eBay

musicyouneed · ‎09-10-2025

Well I just got my first USA buyer now what? It is a CD made in the USA so I assume that there are no duties. Do I go to Zonos first or Canada Post first and do I use snap ship? Help I'm old and lost.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎09-12-2025

No eBay integration or discounted Tracked Packet rates makes it such a hassle.

Because Snap Ship is more expensive than eBay Tracked Packet, I opted to use discount stamps to even the gap. I am sitting on a lot of P-stamps that I paid 80 percent of face value for before the price went up.

While it isn't difficult to do Zonos, all the extra administrative work is such a time sink. It takes an extra 5 or so minutes an item compared to the old basic customs declaration and printing through eBay labels. This does not sound like a lot, but if you sell 5 US items a day, that is 152 hours of extra work in a year. Nearly an entire month of extra work.

This includes adding a photo of the item (I use my phone to snap a picture of the main photo of the eBay listing, I don't rephotograph the item). This also includes adding the receipt to the transaction. With the receipt, I do the same thing, I pull up the receipt on eBay and just take a picture of the receipt on my screen with my phone.

Lastly, I printed out the QR and physical code on an address label and put it on the package. I did this because I was going into the post office to pay with discount stamps. While I do have the information in my e-mail, having it on each physical package lowers the chance of errors and streamlines the process. Unfortunately, they don't have an easy way to print a label with this info. It isn't like a typical shipping service where you can push a button and it can print out a 4x6 Zebra label or a Brother address label. So I had to copy and paste the QR into my printing software, which takes an extra minute. I get that I could have written the code with a pen on each box or printed out the confirmation page using an Inkjet printer and taped it to the box. Both those still take a minute or so. Granted, I only had to do this because I wanted to get labels in person. If I was using Snapship, I would just copy the code and it would save me the minute or two.

The main downside I found was that because there is no direct integration with eBay, it takes so long to prepare the duties. 3-5 minutes is a lot to add to a process. It won't be a big deal for people who are selling casually. If you're selling at any reasonable volume and using a platform that does not have integration at checkout (and when printing a label), it will be a headache.

byto253 · ‎09-12-2025

Nice round up. I can hear your bandwidth getting sucked up!

I hope that Canada Post has Zonos integration on the horizon. Right now they went from having 2 years to 30 days, so can't hammer them for that and props for something that works.

Good chat with my Shopper's Postal Manager today and when I asked how many people have come in with the Zonos QR code prepared, it was Zero. Folks are understanding the source is south of the border so they are not giving the postal staff a hard time, but many go home and do the Zonos pre-pay. For this outlet it sounds like it is mostly for returns that have no tariff but the process needs to be done. I wonder if with a return you still need the picture?

tryubik-useonlyasdirected · ‎09-13-2025

Thank you for provided a visual example.

Is the code required literally just the full HS Code as provided complimentary at the US Gov site (https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=8523.49.300)? Or found using the old school Canada Post app?

I'm very confused about this processes and don't understand why something so basic would suddenly become difficult. I've shipped for years and even if over $800 never had an issue.

What is required from Zonos?
Is Zonos not required if an item's HS COde indicated it is duty free?

dinomitesales · ‎09-13-2025

@byto253 wrote:
Nice round up. I can hear your bandwidth getting sucked up!

I hope that Canada Post has Zonos integration on the horizon. Right now they went from having 2 years to 30 days, so can't hammer them for that and props for something that works.

Good chat with my Shopper's Postal Manager today and when I asked how many people have come in with the Zonos QR code prepared, it was Zero. Folks are understanding the source is south of the border so they are not giving the postal staff a hard time, but many go home and do the Zonos pre-pay. For this outlet it sounds like it is mostly for returns that have no tariff but the process needs to be done. I wonder if with a return you still need the picture?

At the post office I work at we're averaging maybe 10 US-bound shipments per day, but volume is definitely down. Most of them are people sending documents or returns, so there isn't any money owing; most of the time, after I explain the process, they just step off to the side, download the app, and enter the information. We still have a lot of people dropping off pre-paid US labels at the post office.

One of our higher-volume customers is someone that sells auto parts on eBay - I asked him how he's been adjusting to the new rules and he said it hasn't made much of a difference to his business as a lot of the auto parts he sells were made in the USA and he isn't having to pay anything extra.

dinomitesales · ‎09-13-2025

@tryubik-useonlyasdirected wrote:
What is required from Zonos?
Is Zonos not required if an item's HS COde indicated it is duty free?

Zonos is now required for every shipment to the USA, if sent via Canada Post. There is no way around it.

You need to use the Zonos Prepay app to generate the Declaration ID, and then provide said Declaration ID when purchasing postage at the post office or through SnapShip.

You can also integrate Zonos directly (different than the Zonos Prepay app) with your Canada Post account, which will allow you to purchase shipping labels through SnapShip without having to first generate a Declaration ID. You will then be billed by Zonos directly if there are any duties owed on the transaction.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎09-13-2025

Me going into the post office with stamps won't be reflective of the experience most people have. It doesn't surprise me that a lot of people are printing the labels at home.

For context, the entire process with Zonos+Snap Ship would take me about 3 minutes, maybe 3.5. The previous system with printing a Tracked Packet label through eBay labels took about 30 seconds. The actual Zonos portion takes about a minute, including adding the receipt and photo of the item.

This difference won't matter to most people sending items casually. For people sending any consistent level of volume, I suspect the extra administrative work will add up.

sapphyres-designer-jewellery · ‎09-13-2025

@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:
Me going into the post office with stamps won't be reflective of the experience most people have. It doesn't surprise me that a lot of people are printing the labels at home.

For context, the entire process with Zonos+Snap Ship would take me about 3 minutes, maybe 3.5. The previous system with printing a Tracked Packet label through eBay labels took about 30 seconds. The actual Zonos portion takes about a minute, including adding the receipt and photo of the item.

This difference won't matter to most people sending items casually. For people sending any consistent level of volume, I suspect the extra administrative work will add up.

I used to send 25-30 US shipments a week, now I'm sending 1-2 US shipments a week. Each time I send a shipment to the US I'm digging up all sorts of provenance information to support where I said it was made. It's a lot of work digging up the name and address of a printer that was around 100 years ago (the printer likely still exists, but I have to figure out they printed stamps at a particular time for a particular country... my latest one was a Newfoundland stamp from 1861, and I dug up where that was printed).

I don't think I could handle 25-30 US shipments a week with all the extra work to do (don't forget setting up a SKU with Stallion so their broker approves my product, sometimes it's not auto approved and I have to open a ticket and wait for someone to look at my entry). I'm putting up with it and it will get better in time, I think how much time is wasted on this extra information depends what I'm selling... if it's a Royal Mint Stamp Pack, that's clearly marked.

C.

tryubik-useonlyasdirected · ‎09-14-2025

@dinomitesales wrote:
You can also integrate Zonos directly (different than the Zonos Prepay app) with your Canada Post account, which will allow you to purchase shipping labels through SnapShip without having to first generate a Declaration ID. You will then be billed by Zonos directly if there are any duties owed on the transaction.

SnapShip is a relatively smooth and familiar process when not utilizing the built-in CPC labels through eBay. When one now utilizes this integrated method are the duties, if there are any, stated upfront somewhere without using the Prepay app? And are there any fee's if there are no duties?

tryubik-useonlyasdirected · ‎09-14-2025

@sapphyres-designer-jewellery wrote:
I used to send 25-30 US shipments a week, now I'm sending 1-2 US shipments a week. Each time I send a shipment to the US I'm digging up all sorts of provenance information to support where I said it was made. It's a lot of work digging up the name and address of a printer that was around 100 years ago (the printer likely still exists, but I have to figure out they printed stamps at a particular time for a particular country... my latest one was a Newfoundland stamp from 1861, and I dug up where that was printed).

Why is the printers name and address required? What do the forms look like that your using?

FedEx only ever required a single page document showing a written statement of the Country of Origin with the senders signature. And how can you come up with SKU codes for outdated material? Is this something proprietary within the Stallion workflow?

byto253 · ‎09-14-2025

Is this for Canada Post or are you using Stallions or Chitchats? I thought that detail was only needed for shippers like those 2 but not Zonos/Canada Post.

ricarmic · ‎09-14-2025

@sapphyres-designer-jewellery Hmmm my plan is to use the country of the name on the stamp, so my plan for Newfoundland would be to say Canada. IMO there's a greater risk of having problems of putting Great Britain as the COO for a Newfoundland stamp if it were ever reviewed by a customs agent - I think they'd make the assumption Newfoundland would be "Canada". I would be very surprised if there was a reliable tool that would easily pull up where stamps were printed by stamp issue for a given country. I guess time will tell!

I'm postponing my store reopening until I see what happens with the CP labour situation. As far as I can see my stamps are all ZERO tariff, at least at the moment, so that's a small piece of good news.

sapphyres-designer-jewellery · ‎09-14-2025

@tryubik-useonlyasdirected wrote:
@sapphyres-designer-jewellery wrote:
I used to send 25-30 US shipments a week, now I'm sending 1-2 US shipments a week. Each time I send a shipment to the US I'm digging up all sorts of provenance information to support where I said it was made. It's a lot of work digging up the name and address of a printer that was around 100 years ago (the printer likely still exists, but I have to figure out they printed stamps at a particular time for a particular country... my latest one was a Newfoundland stamp from 1861, and I dug up where that was printed).
Why is the printers name and address required? What do the forms look like that your using?

FedEx only ever required a single page document showing a written statement of the Country of Origin with the senders signature. And how can you come up with SKU codes for outdated material? Is this something proprietary within the Stallion workflow?

This is on Stallion's website for setting up a SKU, they require the manufacturer name and address (and for stamps that's who printed them). It's only on Stallion's site, I'm not familiar with UPS/FedEx forms so I have no idea what information they require.

Anyway setting up SKUs is a bit painful since I don't know the origin of everything I have (and have been removing stuff as a result). But I'm trying to cover the bulk of what goes out so I can continue to ship with Stallion.

I think I'll try Zonos when I have to, I don't like it when things change (processes) because it means learning something new that's required for running the business (in this case how I ship things). Once I get used to the change it's OK, but Zonos is a big change for me and I am going to wait until I have to ship something using it before signing up.

C.

byto253 · ‎09-14-2025

From what I have been reading though, it sounds like completing the Zonos will take a lot less time and effort vs. the Stallion requirements. Shipping costs may too high with CP vs. Stalltion though.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎09-14-2025

Zonos only requires the same basic info you would provide in the previous CN22 form (marked as sale of goods, COI, HTS, item description, value).

The other poster is most likely using a courier that requires additional information.

The only additional information that you can provide to Zonos is a photo of the item and a photo of the receipt. These appear to be optional. I include them to be safe. Since Zonos is done through a smartphone app, I usually take a quick photo of the receipt and main listing photo on my computer screen, nothing fancy.

The additional administrative time is partly because of platforms not having complete integration. eBay suspended Canada Post labels, I assume because they couldn't or did not want to integrate Zonos. Clicking print label and having everything except the HTS code pre-filled was a lot quicker than having to manually copy everything over to two separate platforms (Zonos+Snap Ship).

raanana · ‎09-14-2025

I'm using stamps as well ,never ever used any labels or printed anything,everything was done at PO.

Do you have to pay any fees when using Zonos via CP ?

I just got two US buyers who paid for Tracked package and its new to me. So far tried calculate option on app.zonosprepay and it shows zero in duties ( for stamps and postcards),but not sure if there are any extra fees.

On CP page stated that there are two options 1.99 for automatic or 3.99$ for manual remmitance fees and 10% of duties ,if any.On forum no one mentioned any fees,but it is in CP email and on the site.Can you please clarify ? Thank you !!

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎09-14-2025

You need to download the Zonos app on your phone. Just download the Zonos app and do a test run like you're going to ship something so that you can see how it works. It's very straight forward once you have the app open.

After you put all the info in the app, it will tell you what is owed in duties, including any fees. I don't know off hand what Zonos charges in fees. You pay that, and it will give you a proof pay payment code that you need to provide to Canada Post when you purchase your label. It will give you both a QR and a written code. They are the same thing. You can use the one you prefer.

If you sell something that has no duties like a CD or DVD, you still need to go through this process. The only difference is that when you reach the payment screen it will say $0 so you can complete the purchase without providing a payment method. There are no fees on $0 transactions.

If you are using stamps, be sure to sign up for the Canada Post "small business" discounts. You will save a few dollars on Tracked Packet this way. You probably already have this, but it's worth mentioning. If you aren't signed up, just google Canada Post Small Business account to get the sign up info. Anybody can sign up, you don't need an actual business number. You don't need to do anything different when purchasing the label in person with stamps. You just tell them at the start that you have a small business number, they put it in, and you save a few dollars.

sapphyres-designer-jewellery · ‎09-14-2025

@byto253 wrote:
From what I have been reading though, it sounds like completing the Zonos will take a lot less time and effort vs. the Stallion requirements. Shipping costs may too high with CP vs. Stalltion though.

You are not wrong that there's all sorts of steps with Stallion (setting up the SKUs, only after I figure out where it was minted... I have one set someone wants to buy that is giving me issues).

But saving money is very important, and more important than saving time at this point. I used to be so busy I didn't have enough time, now I'm wasting lots of time since I don't know what to do with myself when things aren't selling, so I'm using some of that wasted time to set up my SKUs on Stallion's site.

C.