Best Method to ship to canada?

[oline73]

Anybody have any tips on how to cut cost when shipping to Canada?

[centrehice]

Just hope you get an uninformed USPS clerk that processes a bubble envelop as a letter, and not a package. It's the difference between 1.35 and $3.00 based on one card.

Other than that, use some 20 guage cardboard, put the card and toploader into it covering all areas. Tape it securely inside a PWE so that is does not rattle around. Tape all outside seams so the envelop does not tear. GO to the USPS and tell the clerk that you want "Non-Machineable", Letter Rate to Canada.

The charge based on 1-3 cards is $1.05. That's .85 plus a .20 cent surcharge.

To Europe, the same non-machineable charge is $1.05 plus a .20 cent surcharge for a total of $1.25

[Sportfreund]

Always appreciate when someone uses one of these to ship a large order. You can fit like 200 cards in these things (the dimensions varied). I once ordered Series 1 & 2 (400 card base set) and the whole thing was a bit longer but it fit inside the mail box. Our mail boxes are usually standard size assuming it's the type that's not at the door and is at a central location. Advantage to this obviously is that if it fits in the community mailboxes I've shown below then it doesn't have to be delivered to the door meaning that the mailman will not leave a not forcing you to go to the nearby post office to pick it up in case you aren't home (or worst, leave the package on the porch unattended).

These fit in mailboxes:


These are the standard community mailboxes:

[oline73]

Thank you. I've been trying to cut down cost and have been realizing that people shipping from Canada are paying a lot less shipping it to me than I was shipping to Canada.

[Flyers16]

have been realizing that people shipping from Canada are paying a lot less shipping it to me than I was shipping to Canada.

It was the opposite until earlier this year. My understanding is that the USPS jacked up the rates considerably for packages being sent to Canada. I don't believe I read anything on why the rates went up so much.

[gfel2795]

Just hope you get an uninformed USPS clerk that processes a bubble envelop as a letter, and not a package. It's the difference between 1.35 and $3.00 based on one card.

Other than that, use some 20 guage cardboard, put the card and toploader into it covering all areas. Tape it securely inside a PWE so that is does not rattle around. Tape all outside seams so the envelop does not tear. GO to the USPS and tell the clerk that you want "Non-Machineable", Letter Rate to Canada.

The charge based on 1-3 cards is $1.05. That's .85 plus a .20 cent surcharge.

To Europe, the same non-machineable charge is $1.05 plus a .20 cent surcharge for a total of $1.25

Cool, I didn't know that about the "Non-Machineable" Rate with the 20 cent surcharge that you can request.

I do this a ton and label the front and back of the envelope "Contains Photos: Do Not Bend" and it's worked every time without the surcharge. I almost always do this when BV is 20 and under and there's 1-3 cards. I would not do it with a jersey card bc the windows crease.

[centrehice]

It was the opposite until earlier this year. My understanding is that the USPS jacked up the rates considerably for packages being sent to Canada. I don't believe I read anything on why the rates went up so much.

USPS lost something like 40 Million Dollars in 2011. That's why rates increased 83.7% - There is another US Postal increase headed our way in the New Year as well.