Well I just got my first USA buyer now what?

[musicyouneed]

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. 

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@byto253 wrote:

Once a SKU is set-up do you re-use it for similiar items that have been sold?   If so, will that cut down the overhead time? 

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A SKU in my store might be "Royal Canadian Mint" (manufacturer), "coin". The detailed description and price of the item can be overriden, so that I can use this SKU for any coin made by the Royal Canadian Mint with that HTS code. I've set up one SKU per manufacturer (I went through and added all the mints I've dealt with a lot with my current inventory, and some printers as well for currency and stamps).

C.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@raanana wrote:

It appears,that 1.99 CAD is mandatory fee now for automatic billing and 3.99  for manual.

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Even if there's no tariffs due? I was told by a Canada Post rep if no duties/tariffs are owing on the package then there's no fee with Zonos. Or was that a temporary bug that they've fixed and are charging everyone now?

C.

[ricarmic]

From what I see if there's zero duties there's zero fee.

For fun using prepay, I put in "porcelain doll" from Belgium $50 value and this is what it came back with for the quote:

Duties7.50 CAD

Clearance and processing4.74 CAD

Total12.24 CAD

So the clearance and processing is the fee plus the % of item value I guess.

If I do that for stamps, the total is ZERO, no mention of clearance and processing, which leads me to believe it is zero.

[raanana]

I would hope so,but CP info says different.Will try  tonight,as have few purchases,that should ne mailed as Tracked package.Probably will call CP as well. On Zonos page they say,that there are fees as well and told me ,that it is customs charge  for checking the mail. I cannot say here what I think about it ((

[raanana]

How to prepay U.S. duties with Zonos | Canada Post

[transtraders]

When you say you take a photo of the "reciept" what are you referring to? the order details on ebay?

[byto253]

That is what I picked up from reading the threads, which makes sense as it is proof of valuation for the shipment.    Can someone who has done this confirm?  @ilikehockeyjerseys ?

[dinomitesales]

The processing fee charged by Zonos is equal to a flat per-shipment fee plus 10% of the duty to be paid on the transaction.

The flat per-shipment fee is $1.99 when using Automatic Billing, or $2.99 when using the Zonos Prepay app ($3.99 if you don't include a photo when processing the transaction on the app - always include a photo).

If there is $0 duty owing then there is no processing fee at all. Meaning there is no additional charge to send your item to the States using Zonos and Canada Post - just pay the cost of the shipping label and you're good.

[raanana]

Have you done it already ? What option did you choose first or second ? Thanks

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I use the "packing slip". The same thing you would print and include in the order for the customer. It has a breakdown of the item(s) and all costs.

On the Desktop eBay site, click orders, then on the dropdown to the left of the order beside "Print Shipping Label" click the three dots to bring up the drop down menu, then you choose "Print Packing Slip".

This brings up a popup that shows the packing slip.

In the Zonos app, after you add the item you are brought to a confirmation screen. At the top of the screen it says "Scan Receipt (Optional)". I click that, follow the prompts, and choose to take a photo. I take a photo of the packing slip popup on my computer monitor. I have a 32" computer monitor and a decent camera in my phone, so the receipt comes out clearly. If you're printing the packing slip to include in the package, you could always just take a photo of the paper if that is easier. 

It will usually say something like information validated, so I suspect that they use AI to read the receipt and see if the totals match. I don't know if including the receipt helps expedite the clearance process or lower the risk of customs rejecting the package. 

Keep in mind, I always use the enter item manually feature. I don't use the scan feature. It takes too long. I have been adding photos of my items when manually entering them, but after thinking about it,  I suspect that is for Zonos to train the system, not for customs. I don't know for sure. 

[dinomitesales]

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@raanana wrote:
Have you done it already ? What option did you choose first or second ? Thanks

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Yes, I have done it, and have also followed many parcels shipped using Zonos at my post office (I work as a post office clerk). 

My US sales have been dismal as of late, but for the one item I sent to the States I used the Zonos Prepay app method. It was a DVD so there was no duty owing anyway. 

[byto253]

Reading these threads, I am feeling much better about listing my US COO items when I start up selling again in the new year.  Thanks for the input and sharing everyone.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@byto253 wrote:

Reading these threads, I am feeling much better about listing my US COO items when I start up selling again in the new year.  Thanks for the input and sharing everyone.

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I have a US COO stuck at Customs right now... waiting to see what happens. There is a paper in the package from the online catalogue that indicated the item was minted in the US (and which Mint minted it, which is the same mint in my SKU on Stallion).

Will wait and see... 

My Canada items are mostly coming down and being moved to advertise to Canada (and other non-US destinations), I'm keeping my EU/GB/Aus/NZ etc stuff up on the dot com site since tariffs are low, and the extra shipping I'm asking for makes up for paying tariffs (if someone is actually going to buy my stuff... so far not many takers).

C.

[musiceh]

I shipped my first 2 items today to the US (a cd and a record). I did link the Zonos key to the Canada Post site and when adding description on Snap Ship just used cd and phonographic record. Is that literally all that is required in order for the correct HS code to be determined within the Canada Post site? (somehow I assume linked to the Zonos site). The postal clerk received it and nothing else was required, no Zonos App voodoo, no nothing. I know for a fact I did not add any HS code to Snap Ship manually.

[canada-vintage]

I shipped 4 parcels in the last two weeks with Canada Post business website/zonos account linked. It worked great! 4 to 7 days delay for deliveries (same time than the pre-tariffs era), no delays at customs. It cost me $8.00cad total fees for 4 parcels! They were antique items (pre 1925), country of origin USA. I tried Fedex for the same stuff, complete disaster, mailed october 3rd, not delivered yet, will never use FedEx again.

[byto253]

Thank you for the feedback.  Ironic that the DDP requirement is making CP the preferred alternative.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Knock on wood, but I've had zero issue sending anything to the US via Canada Post. I have a DVD that has a German COI and is popular, zero issues. Everything goes through smoothly. 

For the last year, people have had issues with the Chicago gateway. My stuff goes through New York, not Chicago. So if there are delayed or returned packages, it might be related to the gateway and not directly to the changes. 

[byto253]

Have to think that if something registered with Zonos will get swept up in the postal volume like before.  Even something for a few hundred bucks is not much in the cosmic scheme of things.  

[transtraders]

Well got my 1st customer complaining about a bill they got from UPS a couple weeks after delivery of thier purchase.

Sold a blu-ray and shipped UPS standard, was sent on Oct. 1st and was delivered on Oct. 8th.

Buyer contacted me today saying he got a bill in the mail for $10 USD for "entry prep fee". Got him to send me pics:

Interesting to note that there was no duties or tariff fees. Just the "entry prep fee" whatever that is. Probably won't be using UPS in the future, I decided to refund the buyer the $10 as I was able to take the hit on this item but other items would be a different story. Will be using Canada Post mostly from now on.

[byto253]

Appreciate the concrete feedback and taking the time to get a copy of the UPS bill.   I wondered how much they would ding buyers. 

Not sure if this is potential repeat customer, but did you messsage the buyer that you will be switching to postal delivery since they do not charge prep fees.