Perhaps some of you have understandings (as well as opinions) on the item below. It is contained on the website of a small Ontario enterprise that specializes in detail parts. To retain some measure of anonymity, at least at this point, I will not give further clues. No need to jump to conclusions about someone's business model just yet.
Due to changes at US Customs and Border Protection and Canada Post, we are no longer able to mail small parts orders as letter mail. As a result we have to implement a minimum order policy effective immediately.
Orders will now have to be at least $40.00 before shipping costs are added.
I very much regret having to do this, but the government agencies leave me with no option.
I was hoping to be able to order three packages of a particular item at $4 (USD) each. I might even have considered it worthwhile to handle the $12 minimum shipping and handling. But there's no way I'm going to order ten of the item just to hit the minimum order figure.
No American source (other than eBay) handles them. On eBay, some guy in Kentucky has them for $14.99 each. Nah, I have at least some pride to spurn that kind of mark-up.
My question would also pertain to any other Canadian source (like the PWRS folks). Are they also applying the same restrictions noted above?
John
Shipping anything into the US is difficult. Anywhere else in the world is simple and easy to do.
I have a number of US customers, and the rule is they are responsibile for the return shipment (of their own property). There is even a customs expert on staff and he'll tell you that shipping anything to the US is problematic. His office ships things all over the world, all the time.
For a small business, the hurdles make it unprofitable to spend that much effort on a small transaction.
betamax Shipping anything into the US is difficult. Anywhere else in the world is simple and easy to do. I have a number of US customers, and the rule is they are responsibile for the return shipment (of their own property). There is even a customs expert on staff and he'll tell you that shipping anything to the US is problematic. His office ships things all over the world, all the time. For a small business, the hurdles make it unprofitable to spend that much effort on a small transaction.
Coming into the US (flying) as of late, US Customs did not ask if we had anything to declare as I returned with close to $1000 USD of goods (including a model train). So mailing 2 washers should not set off any alarms. I do have dealers in Canada that send us parts and as far as I know, if they had to pay $40 CAD to send us $100 USD parts they would probably go bankrupt.
Are the washers more than $800 USD? That was the threshold when you had to fill out the document.
Just put then in your bag and go!
Neal
Maybe they just did not want to be bothered with orders less than $40?
Attuvian1My question would also pertain to any other Canadian source (like the PWRS folks). Are they also applying the same restrictions noted above?
PWRS has a warehouse just over the border in the U.S. Three miles away from their Canadian warehouse. They can ship from there and it is considered domestic mail. There are advisories on the Canada Post website that shipping standards to the U.S. are no longer guaranteed. The U.S. Post Office cannot handle domestic volumes and is periodically placing embargos on foreign mail. My Nephew is a manager at Canada Post and says it is being warehoused and the U.S. accepts it depending on its capability to process it.
In 2017/18 due to imposed trade restrictions, we had to stop donating puppies to California where they would be trained to be guide dogs. My wife has not been able to sell or donate a dog to the U.S. since these were imposed.
Also around the same time, she stopped leasing Veterinary medical equipment from the U.S. ( things like ultrasound equipment) as the company said the trade restrictions made it impossible to do business internationally as it was just too costly due to the unreliability of moving the equipment back and forth over the border. Things are starting to return to some sort of normalcy as many of these rules are being reversed making the dog show crowd in the U.S. happy again.
If we have to ship things to the U.S. we drive to FedEx at the Bellingham airport. Even for FedEx to the U.S. from here, there were/are issues. We never have a problem driving the stuff back and forth over the border ourselves.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I suspected that things were going belly-up from this side of the fence. Here's what it gets from me:
Attuvian1Perhaps some of you have understandings (as well as opinions) on the item below. It is contained on the website of a small Ontario enterprise that specializes in detail parts. To retain some measure of anonymity, at least at this point, I will not give further clues. No need to jump to conclusions about someone's business model just yet.
If you can e-mail me some details about the items and where the seller is located (hopefully not more than 100 miles from here) I could probably pick up what you're buying, then ship it to you in a suitably-sized box.
Shipping costs from Canada are based on both the weight of the package and the dimensions. If you want the package insured, it's based on the value of the enclosed items.
Wayne
Dr. Wayne,
I think it's far to much to ask of you but will send an email.
I've made several orders recently from an outfit in Chase, BC. They charge a flat $12 for shipping to the US and some other countries. No minimum, no duties and the laser-cut kits enclosed are somewhat larger in bulk than any of the brass etched parts offered by Yarmouth.
Attuvian1On eBay, some guy in Kentucky has them for $14.99 each.
I believe that cost includes the shipping so the "markup" has to reflect that.
Like the "free" shipping of Amazon. $100+ annual fee and some added cost to the item on top of that.
International postal costs are negotiated by the Universal Postal Union https://www.upu.int/en/home based on many factors and re-negotiated periodically.
Good Luck, Ed
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gmpullman I've made several orders recently from an outfit in Chase, BC.
I've made several orders recently from an outfit in Chase, BC.
Cool little company Ed, thanks for posting that.
gmpullman International postal costs are negotiated by the Universal Postal Union https://www.upu.int/en/home based on many factors and re-negotiated periodically. Good Luck, Ed
Thanks Ed, I was biting my tongue yet again.
Thanks, Dave.
I worked for the feds for 36 years and after an election the transfer of power was seamless. The people at the highest levels that actually run the Government were the same people after the election even with a different party in charge, and we carried out the policies of the Government in power, the changes in policy were minor at best. I dealt directly on a regular basis with those at the top and those people were there through successive Governments. To think a Prime Minister spends a lot of time thinking about the price of a postage stamp is obzurd.
Canada Post is a Crown corporation and is run like a business. There is very little input from whatever Government is in charge at the time.
Name-calling is childish at best and shows a complete disconnect from what our Government actually does and how it operates.
[Edited by admin to remove reference to deleted post. Person who used that expletive has been put on moderation for breaking Forum rules.]