What is with the passionate aversion for shipping to Canada?

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unlimitednights

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So many solidified members on the trading forum are so opposed to mailing to Canada. It has gotten in the middle of a number of trades and at least 3 or 4 that were huge let downs for me. The thing that is most frustrating about this is that most of the time, members reasons for not wanting to do it is because they have "never done it before". While obviously that is a good reason for apprehension I can't understand why that would make you flat out not want to do it. The second most popular reason is "I have heard its really difficult", which is completely untrue as well as usually just hearsay from one bad experience. Finally, we have the folks that say "I had a bad experience mailing to Canada before"... I am sure PLENTY of people have bad experiences with mailing within CONUS every day. The fact of the matter is, if you fill out the forms correctly, with the correct address, you should have no issue.

I want to know, however, what is the genuine reason why you (presuming you don't ship to Canada), choose not to?

Perhaps we can clear some misconceptions to open up the market to both ends.
 
International shipping from the US is (relatively speaking) an expensive pain in the butt. CONUS I can have picked up at my home, or drop at of a dozen locations a few blocks from my house. INternational, I have to go TO the post office, get specific forms, fill them out, get in a slow moving line and have them checked and physically signed by a generally incompetent clerk, and then fork out the cash - the cost of which I don't know up front (and frequently surprises me with the total amount, often double my best estimate). Usually takes me about an hour, compared with printing the postage on my computer and leaving it at my mail drop (5 minutes).

Likewise bank transfers. Our system just doesn't play nicely with other countries.

I will ship internationally if I know the buyer, and they are willing to pay a bunch more in shipping (or I'm willing to eat a bunch more in hidden costs). But it's much much easier to just restrict my sales to CONUS.
 
I will ship anywhere as long as the buyer pays for registered mail so it can be tracked, its expensive but I have to have some way of knowing it arrived.

I don't get when people say Shipping international is a pain or takes to long, as it takes about a min to fill out the form.I laugh to myself when people make it seem like its a ton of paperwork and time blah blah blah.

Its a few lines of writing, most of which is the address's that you have to write down anyway.

I think most people that won't ship int, have never done it and just figure its a pain or aalot of paperwork...it neither.

To me its all about being able to track it which they won't do with first class or Priority.
 
liamstrain said:
Usually takes me about an hour, compared with printing the postage on my computer and leaving it at my mail drop (5 minutes).
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User MDQBox has sent stuff to me before and printed off the label at home, he has sent photos of it?

But that is reasonable, for those that live far away from a post office I totally get that, but to be fair, the customs form is ONE form.
 
I was once going to trade going to trade with someone in Canada. I was ok with it until I called to check on shipping prices (which were substantial). When I called Fed ex, I was asked what I was going to ship. I am one of those people that believe honesty is the best policy so I told them it was a knife. It was a large CRK insingo as a matter of fact. The Fed Ex person told me it was illegal to ship knives to Canada and it would be confiscated at the border. I did more research and saw that any knife that can be flicked open is illegal. I could have tightened the pivot but it was just too much risk to bother with and too much cost to ship compared to a much easier experience all around shipping to the US only. I don't know if the Fed Ex guy knew what he was talking about or not but again, it was just too much risk.
 
MRaymond, great, these are the kinds of misconceptions I want to clear up. The "flicked open" concept, means to be flicked with just your wrist, which as we know can be just about any knife with a loose enough pivot. Without saying it, I hope the answer is obvious, you need to tighten the pivot down a half turn max to avoid this. The chance of packages being opened is even more slim if it is properly labeled and identified as a "gift" on the customs form.

The owner of the knife store (www.srknives.com) swears by having all his knives have the pivot slightly tightened before they enter the country, and I mean... he owns a knife store haha.
 
I sell to canada through ebay as long as the buyer pays shipping. Also you can ship to Canada thru Paypal from your office or home computer. Unless its a very large box.

Laurence
 
Never have much issue to / from the states. USPS and Canadapost, avoid the couriers, understand import duty..
 
Cost and simplicity is why I probably wouldn't ship to Canada if I ever get around to selling some of my knives.
 
Bob6794 said:
Cost and simplicity is why I probably wouldn't ship to Canada if I ever get around to selling some of my knives.
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I agree with cost, but its very easy and takes the same amount of time to ship international.The paperwork is basically address and contents...takes about a min to fill out.
 
As a Canuck I used to buy off Fleabay a lot. Customs can and will confiscate some folding knives if they open too easily. There is a fix but it is extra work for the seller. Customs can sit on an item for weeks before you get it up here. And I can see how a worried or impatient Canuck could cause stress on the U.S. seller, while waiting for the knife in no mans land. Shipping costs are higher up here because of a huge land mass and a relatively small population. The U.S. postal system is huge and has a huge market and vast resources in comparison. There are also the private U.S. shippers that span the globe. I have had shipments from UPS only to find a big fat brokerage fee waiting for me when I picked something up. Then I clued in that it is way cheaper to have something sent by USPS or USPS International air. These shipments can take time and both parties need patience, particularly on the Canuck side. Remember that the U.S. seller is taking a bit of extra time and an extra hoop or two to ship up here. With patience and a little prior knowledge most transactions go through smoothly. But there are occasional snags and some casual sellers run into a hassle which gets discussed.
 
Bob6794 said:
Cost and simplicity is why I probably wouldn't ship to Canada if I ever get around to selling some of my knives.
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I agree with cost, but its very easy and takes the same amount of time to ship international.The paperwork is basically address and contents...takes about a min to fill out.
 
I've shipped to or from Canada 4 times. The 2 from Canada were each delayed for so long that I thought they were lost. The 2 I shipped to Canada involved more time in filling out customs forms than I felt like spending. Plus the cost was a surprise the first time. I love Canada but just not worth the extra effort to ship there.

Another question is why people claim to ship only to "CONUS". Shipping to Alaska or Hawaii or Guam is the same as shipping to CONUS -- same priority mail cost, same tracking. It just takes longer.
 
ThievesLikeUs said:
Yes it does, but it only tracks it as far as when it leaves the country.After that the tracking # stops.
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Ready to have your mind blown? Haha. I used to think this too, until I realized that once the package leaves the country, you are able to use the other countries postal tracking system until it arrives to your door. SO with my tracking number I just showed you the link of. I know its on its way to Canada, so now instead of checking the USPS site, I check the tracking through my Canada Post app.
 
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