Freaking shipping... from US to Canada!!!

[RichardLOZ]

Yes Dustpuppy shipping is indeed expensive. $53.95 USD for 13 x 1 lb bottles of oil, which at the moment isnt too bas as the aussie dollar is strong against the US dollar so it works well for us. I am just dreading when the dollar weakens once again as then it will become very expensive. Ahh such is life.

[Dustpuuppy]

Yes Dustpuppy shipping is indeed expensive. $53.95 USD for 13 x 1 lb bottles of oil, which at the moment isnt too bas as the aussie dollar is strong against the US dollar so it works well for us. I am just dreading when the dollar weakens once again as then it will become very expensive. Ahh such is life.

Wow. I'm guessing that there are tariffs/duties on top of that ?

And, BTW, I wasn't questioning you on this. I had just never thought of it.

I guess I would have assumed that you had your own suppliers.

[RichardLOZ]

Dustpuppy

Yes we do have our own suppliers here, all 2 of them Makes for loads of choice....LOL.

Tarrifs & duties etc can be avoided as long as the order is below $1000 AUD, so we are quite lucky there. I guess if we grow to a point where we are bringing way more in, that may change somewhat though.

[pixie]

I recently called a supplier (not going to name names) to cancel an order. When asked why, I simply stated that I would never consider paying the amount of shipping that they were asking. The supplier responded with "well, how much WOULD you be willing to pay?" WTF??

Since when did this become "lets make a deal?'

[Dustpuuppy]

I recently called a supplier (not going to name names) to cancel an order. When asked why, I simply stated that I would never consider paying the amount of shipping that they were asking. The supplier responded with "well, how much WOULD you be willing to pay?" WTF??

Since when did this become "lets make a deal?'

There could be some legitimate reasons for that question:

The person you were talking to might have been in a position to arrange some sort of discount for you.

If they have customers canceling orders due to shipping costs, they might want to know what kind of deal they'd have to negotiate with UPS or whomever, to keep their customers. If they do enough shipping, UPS and FedEx will often give them discounts to keep them.

They may have just wanted to find a way to help a regular customer.

If they were looking at switching from UPS to FedEx, or some such, they'd want to know where their shipping costs would need to be.

Also, there are a lot more things in this world that are negotiable than most people realize.

[SoapDiva]

Yeah, boxes for my soap? The product is 1/3 of what it will cost me to ship, then pay customs on at the end of the day. It's insane.

When I place orders to the states, I try to do it all at the start of the year, and ONCE (I keep exact records, and add 20-40% for growth over the year). There have been some times when I've had to re-order, which hurts. But when I make the big order, and I'm getting in thousands of pieces, it brings the CPU down substantially.

It's the only way that my business can be profitable.

Currently, I have about 50 lip balm tubes left (from 1200 I started out with) and am really really hoping that my current lot will hold over till new years (I have about 200 on hand, but I have 6 parties and two major shows not to mention farmers markets to go).

[green-tangerine]

If you are looking for lip balm tubes ther is a place in BC serf to surf that includes shipping in the price.

[jackbenimble]

Hi- I just recieved my first order from Canada on my website and the shipping process went great! My issue was the buyer had to pay $25 in taxes when she picked the package up. Why does that happen. She mentioned it to me because she never has to pay taxes on items she has bought from the US. Thankfully she loved my candles so she didn't mind. How can I avoid this tax problems. The future? Thanks!

Edited June 28, 2012 by jackbenimble

[ChrisR]

I've sent things to Canada as a gift and the person didn't have extra taxes.

[QTsmum]

Hi- I just recieved my first order from Canada on my website and the shipping process went great! My issue was the buyer had to pay $25 in taxes when she picked the package up. Why does that happen. She mentioned it to me because she never has to pay taxes on items she has bought from the US. Thankfully she loved my candles so she didn't mind. How can I avoid this tax problems. The future? Thanks!

I know this is super old, but the charges are really random! I do a ton of shopping online from the US and get off without paying duties probably 95% of the time! Although if something is made IN the US , I do believe it is supposed to be duty free. Labeling as a gift does help.

Shipping within Canada is disgusting.

I've been looking to place a large order for starter candle stuff, and it's $150, via ups, and their fees upon arrival are MAD!!

[rctfavr3]

If I ever ship items to Canada, and as long as they are under 4lbs...I ship them first class international for a small flat rate.

Otherwise, I'd end up paying an excess of $25 or up - shipping ANYTHING to Canada sans flat rate. Between exorbitant customs fees and crazy postage costs, First Class International Flat Rate seems to be the easiest and best option but most people don't even know it exists you have to ask for it at the post office.