The Negatives with my Mule order

[haptagud]

+1 vote for USPS for shipments to Canada.
I have recieved a number of shipments with nothing ever going missing, and the online tracking IMHO is better than UPS.

 

[JacksonKnives]

Hi, friends in Canada, I had same bad experiences with UPS too, but then I know, when they delivery package to you and asking for high brokerage fee and tax, you can ask the driver to take package back to warehouse and tell him you will go pick up yourself and clear the Customs yourself since it is personal item, this way you just pay the tax. I dont know other place but in Montreal, it works this way, and I saw many people doing this way. phone them before you go to make sure the package is there in warehouse, and they will guide you what to do , it is simple.

Hope this helps.

Alan

Alan,
I don't know how they managed to do that for you, but it doesn't sound quite right. UPS' broker has already moved the goods across the border by the time it's at the warehouse, so I can't see how they could possibly let you fill out the forms at that point; the broker's job is already done.

I've had one good experience with FedEx ground, but I've only seen the option to use them once in ten years. (My good experience was also based on the fact that I was working at the warehouse at the time and took the package off the truck myself...) Anyone else have comments on them?

 

[alan_zheng]

JacksonKnives
Yeah, I thought the same way at beginning, but It did happened here! I did twice myself, I saw other people did the same when I went to the Customs office clear ourselves. so just pay tax without paying broker fee.

I still void UPS when package come from outside Canada, but if it have to be UPS, try this way.

 

[NetShocK]

Sorry for your diosappointment "Cuts".

It seems there were a few complaints of overseas shipping costs. We'll have to look into thaqt more closely.

USPS offers no way to track lost shipments. We've lost quite a few and then there is even more discontent.

Thanx for the suggestions, keep them coming.

sal

Sal, USPS Express Mail International is extremely fast, tracked, and insured to Canada. I use USPS EMI service on a weekly basis and have never, ever had a package lost. I've had one delayed and called USPS and they do in fact track them and find out where things are at. Just wanted to clear that up.

I would highly recommend using USPS Express Mail International - at least to Canada, as it will save us Canucks a ton of ridiculous brokerage fees at the hand of UPS.

 

[choubbi]

Sal, USPS Express Mail International is extremely fast, tracked, and insured to Canada. I use USPS EMI service on a weekly basis and have never, ever had a package lost. I've had one delayed and called USPS and they do in fact track them and find out where things are at. Just wanted to clear that up.

I would highly recommend using USPS Express Mail International - at least to Canada, as it will save us Canucks a ton of ridiculous brokerage fees at the hand of UPS.

ditto for France, I have had my share of parcels shipped from the US, and never had a problem with shipping with USPS.
I've read somewhere that USPS weren't reliable into their own country, but as far as I'm concerned, I consider them way better than UPS for international mail.

It's very cool to see that you're taking our customs problems into account, thanks a lot for that!

 

[flipe8]

I'm late to this party, but I had the same issues as others with UPS. Getting a great buy is negated by the robbery that took place at my doorstep. Paying that much for shipping and brokerage fees is unacceptable. Not Spyderco's fault, but that's it for me and UPS.

 

[eomeo]

I've had one good experience with FedEx ground, but I've only seen the option to use them once in ten years. (My good experience was also based on the fact that I was working at the warehouse at the time and took the package off the truck myself...) Anyone else have comments on them?

I ship every day, and from a Shipper's perspective, FedEx is a pain to deal with. Their service (at least for us) is lousy, and their website/software is a pain to deal with. UPS and USPS on the other hand offer simple and fast solutions with reliable daily service.

As mentioned earlier, USPS doesn't offer tracking step by step, which is a hassle when packages go missing. They have good rates on light shipments though.

UPS is expensive, but reliable and the step by step tracking is great for finding/redirecting packages while in transit.

None of the 3 are perfect for both parties.