Why do so few Amazon.com sellers ship to Canada?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by GodBlessTinyTim, Jul 11, 2016.

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  1. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I've been hunting for a particular CD. Of the six affordable copies on Amazon.com, not a single one ships to Canada. On Amazon.ca, the cheapest copy costs five times as much, so that's out of the question.

    Is $15 shipping not enough to cover the postage for a single CD, even though it's more than most Discogs sellers charge for international orders? Why don't they want my money?
     
  2. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Generally because the seller has never shipped international, doesn't know how to do it, doesn't want to learn and it is less of a hassle to have one way to do everything.

    I think for many it requires a trip to the post office vs. just printing a lable at home. It is crazy expensive to ship to Canada from the US.
     
  3. Yep, it requires a trip to the post office instead of printing out a label at home. If you really want an item from an Amazon Marketplace seller in your situation, contacting said seller and politely asking them to ship internationally may work.
     
    PH416156 and GodBlessTinyTim like this.
  4. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    It's expensive, but since American Discogs sellers typically charge around $12 to Canada, you'd think $15 would cover it.

    You guys are probably right about it being too much of a hassle for most people. Might try contacting them about it, thanks.
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  5. John Porcellino

    John Porcellino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Beloit, WI
    I ship stuff to Canada all the time and print labels no problem off the USPS website. A few years ago though, shipping to Canada from the US went way way up. Doesn't Amazon require third party sellers to charge a flat $3.99 shipping per item? That probably doesn't cover shipping to Canada, so to cover postage they'd have to raise the item cost above what's competitive?
     
    zphage likes this.
  6. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    It used to be $7 flat to Canada until a few years back when it doubled.
     
  7. Jimmy Agates

    Jimmy Agates CRAZY DOCTOR

    Can we ask what the cd is?
     
    nightstand68 likes this.
  8. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    The Complete Capitol Hits of Faron Young, a two-disc comp.
     
  9. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I second the 'ask the seler' option, there a good chance they would do it
     
  10. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    You should look at amazon Germany - sending one cd/LP to Canada only costs €3,70 (= 5,35 Can $)

    P.S.
    Unfortunately the cd you are looking for is only available from US sellers .
     
    rxcory likes this.
  11. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I buy from Amazon Germany and UK fairly often for just that reason. Better yet, they almost always ship to Canada. Unfortunately the item in question is prohibitively expensive or out of stock everywhere but Amazon US.
     
  12. NotebookWriter

    NotebookWriter Forum Resident

    I used to wonder the same thing until I found out that U.S. mailmen don't just deliver your mail. They come and pick up mail that you want to send as well. At least, this what I'm told. I'm sure some Americans take this for granted and are reluctant to make unnecessary trips to the post office.

    As others have suggested, you have nothing to lose by asking if the seller will make an exception to ship internationally. They may say yes, especially if it's an item that that they are eager to sell.
     
  13. micksmuse

    micksmuse Forum Resident

    Location:
    san diego
    i ship everywhere but a lot of sellers on amazon never bothered because amazon used to charge canadian buyers international shipping which was like $14.95 and most canadian buyers wouldn't pay that much so a lot of sellers didn't offer it.
    now canadian rates have joined european ones in the stratosphere but sellers never changed their profile. i agree with the guy above that suggested just contacting the seller and ask them if they would. it is easy to just change that specific item listing to international option if the seller doesn't want to change all of their items in bulk.
    keep in mind one thing though, most sellers don't want to offer heavy packages internationally like box sets because amazon only gives the seller $14.95 and takes some of that back in fees too and if it is over 8 oz. the seller has to pay at least $16.95 for canadian shipment above 8 oz.
     
  14. Electric

    Electric The Medium is the Massage

    Asking a seller to change their settings to 'international' has worked for me, though sometimes they want to raise the base price a couple of dollars to accommodate the increase in their postage. This has also been true for Amazon.uk.
     
  15. abbeyrdsteve

    abbeyrdsteve Forum Resident

    Location:
    Over the rainbow
    Actually, Amazon gives sellers the option to print all their postage for packages at home. That includes international packages. I suspect nobody thinks of it. I did ship a package to Canada by request. Not hard at all. I agree, though. Ask and any smart dealer will do it.
     
  16. Mr_Vinyl

    Mr_Vinyl Forum Resident

    Yes, it's strange how all of this works. A record store that I go to sell some LP's pressed in Germany less than the same LP pressed in the U.S. Go figure....
     
  17. John Porcellino

    John Porcellino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Beloit, WI
    Hmmm... that's interesting, because when US to Canada rates more than doubled a few years back, I was told it was because CanadaPost rates for accepting foreign parcels had gone up, so USPS had to compensate on their end.

    It wouldn't be worth it for a CD, but for heavier packages, UPS to Canada can be cheaper than USPS. It's the only situation I've found where UPS has a cheaper rate.

    (Sorry if this is getting too wonky... I run a mail-order business, so this stuff is always on my mind.)
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  18. AndrewS

    AndrewS Senior Member

    Location:
    S. Ontario, Canada
    The bigger question is why does the same CD list on Amazon Canada at 5x the price it lists for on Amazon US?

    I see that sort of thing all the time, and it's extremely frustrating. It even happens with Amazon itself (as opposed to third party sellers), which is more frustrating.
     
  19. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I was talking about that on a recent thread, one of the third-party sellers that stood out was bookcommunity_ca. Guess they figure Canucks are rubes.
     
    AndrewS likes this.
  20. bobfrombob

    bobfrombob Forum Resident

    Where do you live? I have a post office box in Ogdensburg for this and similar situations.
     
    John Porcellino likes this.
  21. John Porcellino

    John Porcellino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Beloit, WI
    I wonder if Canada limits the amount of discount online companies can apply; I know in France, Amazon's discounts are strictly limited in order to ease the burden on brick and mortar shops.

    There are some couriers in, say, Buffalo, NY that will receive packages for Canadian residents. Don't know exactly how they work, but it may be worth looking into.
     
  22. Robber Soul

    Robber Soul Forum Resident

    Message the seller directly and ask them if they're willing to ship here. I've done it with success numerous times.
     
    PH416156 likes this.
  23. bobfrombob

    bobfrombob Forum Resident

    Couriers tend to be expensive. The place I deal with (My US Address) will set up an address for you at no charge. Each package costs $5 US to pick up. They will also "push it north" via courier but that costs $30.
     
  24. Defdum&blind

    Defdum&blind Forum Resident

    That must be very hard on the letter carriers backs. At least for Canadian letter carriers the bag lightens while they work.
     
  25. alankin1

    alankin1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philly
    Yes, you don't need to go to the post office. You can print a label from the Amazon site and USPS will pick it up from your mailbox.
     
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