@tylerjordan21 wrote:
This Zonos app is a fraud. First of all, you should never have to download an app to ship an item. Then you have to go inside the postal office and the Canada Post staff get passive aggressive because they have to do the computer work, then you get screwed on the smallest items which face excessive import an duties. By the time it's all said and done you get screwed on Canadian taxes, eBay's cut, promotional fees and US Duties regardless of the price. We don't want to break even. eBay is no longer a place of deals.
It seems like you've had a negative experience and are coming here to vent. The Canada Post/Zonos integration works as intended, and is relatively error-free at the moment (much better than it was when it launched back in September). There are things that you need to know before using it - I would recommend educating yourself on the types of things that do and do not incur tariffs/duties when shipping into the United States. And familiarizing yourself with the various costs and fees associated with using the app.
I understand that you're frustrated at having to download a separate app to process your shipment, but unfortunately that is the only option right now. Remember that back in the Spring, American customs basically gave all countries on the planet a couple of weeks to figure out how to get their parcels into the country. One of those options was to have the shipment declared on Zonos to confirm all necessary tariffs/duties have been prepaid - this was an existing tool that was given to postal services such as Canada Post (and is now being used by other countries as well). It was basically: "use this, or don't ship to the United States". Canada Post worked as best as they could to integrate the service into their workflow so there was an option available to customers as soon as the changes went into effect - many countries just ceased all shipments to the USA entirely (and I believe many countries are still not shipping to the USA even today). The alternative would be to create an in-house Canada Post software solution and update their RPOS computer systems - this would have taken many months (if not years), and would have cost millions of dollars. I'm not sure if you've been following the financial troubles of Canada Post as of late but they're not really in the position to be spending millions of dollars on things like this, when it's entirely possible that it all could become moot as soon as another president is elected.
You do not have to go into the post office to use Zonos. You are more than welcome to print your shipping labels online using Canada Post's SnapShip software - there is a spot to enter the Zonos Declaration ID which will allow you to purchase and print the shipping label. There are also third-party label platforms like NetParcel that are offering Zonos integration. You're mistaking the Canada Post clerk's "passive agressiveness" with frustration and anxiety. Put yourself in their shoes: they likely get yelled at daily over this whole situation from customers that don't understand the new rules to send things to the USA and instead of listening to them explain how things work, they just complain and make a fuss. I'm speaking from personal experience by the way - I work part time as a Canada Post clerk. If you have the Declaration ID ready then there is literally no change to the workflow of processing a US transaction from a postal clerk's perspective. The only difference is that we need to scan your Zonos QR code when prompted on the screen. That's it. It takes one second. If your post here in this forum is any indication of how you speak and communicate with people (using words like "fraud" and "screwed", and having an overall negative mentality), I can definitely understand how you might have an unpleasant experience at the post office.
As for the rates themselves, we don't have any control over them. This isn't Canada Post's fault, it's not Zonos' fault, it's not eBay's fault, it's 100% the actions of the current American administration that determined the amount you now need to pay in advance if you would like to export goods into the American market. You know which orange character you can thank for that. That being said, all the fees (both tariff/duty and eBay) are known values, so you should know approximately how much you'll be profiting before you even sell the item. If that profit is not suitable for you, then you need to take a look at your business model and adjust as necessary. I will remind you that you're in an eBay forum and eBay offers you solutions to this problem in the form of the eBay International Shipping program. It's not perfect, and still in it's infancy, but solves many of the problems you're complaining about for items eligible to use it.
It's 2026 - the Canadian eCommerce landscape is completely different than it was even one year ago. This line of work isn't for everybody. Best of luck.
