Advice For Shipping From US to Canada

[chicagocat]

I live in the Chicago area and I have various hockey cards I'd like to sell. Obviously it would help sales if I opted to ship to Canada, but I've read about the various issues that can arise when shipping from US to Canada. I'm looking for a shipping method that will protect me (where there is some kind of evidence that the item was received), and protect the buyer from rediculous fees or taxes. Also, I would prefer not to lie about what I'm shipping. I do not want to put a false amount on the value and I'd rather not indicate this as a gift. To be very specific in what I'd be shipping.... I'll be shipping 2 different kinds of packages. One would be a set of cards (either 66 or 100 cards) in a 6 X 6 X 6 square Uline box. This weighs around a pound. The 66 card set might weigh a bit less, the 100 card set may be over. The value here would range from $20 to $80. The second type of shipment would be for one graded PSA card. This would weigh in at about 7 to 10 oz. The value here would be from $50 to $350. The reason I come here with this question is that my local post offices give me varied and inconsistant info about shipping to Canada. No one seems to know what they're talking about. So for the 2 kinds of packages explained above, what would the most preferable method of shipping that would best protect both me and the buyer? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and knowledge.

[Joshmets31]

Priority mail international with tracking...going to cost you atleast $8-15$....I've never done it I go either yellow 8x10 envelope or PWE first class international nO tracking. Hard to ship to Canada cheaply nowadays.

[chet09]

Good luck its not cheap shipping a large amount of to Canada.

When I do bubble mailers I go thru papal shipping and that has been the cheapest.

[sparty07]

Do not ship from the Wheaton Post Office in Danada Square, they are extremely stringent. I have had the best experience at the Carol Stream big distribution center. The ladies there are very nice. You're going to have issues on the seller side having to pay taxes/custom fees if you identify the true value/not a gift.

If you are shipping team bags of cards, if you spread them out in a bubble mailer so they are a single thickness of 1 team bag, you can ship that using paypal for about $3-4 tracked using paypal.com/shipnow. I would still try to use paypal for the box, but it will be more expensive. You may have to lower your prices to Canadians for the taxes/fees or find one with a US po box.

[gfel2795]

Do not ship from the Wheaton Post Office in Danada Square, they are extremely stringent. I have had the best experience at the Carol Stream big distribution center. The ladies there are very nice. You're going to have issues on the seller side having to pay taxes/custom fees if you identify the true value/not a gift.

If you are shipping team bags of cards, if you spread them out in a bubble mailer so they are a single thickness of 1 team bag, you can ship that using paypal for about $3-4 tracked using paypal.com/shipnow. I would still try to use paypal for the box, but it will be more expensive. You may have to lower your prices to Canadians for the taxes/fees or find one with a US po box.

I'm unable to send in a bubble mailer using team bags, etc. for under $9.03. Is there a format that you use? Large Envelope maybe? I always run into problems once I take things into the post office which is required on international non-PWE mail.

[sparty07]

Large envelope, yes, but you have to keep the bubble mailer under a third of an inch or so

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[chicagocat]

Joshmets31 suggested priory mail international, but that would cost $44.00 to ship my 1 pound 6X6X6 box of 66 cards to Canada. I do see that First Class International is only $15.50. Now if I went this way, what would be the difference in what the Canadian customer would pay in fees if I was honest and put the value as $55.00 or if I lied and put a lesser amount? Please assist if possible.

[sparty07]

I've never had a buyer pay a fee putting $20 or less

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[Maggot]

Any Paypal transaction over $250 you need to have signature confirmation. In the case of a dispute, you will lose automatically without it. To Canada, that will require express international shipping, IIRC. That's expensive.
Otherwise, use First Class for the boxes. For individual cards, use the method mentioned above for First Class International Large Envelope. Must be less than 3/4" thick and 14" long. That leaves you a lot of wiggle room if you pack creatively, I've shipped up to 150 cards using this method.

[chicagocat]

Thanks Sparty. Maggot... that's some helpful information! Looks like First Class International is the way to go for those 66 card sets. As far as value goes, if those sets sell for $55, I guess I should put a value of under $20 as a courtesy to the buyer, right? Also, for shipping one encased graded PSA card, is the best method sending it First Class International Large Envelope and keeping it under 3/4 inch? (I think that's doable?)