Do you sell to Canada? Will this make you change your mind? 

I sell internationally and don’t give it two thoughts. But this one made me ponder. If by July 2nd a deal is not struck, the Canadian Postal system will shut down. Now I am not much for politics, but am for making money, so this message from eBay has made me think things over in the short term. Canadian readers please chime in.

Please be aware of a possible labor dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that will have an impact on shipments to Canada. If new terms are not agreed upon by July 2, 2016, a full labor disruption could occur.
In the event of a labor disruption, eBay will remain open for business for Canadians and we are asking sellers to continue selling to Canadian buyers.
We will be monitoring and adjusting estimated delivery dates and eBay Money Back Guarantee timelines to ensure sellers are not penalized for shipping delays resulting from the disruption.
Though Canadian buyers will be alerted of potential shipping delays, we recommend that sellers be considerate and accommodate Canadian buyers who may wish to cancel orders if they have not yet been shipped.
For the latest information on the potential work disruption, visit the Canada Post website, eBay Canada’s informational page or the eBay Announcement Board. We will continue to post updates as more information becomes available.

So there you go. If you sell to Canada will you be more leanant with the cancelation of purchases? What about extending your return policy? What about damage to books just sitting there? And finally how about the adjusting of money back guarantee times? 

33 thoughts on “Do you sell to Canada? Will this make you change your mind? ”

    1. As an American who has lived in Canada for about a decade now, let me give you a little inside scoop…the “eh” thing is only funny to Americans, and makes them look stupid to Canadians because it is a clear reminder of how ignorant most of them seem towards any understanding of their northern neighbors. As a matter of fact, Canadians make fun of Americans for this very thing, and the funny thing is that there is more truth to this stereotype than the “eh” thing. I used to think it was cute too…now I see that it is a GROSSLY exaggerated stereotype and that it was me that looked stupid to them. I say this because now I AM them.
      Not a big deal and not trying to start anything here, just giving a heads up that being the billionth person to use this caricature also has consequences that may be unintended, and it bothers me to see my countrymen make themselves look bad, unwittingly or not.

        1. I was not aware, and that is an unfortunate policy. Still, I personally would think it unfortunate if sellers were to avoid Canadian customers because some exploit the policy failure. And I would think that there are US customers who could do the same, no? But thanks for pointing these issues out.

  1. I live in Vancouver and I hate Canada Post. Its nothing but cuts and price increases on their services lately. It’s becoming a failing system that needs an overhaul.

  2. I don’t ship to Canada because it’s too slow and unreliable and I got tired of people asking me where their books are after 2 weeks while they’re in a pile in some hoser’s mail truck.
    if Canada Post shuts down nobody will be able to tell the difference

    1. It’s almost always ten days from the time it’s shipped from the US to the time I usually get things. No matter where in the US, ten days. Almost every, single, time. It’s not so bad. It’s the cost that pisses me off.

  3. If you sell a hot item to someone in Canada for say, $100 on the day it comes out, they don’t get it and it’s 2 weeks later, and they cancel the item, it may be only worth $20 by then.

    1. I hate the “cancel my purchase” option entirely, because it is abused by buyers from all countries. They will buy a hot book, then sit on it for a few days without paying for it, the heat dies down, the price drops on other auctions, and they demand you cancel their transaction because they’ve bought it from someone else for less. These days I am very strict about cancelling transactions for buyers, and I really hate the bullying tactics that eBay uses. When they send you the cancellation request it emphasizes that you (the seller) SHOULD refund the buyer’s payment As Soon As Possible and Cancel the Transaction to Ensure the Buyer Is Satisfied.

  4. I’m in canada and the looming strike is a hassle. I just temind buyers that the upcoming strike will probably delay orders. If it’s clear from the start and you warn before sending final invoice I dont see too many problems stemming from it.

  5. Postal disruption might hurt sales of cheap light weight items. Perhaps, still economical for expensive or heavy items from alternative couriers if shipping is small part of total cost. For examples, UPS, Fedex, Canpar or Greyhound? Past postal strikes seem to last weeks but current negotiating issues are more minor.

  6. I don’t do outside of the U.S. myself, that’s the only time I usually have issues so it’s not worth the headache.

  7. The eBay news about the Canada Mail strike just pissed me even more at their new return policy. Since they have required a 30 day return to keep your top rate seller status is really unfair to Seller’s in the collectibles category.
    It just opens the potential of buyers returning a hot comic that may have lost its value within those 30 days. Is anybody also concerned with this new policy or am I over reacting?

    1. I’m a buyer, not a seller, but yeah, I can see how that would be a significant point of concern.

    2. Since all sellers are at the mercy of the eBay Buyer Protection which automatically overrides personal return policies, it doesn’t matter what time limit you choose on your auction, eBay will hold you accountable for returns for 2 months. So I pretty much just pick what I have to, since I am going to be forced to accept returns anyways. And I only accept returns for item Not As Described anyways, which is the same as the Buyer Protection type, so the window of time isn’t going to matter. What I really hate is that they take away all of the seller’s control of the return, so if the buyer sends you back a different item or has obviously committed fraud, eBay still gives them a full refund, plus the original shipping, plus you pay their return shipping, and you lose fees to eBay & Paypal. The buyer can send you back a Rock, and they still get a refund, and eBay literally tells you that the buyer is always considered to be Honest about returns, and that there is no way for a seller to prove otherwise; they cannot take any seller claims or evidence into consideration. They will tell you to report the buyer so it is put on their record and if they receive enough complaints from other sellers, they will consider suspending the buyer from eBay. However, on several occasions I have been in contact with other sellers from these fraudulent bidders other transactions (since some sellers leave negative comments in their positive feedbacks on the bidder’s profile), and it clearly takes MORE THAN DOZEN reports before a bidder is removed from eBay. And when they are removed, eBay does not reverse the refunds, even though it becomes obvious that this person stole money from over a dozen sellers. And these could be hundreds of dollars per transaction, depending on the items. Then, eBay will let them open up a new account under a different name and start the process all over again, because they know they can get away with it and there is No Consequence for them. The fraudulent bidders don’t care about getting their account closed. That costs them nothing, and they still made off with all that free stuff. eBay should do something to deter this kind of fraud, instead of enabling it.

      1. I am very sympathetic to the points you make, but I am not sure what could better be done. There is a balanced to be had, and I know that buyers do need protection…I myself have been burned more than once.
        Not to detract from anything you bring up, but it reminds me of a guy I know who has gamed the system on eBay many times over…but as a seller. As I recall, he would post all kinds of things at what seemed to be good prices, accept the funds and then give excuses for the lateness of delivery. After he had many people on the hook for as long as he could he would abandon the account and start over with a new one. Finally it got to the point where he had to have other people start accounts on his behalf, and he would continue on. I’m not sure how he got away with all of it, but he did. Needless to say, the guy is a scumbag
        As I said, there is a balance to be had. On my end, I have dealt with more than a few shady sellers, and have a few eBay scars to show it. On the whole, however, eBay has been a fantastic resource for me. I am just not sure how things could be better improved…it seems that making things better for sellers ends up a cost for buyers, and vice versa.

        1. That would be wire or mail fraud I believe and is a federal crime. I do understand there are the occasional deadbeats like that but what I worry about is two things. If a strike does happen then mail could sit indefinitely and could be damaged. Or that something could depreciate in value and end up being returned due to an extended 30 day return period. I am not stopping selling to Canada. Just some thoughts.

          1. Yes, it is a fed crime, and he was being looked into for exactly that. I learned of the whole thing from his wife, who I am old friends with and who suffered a lot of grief for it all, In the end, he got away with all of it, unfortunately.
            As for the strike, it looks like it is on…no agreement has been reach as of yet. I’m watching it. In the meantime, I have several sources who are sitting on my items while we wait it out. For my part, I am not concerned with depreciating values. But then, I am of a different mentality than some these days…I entered an agreement and will honor it, I expect the sellers to do the same. While I do appreciate them storing the items safely for the time being, I also chalk it up to simply good customer service. Hopefully this all comes to an end soon.
            Thanks for selling to Canadians while they put up with this nonsense.

  8. I am a dual citizen living in Alberta for ten years now, and both a government employee and a union member. All that said, here is my two cents:
    I buy from the States all the time, several packages every month. Almost all of them end up coming through Canada Post, as it still seems to be the most economical route, and many sellers do not provide alternative options. I’ve had few issues with them, and happen to have a very friendly relationship with my delivery guy who not only knows I am receiving books that are sometimes of significant value, but he also takes the time to stash the books safely somewhere other than the front porch or mailbox if he thinks the package may be of particular value.
    As a frequent buyer, I am quite perturbed at this situation, however. The government tends to get it’s weasely hands into everything it can, but cannot seem to maintain even the most basic of functions? From this point of view, I see this as a gross failure of government, who for all the money they seize in taxes should be able to guarantee this most primary function. On the other hand, I also have little love for unions who seem to talk a huge game about taking care of the workers but have, in my experience, shown little real interest in doing so. More importantly, I despise those unions who are willing to use scorched earth policies if they don’t get what they want, ready to let the whole thing burn down in their stubbornness. I’ve looked into the beefs at issue, and I am seeing a lot of typical political strong-arming coming from them. With no love for the government and its inherent bureaucratic incompetence, it seems to me this is in the largest part run-of-the-mill union thuggery, which will continue until either the government caves, or the union can no longer spin the public view of them as being victims…because one thing is for sure, they don’t give a rip about how it impacts services the taxpayers depend upon.
    My rant aside, as a buyer I hope that sellers will continue to work with Canadians through this period. I am sure my American friends can understand that Canada is limited in it’s own resources, and we depend on sellers in the US greatly. My own collection wouldn’t be a tenth as cool as it is were it not for this. I would recommend, however, maybe discussing things with buyers and maybe suggesting that you sit on outstanding orders (paid in full) until this clears up.
    As a side note, to those who say they refuse to sell to Canadians because of the possibility of losing value on a book when it is cancelled…maybe it is my own ignorance here, but I have no idea what you are talking about. When I make a purchase on eBay, I’ve always understood myself to be on the hook for the agreed price plus shipping at the time of purchase, with no option of cancellation unless their are extenuating circumstances. Almost all of my eBay sources are in the States, and there have never been any issues except those caused by delivery services…which seems will be the case for many of us for the time being. Or maybe you were speaking of non-eBay transactions?

    1. eBay has a 30 day return policy that a book can be returned for pretty much any reason in that time period. If the strike happens it can be extended.
      Say for example I bought an Uncanny Inhumans 11 1:25 variant for $175. If in 20 days the book is selling for $75. One could return it and get their money back. They could then buy it again from someone else at $75. If it drops to $30 within the 30 day period then they could do it all again.

      1. Thanks for the input, I get the premise and how it could theoretically be abused, but as a buyer (and never a seller) I have always understood that the return policies required legitimate reasons for return which does not include “changed my mind” or “found a better deal elsewhere” and the like. In other words, unless you have a good story, you are on the hook once you press “buy”. Further, I have also always understood that this is specifically intended to protect sellers from these sorts of things, particularly because they at the very least have to pay relisting fees for the item(s) in question.
        Again, I am not a seller, so I am not savvy on the nuts and bolts of it, but am I wrong here? Are sellers actually getting burned by wishy-washy buyers who cop out for any number of reasons, without protections for the sellers? If so, does eBay not support an “all sales are final” policy for sellers who would invoke it (I could swear I have seen many who specify just that)?

  9. ”I don’t ship to Canada because it’s too slow and unreliable and I got tired of people asking me where their books are after 2 weeks while they’re in a pile in some hoser’s mail truck.”
    I have a 100% Feedback with just under 1200 Positive under my 2 eBay id’s and ship 90% within Canada and don’t have my mail sitting around. Don’t love Canada Post but my customers do not complain about the shipping speed. I have shipped over 450 pcs over the last 10 months and have had less than 5 that have had problems.

    1. Yeah, as a buyer, I have never complained about the speed of shipping. Then again, I don’t buy so I can quick-slab and flip. To me the most important thing is packaging and shipping cost. I’ve ordered quite a bit over the years, and the issues I’ve had with delivery are so uncommon as to be almost negligible.

  10. I’ve never cut Canada out of my international shipping, and have actually never had a bad experience with a Canadian buyer. But lately I haven’t had many international buyers on eBay. I used to sell to Canada & Australia very frequently, but as USPS has raised the cost of postage a significant amount nearly Every Year, it’s gotten to the point where a lot of international buyers don’t want to pay that much for shipping, and I don’t blame them. The rate increases have been crazy enough that the cost has More-Than-Doubled from where they were just 5 years ago (at least for smaller packages). Aside from all of the other details eBay has mentioned, the one part that concerns me is their claim that they will Adjust Estimated Delivery Dates. eBay has a Serious Problem with their delivery date calculations as it is, and now that they hold sellers responsible for packages arriving On Time, it is even more critical. eBay DOES NOT factor in the extra time it takes for a package to reach Hawaii & Alaska. Their delivery estimates (at least for sellers shipping from the East Coast) are UNDER by 8 Days. If my receipt shows an estimated delivery date of July 30th, eBay will have shown the buyer an estimated delivery window of July 15th to July 21st. I’ve been bringing this to their attention for Years because buyers from those locations are always emailing me asking why their package hasn’t arrived. Now that the new seller requirements took effect in February, I’ve been sending them photocopies of my receipts and showing them how Every Single Time their estimate is off by a week or more, and incorrectly showing as a Late Delivery by their automation. They blame USPS and claim all of their information is streaming in from USPS causing the problem. So I’ve brought it to USPS attention a few times, and every time they say that it is on eBay’s end, that eBay is not properly utilizing USPS standards when it comes to Hawaii & Alaska. If eBay can ignore this for years upon years, do we really think they’re going to Accurately handle this situation? My guess is that they won’t actually make direct changes, they will just somehow put a blanket forgiveness over any transaction during the date range so that there is no consequence for delivery date/arrivals no matter what.
    Every time you discuss eBay on here, you can tell I have a Love-Hate relationship with them! I’ve been selling on eBay since 1998. I would jump ship if there were a viable alternative, but since I am stuck with them, I am just continually aware of more problems eBay has that they continue to ignore, and they are a bunch of greedy ba$tards who cling to their profits while scaling back on their customer service. Their Trust & Safety Dept is pretty much non-existent. They rely on automation for a lot of their functions these days, but T&S really needs more human beings to go through cases. Their current T&S staff are only able to handle about 10% of the Reports that are filed by members. The rest are swept under the rug because they don’t get to them in time, and by then there’s already a slew of newer reports coming in they need to get to. It’s ridiculous. And it’s why there are so many problems on the site that go unaddressed. The ONE THING that eBay customer service actually DID handle earlier this year was that asinine decision to force comic book sellers to declare their book as “New” or “Used” as a required field. I don’t know what the hell they were thinking with that one, but they got emails from me several times a day for weeks until that was undone.

  11. I was born and raised in Toronto, and i still live in the area today. The postal workers union has sent a counter proposal to the Government, as of Sunday. The union must give 72 hours notice before any work strike can legally happen. And that notice has not been given as of yet. So, the Canadian postal system will be up and running as normal, through this coming Wednesday, at least.
    I have been selling books on ebay for only 2 months now, and sent about 50 packages in that time. I use Canada Post exclusively for my packages and, fingers crossed, have not had any complaints. I have been buying books online for about 18 months now, and have received the odd book that wasnt as described. I have just bit the bullet in those situations. I had one package arrive that had been crushed and it wrinkled the corners of all 3 books that were inside. But the seller let me keep the books and he gave me 100% credit at his store. But other than that, Ive had a good experience using our Canada Post,
    The books going over the border have to clear customs, this is why it takes much longer to deliver. The typical 2 week over the border delivery is a result of these border policies, rather than being an indictment of the Canadian postal service and its workers.

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