Canada Post issues and news in Victoria

Workers of the Canada Post location at Yates and Douglas are striking today. The post office is closed.

I don't know how long the strike will continue but our company depends on mail delivery both to receive/send letters/invoices and ship out products.

This strike is hitting the wrong chords with the people who are keeping Canada Post in business. The general public is less dependent on Canada Post every year, but it's the business clientele who are paying more every year for the services while the quality of those services continues to slip.

Canadian businesses are already paying exhorbitant fees compared to mail delivery fees in the United States and if the union places further financial drain on companies utilizing Canada Post, alternatives (like US-based fulfillment centres lined along the US/Canada border) will become very appealing and further reduce Canada Post's business.

Btw, did you know that due to Canadian taxes, union fees and various surcharges charged to Canadians, it costs $12CAD to send a small parcel from Vancouver to Toronto, but it only costs $3USD to send the same parcel from Seattle to Toronto (via Canada Post once USPS drops it in their hands, typically in the metro Vancouver area)?

USPS has some very good postal rates.

But I don't have too much sympathy for many shippers. I ordered a power supply from the US not long ago. The website price for shipping was $75 through UPS, but once I called them and ordered it by phone, the real price was $15.

I know this isn't Canada Post related, but I don't think companies doing the shipping are hurting too much because of this. There's always Purolator

USPS has incredibly affordable postal rates, as does UPS and Fedex in the US.

Here in Canada we pay significantly higher rates to ship parcels even within Canada.

Consider that it costs $8.85 to ship a parcel to Australia via Canada Post and $12 to ship it to Saskatoon (and that's already with a corporate discount). That's Canada Post's unionized efficiency for you.

USPS has incredibly affordable postal rates, as does UPS and Fedex in the US.

Here in Canada we pay significantly higher rates to ship parcels even within Canada.

Consider that it costs $8.85 to ship a parcel to Australia via Canada Post and $12 to ship it to Saskatoon (and that's already with a corporate discount). That's Canada Post's unionized efficiency for you.

The same package costs about $1 to ship from China!

USPS is a bad example as technically they are insolvent.

The same package costs about $1 to ship from China!

No kidding. I've ordered a few things from dealextreme. I can't imagine how little shipping must cost when they offer free shipping on items that are only a few dollars.

We've been so conditioned to accept higher rates that they could make a killing on shipping charges!

USPS is a bad example as technically they are insolvent.

No no, I'm not talking about USPS inter-American shipments. Those are even cheaper. What I'm talking about is the cost for an American to ship a parcel to Canada via USPS (which is handled by Canada Post).

USPS drops off the parcel at the closest Canada Post facility (a shipment from Seattle would typically be destined for the lower mainland before CP shipping it further), and Canada Post moves that parcel at a rate that is a quarter of what it charges a Canadian to ship to the same destination.

Like I mentioned above, a shipment from Seattle to Toronto is $3 (via USPS/Canada Post). From Vancouver to Toronto it's $12.

USPS has some very good postal rates.

But I don't have too much sympathy for many shippers. I ordered a power supply from the US not long ago. The website price for shipping was $75 through UPS, but once I called them and ordered it by phone, the real price was $15.

I know this isn't Canada Post related, but I don't think companies doing the shipping are hurting too much because of this. There's always Purolator

USPS also delivers mail, to your door, 6 days a week. They were trying to cut it back to 5 days a week but received a lot of backlash.

UPS international rates are OK, but they nail you on brokerage fees. USPS has much better rates there.

I knew something was up, I didn't get any junk mail today.

I've had negative experience with Canada Post Registered Mail.

Bizarre as it sounds, my envelopes have been lost repeatedly. A slip returns eventually, stating essentially that my documents cannot be found, "We're sorry," and my money will be refunded.

Independent couriers have yet to fail me. The added expense is worth the assurance of delivery.

That said, my mail person is a wonderful lady and a hard worker, and I hope things work out constructively for her.

I knew something was up, I didn't get any junk mail today.

That's ok, there's always spam on VV

I've had negative experience with Canada Post Registered Mail.

Bizarre as it sounds, my envelopes have been lost repeatedly. A slip returns eventually, stating essentially that my documents cannot be found, "We're sorry," and my money will be refunded.

Independent couriers have yet to fail me. The added expense is worth the assurance of delivery.

That said, my mail person is a wonderful lady and a hard worker, and I hope things work out constructively for her.

Two weeks ago I sent some forms to Thailand by ExpressPost and paid $54 +/-. A week later it comes back to me "this service unavailable to this country". How nice. They could have just let it ride to destination, couldn't they?
OK, I got my money back and sent it again via CanPost/FedEx for $20 more. Waste of time all around.

That's ok, there's always spam on VV

And I don't have to fill my blue box with it!

UPS international rates are OK, but they nail you on brokerage fees. USPS has much better rates there.

I like to use USPS any time I am having something shipped from the US.

The brokerage fees from UPS or Fedex are too high. I have had good luck with ebay sellers that say that they only ship via UPS as an example. I explain to them that I prefer to wait another couple of days and use USPS.

If my memory serves me correctly, I don't think I have ever paid an international brokerage charge with USPS.

The Canadian postal service can stay home as far as I am concerned.

They have obviously forgotten what happened in Montreal years ago when they went on strike.

They used to hold the country to ransom in the bad old days. They don't have the same leverage now. They need to look at other services.
E.g. In France la Poste is also a bank with savings and chequing accounts and you can send $$$ to someone in another city/town.

I like to use USPS any time I am having something shipped from the US.

The brokerage fees from UPS or Fedex are too high. I have had good luck with ebay sellers that say that they only ship via UPS as an example. I explain to them that I prefer to wait another couple of days and use USPS.

Then there are those times where you specify USPS and the company you're buying it from has their supplier drop-ship it UPS.

The thing that bugs me the most about their brokerage fees is that they are based on the value of the item. I can't find any information that indicates the amount of paperwork increases as the item gets more expensive.

It's your right to clear customs for these items shipped by UPS, fedex or even Canada Post yourself. Even in Victoria! There's information on the interwebs on the process and it's pretty simple. I believe it's even possible to do it after it's arrived. Anyway, next time you get victimized by UPS or a shipper who claims they will ship USPS and then ships UPS you should try the self customs declaration procedure.

Ezra Levant.

Ezra Levant.

Is this guy 10 years old?

"Millions of Canadians already pay their bills online — this will hasten that trend. Already, mail-order catalogues have given way to online shopping.

So a strike would be a momentary nuisance — until people realized they really didn’t need the post office anyway."

Whether you buy through a catalogue or online, the item still needs to be shipped.

UPS is still far too costly in this country to be used for anything other than international shipments or big shipments to the United States. The basic charge by UPS is $22 which throws out any small parcel shipping right out the window. Even though Canada Post is expensive compared to similar services by the USPS, the rates are far below those charged by UPS/Fedex/DHL.

E.g. In France la Poste is also a bank with savings and chequing accounts and you can send $$$ to someone in another city/town.

And this is the kind of modernization that the union has been supporting. The Harper Government has refused as part of their plan to make Canada Post fail so they can then sell it to their cronies for a deflated price.

I just completed a very lengthy phone questionnaire on how Canada Post rates in the eyes of our business. Very timely