Shipping to AK & HI

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Anyone have a high volume of sales to either Hawaii or Alaska? I have some but very infrequent. According to the dot com board USPS is adding region 10 to cover those points (includes  US territories and protectorates) starting around July. In the USA those states can be turned on or off. We can't in Canada. 

Zone 10 would be added in pricing tables for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and USPS Ground Advantage products. 

It appears even Priority Mail Flat Rate packages would be more costly for Zone 10 than existing zones: "A separate rate structure will be implemented to allow Flat Rate Products (Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express) to have a separate price for Zone 10 and also for Zone 9 which includes the Freely Associated States (FAS)."

For Canadian sellers there is "currently" no difference in rates to those states. Only takes more time because parcels are routed to the  Continental USA first before forwarding on. Maybe those locations will get a influx of sales for Canadian sellers with those announced changes. Time will tell and fingers crossed.

-Lotz

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/USPS-Planning-on-a-Zone-10-in-July-Write-your-Congress-person/...

[mrdutch1001]

Yes, I am aware of the new USPS shipping category for Hawaii, Alaska,etc...

It has been many,many years since I have had any sales to either Hawaii or Alaska, but one never knows how this new Zone 10 shipping will affect sellers and subsequent sales to those areas...

[reallynicestamps]

Why should Canada Post care how much it costs USPS to deliver our mail, any more than China Post or the Royal Mail does?

Or for that matter USPS and the cost of shipping to Nunavut?

Once out of the originating postal service's hands, the UPU agreement is that the receiving postal service will deliver.
The finances for all this are complex and not at the retail level.

[recped]

The additional cost for Zone 10 is minimal, for most sellers the amount of orders from HI and AK is very modest.

This new zone provides lots of room for whining but the reality is that few sellers would spending more than a few Dollars over an entire year due to this change.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@recped wrote:

The additional cost for Zone 10 is minimal, for most sellers the amount of orders from HI and AK is very modest.

This new zone provides lots of room for whining but the reality is that few sellers would spending more than a few Dollars over an entire year due to this change.

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Wouldn't it be more from a buyers perspective for paying more to receive orders to these locations? Similar to how it is not cheap to ship to anywhere in Canada that requires processing through an air stage office. It basically wipes out any previous subsidy that was in place for those locations. The dreaded additional charges will apply.

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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Wouldn't it be more from a buyers perspective for paying more to receive orders to these locations? Similar to how it is not cheap to ship to anywhere in Canada that requires processing through an air stage office. It basically wipes out any previous subsidy that was in place for those locations. The dreaded additional charges will apply.

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The calculation of negotiated international shipping rates should take into consideration the volume of goods travelling to specific areas of the destination country.  The cheaper US states with larger shipping volumes subsidize the more expensive states with lower shipping volumes.

Sort of like when you see a couple of dozen salad dressing varieties at the supermarket that are the same brand, size and price.  It's not going to cost Kraft-Heinz the same to manufacture a bottle of first press olive-oil Greek feta dressing as it would a bottle of balsamic vinagrette or a bottle of high-calorie Caesar, but they charge the supermarket the same and the supermarket in turn charges consumers the same.  The less expensive to manufacture dressings subsidize the more expensive ones and the price the manufacturer charges the supermarket is based on the overall anticipated popularity of each dressing.

[byto253]

Just sent a CP tracked package to Hawaii, and same price as for anywhere else in the US.   Interesting to see how long it takes.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@byto253 wrote:

Just sent a CP tracked package to Hawaii, and same price as for anywhere else in the US.   Interesting to see how long it takes.

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What does it show on your package for estimated delivery time? 

With CP HI and AK for me from Calgary in the past were usually 15 to 18 days with Small Packet Air. Rest of the USA was 8 to 12 days. Anyone in the eastern Canada would get routed through Chicago so unsure how long that would extend actual delivery time or quoted for that matter. From previous testing of eBay delivery times they tend to display a 1 size fits all for majority of to and froms. Because of rates tracked not really was a thing in the past. May be more than likely the first choice for buyers going forward because sellers are can now show the discounted rates. If rates appear better for those consumers there is a chance Canadian sellers may pick up some business as a consquence. Well, that is the hope!!!

-Lotz

Just tested tested Calgary to /LA/Hawaii from eBay for 1 of my listings.

Calgary to LA - 7 to 15 days Tracked

Calgary to HI- 7 to 8 days Tracked

Strangely CP shows the following:

Calgary to LA - 8 Business Days Tracked

Calgary to HI - 7 Business Days Tracked

As per all things eBay etc your milage may vary. (Note:eBay no longer factors (includes) customs delays as part of their disclaimer message on rates page. That can affect delivery times to intenational locations.

Rate testing shows service guarantees apply for Xpresspost at CP

Disclaimer on alert page shows the following: All service guarantees for U.S. and international destinations remain suspended at this time.

If a customer asks I always explain estimates shown by eBay are hopeful optimism (generic)  at best. Most are fine with that.

[marnotom!]

Small Packet post (First Class Package International in the US) has historically been regarded by the UPU as an extension of international letter post and generally travels in the letter post stream rather than the parcel post stream, although that distinction is becoming blurred.  It's also not subject to volumetric weight the way the package might be with another carrier.

I doubt there are any plans to adjust how Canada Post and USPS handle Small Packet mail to Alaska or Hawai'i.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marnotom! wrote:

Small Packet post (First Class Package International in the US) has historically been regarded by the UPU as an extension of international letter post and generally travels in the letter post stream rather than the parcel post stream, although that distinction is becoming blurred.  It's also not subject to volumetric weight the way the package might be with another carrier.

I doubt there are any plans to adjust how Canada Post and USPS handle Small Packet mail to Alaska or Hawai'i.

The default with eBay labels is now Tracked. Small packet air doesn't even show up as an available option. You could still buy small packet air at CP if you wanted. Discount on that service is minimal. I still show it only for comparison sake and who knows how long if this promo will remain indefinitely. 

-Lotz

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[byto253]

Feb 21 to Feb. 29 is the last date in the range.  It was sold on .com and the service was "Standard Shipping from outside US".

[transtraders]

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but over the holidays I had an order going to Hawaii. I sent it as I normally do to any USA state, CP /Zonos Tracked Packet. Buyer contacted me and was wondering where the item is. I checked tracking and it goes cold on Dec. 22 in San Francisco, not updates since. I refunded the buyer. I opened a ticket with Canada Post but haven't heard back yet.

Anyone else have recent trouble delivering to Hawaii?

I read on reddit (old post) that sometimes packages are delayed at San Fran. until a shipping container is full before being sent by boat to Hawaii. I wonder if thats actually true or not.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@transtraders wrote:

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but over the holidays I had an order going to Hawaii. I sent it as I normally do to any USA state, CP /Zonos Tracked Packet. Buyer contacted me and was wondering where the item is. I checked tracking and it goes cold on Dec. 22 in San Francisco, not updates since. I refunded the buyer. I opened a ticket with Canada Post but haven't heard back yet.

Anyone else have recent trouble delivering to Hawaii?

I read on reddit (old post) that sometimes packages are delayed at San Fran. until a shipping container is full before being sent by boat to Hawaii. I wonder if thats actually true or not.

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@transtraders 

Have you checked tracking on usps? It should be the same...but not always. 

[transtraders]

Yeah I checked on both sides.

I did get an e-mail from canada post, just to confirm the buyers details. They said if they cannot confirm delivery by Jan. 15th then it will transfer to their claims department. Kind of confusing because that date has already passed, but whatevs' I guess.

[dinomitesales]

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@transtraders wrote:

Yeah I checked on both sides.

I did get an e-mail from canada post, just to confirm the buyers details. They said if they cannot confirm delivery by Jan. 15th then it will transfer to their claims department. Kind of confusing because that date has already passed, but whatevs' I guess.

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Note that Canada Post is going to try and contact your buyer to confirm that they haven't received it. In my experience, if they don't respond to Canada Post then your insurance claim will be denied. If the only contact info for your buyer that you gave Canada Post was a phone number there's a good chance they'll never answer the phone call because most people don't answer phone calls from unknown numbers these days.

If Canada Post comes back at you saying they couldn't make contact with the buyer you need to ask your buyer for their email address and stress how important it is that they respond to Canada Post's request when they receive it.

[transtraders]

Thanks for that, I was wondering since they said that email contact is perferred. I only have access to their phone #.

However, this buyer was not very friendly and I don't really want to "poke the bear" as such.

Also it was only a $20 sale so not that big of a deal.

I am more concerned if shipping to Hawaii is going to be viable in the future if this is any indication.

[transtraders]

A little update to my missing package. I checked tracking today and it finally updated, and shows the package is now in Hawaii and awaiting delivery. So just over a month (Dec.22 to Jan 23) between scans. CRAZY!

Fair warning for any seller sending to Hawaii, there could be a LONG delay before delivery.