USPS - Seriously?

[Monty]

I recently made a trade with a member from Canada who had parts from a JoHan kit that I needed. Having never shipped anything to Canada before I didn't know what to expect, so I told the Post Office clerk I wanted to ship the kit the cheapest way possible with trackability. In an effort to keep costs reasonable, I even listed the value @ $0.00.

Long story short, It cost me just under $19.00 to ship one plastic kit up there. In addition, I've been

following the package's progress and was surprised to see that the USPS had routed it from Dallas to NY - about 3,000 miles East of its intended destination in British Columbia. Seriously?

[jbwelda]

"with trackability"...thats your problem right there. without trackability it probably would have been under 10$, in other words, pretty much same as domestic delivery. i just sent two packages to canada for under 5$ each but they were smaller than a kit would be.

[Harry P.]

You can't try and figure how USPS routes packages, because there are all sorts of variables in place. Where the package is going, where it's coming from, existing plane routes, airport hubs and connections, bundling loads of packages, etc., etc. They don't always ship a package directly from point A to point B, but they have their reasons.

As far as the cost... the USPS is losing business every year due to competition for shipping (from FedEx and UPS) and competition from the internet (email and people paying bills online instead of getting a paper bill mailed to them every month), so they keep jacking up rates to make up for lost volume.

[martinfan5]

UPS and FEDUP can be same way too with routing I think, I think USPS is still cheaper then then two shipping company's still by a little bit

[cahilj]

Paying for USPS tracking to a foreign country is useless. They only track it until it reaches the US border, then it's considered "delivered". USPS also does things a bit different than UPS and FedEx when shipping international. Instead of having multiple border crossing points, they have consolidation points for different countries. Example- every single package going to or coming from an APO address (no matter where it is in the world) goes to a center in NJ. UPS/FedEx/etc all have multiple centers for foreign shipments to come/go from.

[martinfan5]

I have to agree with the tracking, one of my last buys on ebay was from China or Japan, dont remember , but just out of curiosity I \ checked on the progress with the tracking number, it had its destination as Spain, not USA and my address, the kits made it to me, but i think its funny though. Maybe the kits went thru Spain to get to me, I have no idea.

[Erik Smith]

Just ship it First Class Mail International. No tracking...but the delivery to Canada is reliable. It is as cheap to send a package First Class Mail International to Canada as it is to send a priority package from coast to coast domestically - may e even cheaper.

[Monty]

Just ship it First Class Mail International. No tracking...but the delivery to Canada is reliable. It is as cheap to send a package First Class Mail International to Canada as it is to send a priority package from coast to coast domestically - may e even cheaper.

Obviously I should have checked with the Board before sending the kit off. I chose to go with the tracking option because it lets my trading partner know that the kit has been sent as well as giving him an idea of when he can expect to receive it. IIRC, adding trackability to items shipped within the US only costs 85¢ extra.

[Erik Smith]

Obviously I should have checked with the Board before sending the kit off. I chose to go with the tracking option because it lets my trading partner know that the kit has been sent as well as giving him an idea of when he can expect to receive it. IIRC, adding trackability to items shipped within the US only costs 85¢ extra.

It's definitely nice to have tracking and insurance (insurance is included in the Priority price). I sold a 1/12 scale Camaro kit to a buyer in Poland. Priority mail was $61 - but I wanted to be covered if the kit didn't make the journey.

It's getting more expensive and with gas prices now, it's not going any place but up.

[Guest]

I traded with a member here that only lives 30+ miles from me. We both used tracking. He received the package I sent the next day. Mine took four days. But, that was because it first went to Florida! Then, it went about 150 miles northeast of me to Louisville! How inefficient is that! He could have walked it to me quicker than they shipped it to me.

[Dave Van]

Mail between USA and CA is a tough one. When I was doing ebay I sold stuff to folks in CA. And if you know Paypal you better have proof. The issue boils down to one customs office for USPS and CA Post. Items can sit there for weeks if they are busy. And with MBA's sitting in offices planning 'logistics' packages can travel thousands of miles out of there way in the name of 'logistics'. Even packages inside the USA can be routed strange ways. I had a package come from Indy......to columbus Oh....to Greeansboro NC....to Charlotte NC....to Greensboro NC and then to WV and me!!!

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

Canada Post is no better.

But a little explanation on why it went to NY. All US Parcels bound for Canada go through the USPS/US Customs in NY, and enter Canada through the Canada Post/Canada Customs location in St. Laurent, Quebec.

Same happens from up here, if we send it from Canada to the US, it does the opposite, to St. Laurent, to NY, and then on to the destination, despite the destination being the other side of the country.

This is for tracked parcels.....regular air or surface parcels, I am not 100% sure if they do the same or not....because of course they can't be tracked.

[Greg Myers]

Try taking it there your self and see how much it cost.

[Greg Myers]

You have to understand how the post office really works. After twenty four years at the Sun City Post Office, this is what I figured out.

[robertw]

Just ship it First Class Mail International. No tracking...but the delivery to Canada is reliable. It is as cheap to send a package First Class Mail International to Canada as it is to send a priority package from coast to coast domestically - may e even cheaper.

I wish businesses would go back to this. The cost of shipping from the US to Canada has pretty much put me off buying anything from US shops. I have an order coming right now from HLJ, shipping is the same cost as one model purchased through ebay. P.S. I'm totally through buying anything on ebay.

rob

[Guest Johnny]

It is called logistics.

[Big Daddy]

yea i hate the post office my recent order from model roundup was 6 kits which was 23.00 which i was okay with but i tracked it and it took 2 days to get to customs from GA then it didn't move for 8 days then 3 days to get here from missisaga sorting staion which is 40 miles from me very frustrating

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

I ship everything within Canada using Expedited, but then again I have a CP account with gives me Expedited (which includes tracking, and insurance) for less than what someone without an account would pay using regular parcel post.

To the US....usually the customer dictates how it is sent, most pick the cheapest, which is Surface, some pick Air which is slightly faster and only a few bucks more (in most cases), however where it gets tricky is when the parcel exceeds 1kg, or 2.2lbs, then Canada Post requires it to go US Expedited, which includes insurance and tracking, but you pay through the nose for it.

One thing I was told by a CP employee, is the biggest thing that makes the price jump up is the thickness of the parcel, more so than even the weight of the parcel, you can have a parcel that weighs 2lbs, but is only 2inches thick, cost less than something that weighs 1lb, but is 5 inches thick. Doesn't make much sense to me, but something about it being easier to pack into a plane or something.

[mademan]

I wish businesses would go back to this. The cost of shipping from the US to Canada has pretty much put me off buying anything from US shops. I have an order coming right now from HLJ, shipping is the same cost as one model purchased through ebay. P.S. I'm totally through buying anything on ebay.

rob

it all depends on how bad you want something. I can get the newest kits out, shipped from the states, for cheaper than I can get them at hobby lobby in saskatoon, or our shop in Prince albert..... hell the new camaro kits 28.00-32.00 at the hobby shops here in sask..... I paid 17.99 and 6.50 shipping from the states. I actually saved money. bought 6 and made out great.