Why won't some ship to Canada?

[Frizzle Fry]

I've had trouble with scummy Canadian buyers - it's way too easy for buyers to manipulate PayPal and USPS policies to get "free" stuff for the part-time investment of the cost of the item and a few emails. I know it's probably well under 1% of buyers who would do something like that, but having encountered an issue twice (over hundreds of transactions) and lost about $500 in cash/guns, I've given up shipping to Canada except to VERY specific buyers (moderators, people I've played with, etc).


Three things to do for those who do risk shipping to Canada:

1) partially disassemble your marker and ship it as "sporting goods / pneumatic paint marker parts"

2) do not ship as a "gift", state the real value to customs - the buyer pays import tariffs but it protects you

3) actually communicate with people who've bought and sold to the buyer - send a PM or two

[senghing27]

I have no problem shipping to Canada as long as the buyer is
1) aware of the shipping price
2) aware that shipping time is extended because of customs

Shipping small items in a bubble mailer are cheap, but when you have to put it in a box (marker, barrels, etc) the price ramps up to $25 and that doesn't include weight.

It's cheaper for me to send it anywhere in the united states with insurance and tracking than it is to send to Canada.

I get extremely annoyed when someone goes, it's $5 to ship the marker to Canada.... you can cover it, only to find out that it is $25+

On a side note, I shipped using UPS not knowing they changed their paintball policy. I track it from my drop off location to Niagara Falls and back to my house... Yeah, I paid money for it to ship around and back to my house.....
Grrrr

[Hobbez]

The only problem I have with shipping out of the country is with ebay and paypal. By ebay and paypal rules you only have 36 days to get that item to the buyer or they get a refund automatically. packages to canada especially can sit in customs for a month allowing the buyer to file a claim and get thier refund then have the package show up a week later.

I've been on the recieving end of this and even with tracking info, paypal will still payout a refund if the buyer doesnt get their items by the 36th day. But to a buyer paying money order or paypal gift, I have to no problems shipping USPS priority.

[going_home]

I just today shipped a marker from Florida to Ontario.
Costed $71.25 insured with tracking (I had already quoted him $64.00 too ) .

Paypal requires proof of delivery in a dispute.

I think the problem is mostly on the Canadian side of this issue.

Most Canadian buyers expect the US seller to ship without tracking the cheapest
way and leave themselves wide open to the loosing end of a Paypal dispute.

Most US sellers that know the implications of doing this dont bother offering to ship to
Canada.

How many Canadian buyers are willing to pay $71.25 shipping for a marker ?

Not very many my friend, not very many.

So yep, I blame the Canucks for this !

[Dover]

how big was that sucker, did it weigh a lot ? usually USPS runs me $25-35 for shipping, even Priority has Flat Rate Boxes to Canada; even the 20 pound Flat Rate Large Box only costs $ 35.50 to ship...

http://www.usps.com/prices/priority-...nal-prices.htm

Shipping a marker from Canada to the US i found it to be around the same price, a little more if full insurance is required because Canada Post only provides coverage up to $100 and you have to pay for extra, its like a buck fifty for each hundred so if you declare a full retail value for the marker, like 600 then insurance is gonna run an extra ten bucks.

Usually Delivery Confirmation is included but may not be with smaller parcels or packages; i found that USPS Tracking can be used on Canada Post website as well!

[going_home]

3.5 pounds.
You arent shipping with proof of delivery either.
The ONLY way to get international delivery confirmation
with USPS is Global Express Guaranteed which is a
partnership between Fedex and USPS.

[Dover]

i've got an SL66 coming in now from PbNation, the guy i bought it from is in the Bay Area of Cali, on the form i think it says San Fran... anyways the tracking number provided by USPS can also be used with Canada Post and it gives info from as soon as you drop off the parcel



as you can see the goons at Customs have my marker, but i have never had to insist on full insurance coverage; i mean an SL66 may have had a MSRP of $ 1600 but it's market value is only about $ 400 right now so i could have asked the Seller to purchase additional Insurance to cover it, that would probably cost extra, no?

[OneSelfLost]

I just today shipped a marker from Florida to Ontario.
Costed $71.25 insured with tracking (I had already quoted him $64.00 too ) .

So yep, I blame the Canucks for this !

JEEEZE! That is just Ridiculous! Absolutely Ridiculous! I blame FedEx.

Canucks aren't such a bad bunch

[sQuidvision]

JEEEZE! That is just Ridiculous! Absolutely Ridiculous! I blame FedEx.

Canucks aren't such a bad bunch

it gets a little easier when you are dealing with long time members of a forum with great feedback... but its still scary to ship a marker without confirmation and to stand the chance of loosing the marker, payment AND whatever you paid to ship it. i have done it once or twice but i dont like it and am always holding my breath until the claims period ends...

[RogueFactor]

Ive always used Express Mail International. It includes tracking(proof of delivery) and $100 of insurance. Delivery times are 3-5 business days, a little slower than Global Express Guaranteed. But the price for EMI is ~$45 to Canada for a 3 1/2 pound package without additional insurance. If a customer asks for GXG, I will ship it that method so long as they pay the extra +$25.

[athomas]

For Canadians, 95% of our purchasing market is in the US for paintball equipment. The companies that sell out of Canada are way over priced.


I have never had problems getting items shipped to Canada from the US. I know it is going to cost more, so I negotiate a higher expected price for shipping. I always request USPS because of the UPS double dipping border charge scam that they pull. Most of the time parcels arrive in about 7 to 10 days. I have even had parcels arrive within 5 days. I have had complete markers with bottles shipped and declared as paintball equipment and never had an issue at the border for getting them declared and processed. I do understand the tracking issue for sellers though. That needs to be addressed and most of the time, for more expensive items, the extra charge needs to be added to the cost of shipping to be payed by the buyer. For lesser items, there is usually $100 of automatic insurance anyway.

[hill160881]

Ive always used Express Mail International. It includes tracking(proof of delivery) and $100 of insurance. Delivery times are 3-5 business days, a little slower than Global Express Guaranteed. But the price for EMI is ~$45 to Canada for a 3 1/2 pound package without additional insurance. If a customer asks for GXG, I will ship it that method so long as they pay the extra +$25.

^^^^^^^^
This is what I do but you have to ASK them to ship it that way or they will charge you 70+ bucks.

You have to go over the options with the clerk or they will ship it the most expensive way. The last marker I sent that way was like 30 bucks.

[going_home]

^^^^^^^^
This is what I do but you have to ASK them to ship it that way or they will charge you 70+ bucks.

You have to go over the options with the clerk or they will ship it the most expensive way. The last marker I sent that way was like 30 bucks.

My local Post Office told me standard international express cant be tracked.

[Hobbez]

Technically, it can't be tracked. You just have proof that it was shipped and delivered. So says the USPS in the name of CYA.

[Dover]

Yay! XSV SL66 passed Canada Customs finally! :xeyed: