posted on May 27, 2002 05:22:20 AM
So now that I have these huge heavy college textbooks up for auction, sure enough, I get a bidder that wants one shipped to Canada. $17.85 is the best rate I can come up with airmail parcel post for a 6 pound book. Surface is only $2.00 cheaper and a lot longer. Everyone I ask at the PO says there's no book rate to Canada. Is this right?
posted on May 27, 2002 07:16:13 AM
Your best plan is to forget about selling to smug, condescending Canadians. AFAIK that is correct: there is no book rate to Canada.
posted on May 27, 2002 07:39:38 AM
So email him and tell him the best rate you can get, and let him decide whether or not to cancel the bid. He is the one who has to pay the shipping costs. And I ship to Canadians all the time, have only had one deadbeat, so fluffythewondercat, if you dont want those Canadian buyers, send em all to me!
posted on May 27, 2002 08:02:48 AM
Believe me, yumacoot, I'd be delighted! If you can figure out how to keep those pests from bidding on my auctions and infest yours instead, be my guest.
Unfortunately it seems the Canadian school systems are not quite up to par since so many Canucks have trouble with the simple sentence "Will ship to United States only".
posted on May 27, 2002 02:26:48 PM
Hey, send those bidders my also. They deserve better service than fluffythewoosycat could provide anyway.
Glassgrl, Don't give it a second thought. Just give them the cost to ship it with 4-7 day delivery. They know it costs more to ship to Canada.
posted on May 27, 2002 03:25:45 PM
so someone lurking over here very nicely sent me this. Now why didn't I think of the M bag?? since I was just asking about this the other day. It would definately be cheaper to ship it this way. Thought I would pass it on.
"There is no Book Rate to Canada for heavy books, but you can use something called M-Bag, which can be very economical for shipping heavy things to Canada or around the world.
You'll find the rates at the USPS site when you look rates via their International Calculator. Don't click 'PACKAGE'--click 'VOLUME MAILING'--and then click M-BAG. (not books and sheet music).
The minimum charge is for 11 lbs but you can ship lighter then 11 lbs but will still be charged the minimum rate.
Youcan either ship via Airmail M-bag (11 lbs-$16.50 to Canada) or Economy M-Bags for Books (11 lbs-$8.80 to Canada). Each additional lb.
Your Post Office has the Bags and the Tags you need for this service. Just package the books normally and address them as usual and take them to the Post Office and ask for which-ever M-Bag service you want to use. Only downside is that you can not insure or track M-Bags, but you can't insure or track Global Priority either.
posted on May 27, 2002 04:02:18 PM
I had a dumb Canadian that bid on my auction that is USA only, then had the nerve to neg because he thought shipping is too high. Next time I will just void their bid and neg them rather than provide good service.
Most books will fit in the Global Flat Rate Priority large envelope which is way cheaper than other methods.
posted on May 27, 2002 11:19:36 PM
Yikes, you guys! Who's bidding on your auctions? I've had many Canadian bidders and they have all been great. I'd never cut myself off from that market.
Not to offend anyone, but if you decide to sell internationally, you should consider doing your homework on shipping to other countries. (You are a mail order business, so it makes sense to learn how the mail works, don't you think?)
The USPS website has tons of information, and your local post office has pamphlets, too. Read up and have all the necessary forms on hand. You'll be prepared when bidders from other countries win your auctions. (Then you can act smug. LOL.)
Personally, I welcome international bids and my auctions list the shipping rates to Canada and other countries in addition to the US rate.
Of course, I don't accept credit cards from Indonesia, but, in general I'm all set to trade worldwide. Where I live, the economy is too bad for me to let any buyers get away! I need the cash.
posted on May 28, 2002 07:04:53 AM
I used the M bag to send some very heavy books to Canada. It was a lot cheaper. The clerks at the PO do not use it very much so you may have to have some patience with them.
posted on May 28, 2002 08:40:49 AM
I'm curious..can anyone physically describe "M bag shipping"? In other words, is this a whole separate shipping process, such that similar items get accumulated and sent in a trailer load or something? Or is it merely a separate rate structure whereby the item gets the M-bag postage and tags and is then thrown into the bins with other packages mailed Priority, etc?
posted on May 29, 2002 07:03:51 AM
My experience with M-bag is that if you have less than 11 lbs. they won't ship. I had to throw in more junk books to make the weight minimum.
M-bag is SLOW. If the buyer purchased textbooks M-bag probably won't work for them, especially in summer school season.
You have to find a PO that has the actual bags (call in advance, not all have them). You package your stuff as for normal mailing, then the PO puts in in an M-bag, which is one of their normal canvas-like bags. You fill out an address label that goes on the outside.
It's a big money saver if it fits your need and the PO requirements.
