're not gonna ship a TV or an entire PC cross border cause that's just retarded. Im talking about small, reasonable items.

Just because someone posts about their bad experience here, it doesnt mean everything is bad. You rarely see any posts about people's good experiences. And this doesn't go just for shipping North, it goes for product experiences. A few people say "this MSI motherboard is bad and doesn't run" and everyone automatically assumes that every MSI motherboard of that model is bad.

I know Im not going to change anyones mind here, but I just felt like saying it out. Have a nice day.

Results:

WD Raptor 74 (Global Priority)
Acceptance, September 29, 2005, 5:40 pm
Received October 12, 2005

DFI NF3 (Global EMS)
Acceptance, September 29, 2005, 5:19 pm
Received October 5, 2005

Venice 3200+ (Global Priority)
Acceptance, September 28, 2005
Received October 7, 2005

Patriot 2x512 XBL (Global Priority)
Acceptance, September 29, 2005, 1:48 pm
Received October 5, 2005

Audigy 2 ZS (Airmail)
Acceptance, October 4, 2005
Received October 11, 2005

CrazyPC order (Global EMS)
Acceptance, September 30, 2005, 4:34 pm
Received October 5, 2005

Average time to deliver: 5.33 days (excluding weekends)
Satisfaction: 10/10

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAD FAITH AND PATIENCE TO DEAL WITH A CANADIAN .

 

[FoBoT]

some buyers expect you to commit a crime by saying the item is a gift or has a lower value than it really does when you fill out the custom forms

 

[Linux23]

what is this Canada you speak of?

 

[daveymark]

how...awkward

 

[HermDogg]

Not like those lousy Canadians.

What, Canada sucks!


I keed, I keed.

On the square, that is.

 

[Spineshank]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
some buyers expect you to commit a crime by saying the item is a gift or has a lower value than it really does when you fill out the custom forms

Hmm a guy on ebay wants me to do that. I didnt realize it was a crime.

 

[acemcmac]

I ship to canada. Someone asked me to once and it was so simple that I offer shipping to Canada, UK and Mexico now :beer:

CAVEAT: I do not ship international if you're paying by paypal. EVER.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: lektrixThe only hassle I see is that we, the buyers, have to wait a few days longer for our products and we, the buyers, may run into small problems such as paying customs and duty taxes.

You don't sell much, eh? Having a buyer wait longer isn't something many sellers want to deal with.

Ex.

Seller: I shipped it 3 days ago.
Buyer: I haven't recieved sh!t, I'm pulling payment.
Seller: tracking shows it's in customs.
Buyer: Yeah, but it could be a box of rocks. *pulls payment*

In a perfect world the buyer would know and expect this.

That's something that neither buyer or seller can control..

True, but the seller still has to deal with it until the product is in the sellers hands.

Customs, duties, taxes, etc..

See above.

Rarely does US-to-Canada transactions go bad, the ones that go bad are the ones who have not used the proper procedure to shipping cross border or simply bad luck.

How much have you shipped to Canada? I mean it's not that bad, but sh!t does get held in customs.

All in all it ends up being a higher cost to the business.

 

[dude8604]

My first (and maybe last) time shipping to Canada resulted in me having to fully refund the price of the item because it was stolen in shipment from the Global Priority Mail envelope. I'd be willing to ship to Canada again if the buyer agrees that anything that happens to it once I drop it at the post office is their responsibility.

 

[thirdlegstump]

There's an extra slip you gotta fill out to ship international. This makes shipping twice as time consuming and most people don't even want to bother with that yo.

 

[daveymark]

it would be much easier if canadiens moved to America. then we wouldn't have to deal with this

 

[lektrix]

some buyers expect you to commit a crime by saying the item is a gift or has a lower value than it really does when you fill out the custom forms

Is it our fault free trade in America isn't really "free trade"? Government isn't fair to us and we can't just sit around and let them push us all over the place. Have a happy life living by all the minute laws .

You don't sell much, eh? Having a buyer wait longer isn't something many sellers want to deal with.

Ex.

Seller: I shipped it 3 days ago.
Buyer: I haven't recieved sh!t, I'm pulling payment.
Seller: tracking shows it's in customs.
Buyer: Yeah, but it could be a box of rocks. *pulls payment*

In a perfect world the buyer would know and expect this.

I'm not here to sell parts, I can sell parts locally whenever I want to. I'm here to buy parts from you guys .

I agree with you though, but you're missing the point. If a Canadian buyer buys something from a US seller, there is no doubt shipping would take longer. Both parties already know that before even finishing the deal. You're example clearly shows the buyer being a dumbass and a troll. Both of you have tracking info, an estimated date of delivery, and know what to expect, there's no way you would pull some BS unless you're a troll. And how could he pull payment if he paid in full first? Most people don't have problems paying first if you have decent reference like Heat.

How much have you shipped to Canada? I mean it's not that bad, but sh!t does get held in customs.

All in all it ends up being a higher cost to the business.

I'm Canadian, Im trying to buy from Americans . Stuff gets held in customs because you guys use retarded companies like Fedex, Purolator, UPS, which basically screw the F out of you. USPS, marked GIFT/USED ITEM and declared at decent value is key. It's only a higher cost if you choose it to be a higher cost. I'll mention it again, no one told you to ship 3-day Fedex for $30 as there are plenty of other efficient and low-cost shipping options.

My first (and maybe last) time shipping to Canada resulted in me having to fully refund the price of the item because it was stolen in shipment from the Global Priority Mail envelope. I'd be willing to ship to Canada again if the buyer agrees that anything that happens to it once I drop it at the post office is their responsibility.

That's just horrible luck. I'm sure you got compensated back for whatever you lost, cause a shipping company don't just confiscate your shipment just like that. I've received top-end video cards, cell phones from Global Priority before and I have NOT run into any problems. When the buyer buys, they already acknowledge the risks in sending cross border - as long as the seller does his end of the deal, he is not in control of the situation anymore.

There's an extra slip you gotta fill out to ship international. This makes shipping twice as time consuming and most people don't even want to bother with that yo.

Yeah, filling out one more small form is gonna take 5 hours. It's just so hard to fill out that form. Sigh.

it would be much easier if canadiens moved to America. then we wouldn't have to deal with this

Why would we move? You guys are already overpopulated. I'd rather we merge North and South.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: lektrix

some buyers expect you to commit a crime by saying the item is a gift or has a lower value than it really does when you fill out the custom forms

Is it our fault free trade in America isn't really "free trade"? Government isn't fair to us and we can't just sit around and let them push us all over the place. Have a happy life living by all the minute laws .

Tell that to customs in Canada, that's where the hold usually is put in place.

You don't sell much, eh? Having a buyer wait longer isn't something many sellers want to deal with.

Ex.

Seller: I shipped it 3 days ago.
Buyer: I haven't recieved sh!t, I'm pulling payment.
Seller: tracking shows it's in customs.
Buyer: Yeah, but it could be a box of rocks. *pulls payment*

In a perfect world the buyer would know and expect this.

I'm not here to sell parts, I can sell parts locally whenever I want to. I'm here to buy parts from you guys .

I agree with you though, but you're missing the point. If a Canadian buyer buys something from a US seller, there is no doubt shipping would take longer. Both parties already know that before even finishing the deal. You're example clearly shows the buyer being a dumbass and a troll. Both of you have tracking info, an estimated date of delivery, and know what to expect, there's no way you would pull some BS unless you're a troll. And how could he pull payment if he paid in full first? Most people don't have problems paying first if you have decent reference like Heat.

HEAT? Paypal, lol, I'm talking businesses, not traders.

Are you not aware that e-bay/trader/paypal transactions can have issues too? There IS a method to dispute things with both e-bay and paypal, you know. If it's a CC transaction they sure as hell can pull the payment.

Anyways, it's not a buyers issue, it's a seller's issue. YOU'RE missing the point, the sellers don't want to deal with extra hassle. What are they getting out of it? NADA, ZIP, ZILCH.

How much have you shipped to Canada? I mean it's not that bad, but sh!t does get held in customs.

All in all it ends up being a higher cost to the business.

I'm Canadian, Im trying to buy from Americans . Stuff gets held in customs because you guys use retarded companies like Fedex, Purolator, UPS, which basically screw the F out of you. USPS, marked GIFT/USED ITEM and declared at decent value is key. It's only a higher cost if you choose it to be a higher cost. I'll mention it again, no one told you to ship 3-day Fedex for $30 as there are plenty of other efficient and low-cost shipping options.

Marking as gift is fraud. Need I say more? Also, it's fraud on the sellers part, of course you want THEM to commit the crime. :roll:

it would be much easier if canadiens moved to America. then we wouldn't have to deal with this

Why would we move? You guys are already overpopulated. I'd rather we merge North and South.

Overpopulated? Are you serious? LOL. Check out the population densities of the US compared to Europe/Asia, we aren't overpopulated.

 

[dude8604]

Originally posted by: lektrix

My first (and maybe last) time shipping to Canada resulted in me having to fully refund the price of the item because it was stolen in shipment from the Global Priority Mail envelope. I'd be willing to ship to Canada again if the buyer agrees that anything that happens to it once I drop it at the post office is their responsibility.

That's just horrible luck. I'm sure you got compensated back for whatever you lost, cause a shipping company don't just confiscate your shipment just like that. I've received top-end video cards, cell phones from Global Priority before and I have NOT run into any problems. When the buyer buys, they already acknowledge the risks in sending cross border - as long as the seller does his end of the deal, he is not in control of the situation anymore.

Nope, I didn't get compensated because GPM is not insurable. If you have any advice about how I could be compensated I'd really appreciate it.

 

[BRObedoza]

i'm just too lazy to fill out the extra little customs form at the post office

 

[lobadobadingdong]

it'd be much easier if Canadia was a US province.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Linux23
what is this Canada you speak of?

It's a suburb of Detroit that has a high concentration of sheep.

 

[imported_Mike]

Ive shipped twice to Canada out of the 3-4 years ive been buying selling online. Both of those are in my top 5 worst trades ever. Shipping to Canada just leaves a bad taste in my mouth so to speak....just not worth it for me. Obviously im not naive enough to think that everytime will be like the previous times...but I just don't find it worth it.

 

[BudAshes]

The one time i shipped to canada it was a pain in the ass and the package "disapeared". Not doing that again.

 

[lektrix]

Tell that to customs in Canada, that's where the hold usually is put in place.

Why would I tell them? I already know what scumbags they are. And I'd still deal with US at my own expensve because I want to buy the product, I accept the responsibilities and I am liable for all that happens. LOL.

Are you not aware that e-bay/trader/paypal transactions can have issues too? There IS a method to dispute things with both e-bay and paypal, you know. If it's a CC transaction they sure as hell can pull the payment.

Anyways, it's not a buyers issue, it's a seller's issue. YOU'RE missing the point, the sellers don't want to deal with extra hassle. What are they getting out of it? NADA, ZIP, ZILCH.

That spells T-R-O-L-L. And that happens domestically too, so why not stop trading all at once? And usually it's the seller that trolls the buyer, taking the money and not sending the product. Like I said, it's all about trust and references. Obviously you're not going to send some stuff to someone who claims to live in Canada without checking their background.

Marking as gift is fraud. Need I say more? Also, it's fraud on the sellers part, of course you want THEM to commit the crime.

And so are a million other things I see people do on the streets. Your government has bigger issues to worry about like Iraq and Rita.

The point of marking the item as GIFT or USED ITEM is to defer those ridiculous fees customs charge. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it, those customs are just out there to make as much $$ as they choose and neither buyer or seller benefits. So why not give the buyer a break?

Overpopulated? Are you serious? LOL. Check out the population densities of the US compared to Europe/Asia, we aren't overpopulated.

Canada is less populated

 

[aircooled]

If I know my item will sell in the U.S for the price I am looking for, then I have no reason to go through any extra steps to ship out of country.

 

[lektrix]

Originally posted by: aircooled
If I know my item will sell in the U.S for the price I am looking for, then I have no reason to go through any extra steps to ship out of country.

You are a true American.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: lektrix

Originally posted by: aircooled
If I know my item will sell in the U.S for the price I am looking for, then I have no reason to go through any extra steps to ship out of country.

You are a true American.

Fvck yea, America is about choices. I choose not to ship to Canada b/c it can only hurt me.

 

[rh71]

A Canadian was supposed to ship us something and it was undoubtedly stopped at customs... simply too much hassle IMO in or out.

 

[lektrix]

Originally posted by: rh71
A Canadian was supposed to ship us something and it was undoubtedly stopped at customs... simply too much hassle IMO in or out.

Everyone comes in here with their bad experiences... a few people who have had good experiences should step up to the plate here

*ahem* IvanAndreevich my fellow Canadian.