Defunkd

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Do you guys do it?

What are your experiences?

I'm preparing a shipment and it looks like the cheapest method with tracking for a 10.5x9.75x2 1lb package to Japan will cost me $63!!!

[jimmyj]

It's a Canada Post service? or courier offered through the counter? I haven't tried recently but they never offered international tracking prior. If you were sending to Japan, Aus, Germany, you had to just cross your fingers. Tracking was only available to US/Can shipments and that's it unless you went the courier route. Has it changed?

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Canada post.

If you ship by international xpresspost you can track but it costs an arm and a leg and only applies to certain countries.

I've sent one pair of jeans from Toronto->Hong Kong via untracked air mail because of the cost and it got there in 2 weeks. However, I'm note sure that I would have taken the risk if I was selling something very valuable.

So you don't use Canada post? I get a discounted courier rate but Canada Post always work out cheapest for me.

[jimmyj]

Must be a newer service...tracking never used to be available outside Canada or the US unless you used a courier, which was way too expensive. So I just gave up and stopped asking about it and always just mailed things standard air mail.

Venture One card all the way! You'll learn to dislike CP, especially when they automatically raise the rates every year despite the fact that they are way more expensive than US rates...like in January when half the country was getting laid off....they are making record profits but still made raising rates their first order of business in 2009.

Boo-Urns CP.

[hermosavtg]

I'm preparing a shipment and it looks like the cheapest method with tracking for a 10.5x9.75x2 1lb package to Japan will cost me $63!!!

That can't be right?! The same package via standard USPS First Class International mail will cost me $10 USD.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

I could ship it standard for $15 but the cheapest method of shipping with delivery confirmation for a package with my weight and dimensions is $64.

Canada Post= terrible

[hermosavtg]

I see. The equivalent would be USPS Express mail, and cost $31 to Japan. It ain't easy being Canadian!

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Jimmy, in your experience, how long does it take for a package to get to Japan via regular Airmail?

[jimmyj]

A package probably 2-3 weeks. However, t-shirts I manage to get there pretty quickly so here's a good tip if you're only shipping 1 shirt. Use the poly mailers, fold the shirt as neatly and thinly as you can so it's as flat as possible. Then request to mail it as letter mail...they will check that it fits through the plastic slot behind the counter....if it does you are golden...it's $6.80 for international and it will be there in about a week.

I try to ship as much as possible this route...letter mail to the US is $3.40...and it just travels much quicker than packages...so I'm able to remain somewhat competitive on pricing and speed.

As long is it weighs 200 grams or under, which most old shirts do, and you don't have an anal cashier...will save you lots of loot. Plus for lettermail you just have to fill out those green stickers rather than those tedious small package stickers.

[hermosavtg]

Canadian post sounds awful! Worse than even US post! I wont feel so bad next time I' waiting on line at the post office, with the line snaking out the door, and two of the three clerks on duty announce they will be taking their break now.