To Ship Or Not To Ship To CANADA

[Farbulous]

I know this has come up before, but I wanted to make a public comment about how I beleive this unwillingness of people in the US to ship to Canada to be a form of discrimination. Please take this charge with a grain of salt. I have done DOZENS of transactions here on TGP successfully and I would say 9.8/10 I am buying from someone in the US or shipping a pedal to someone in the US. I've even had guitars shipped across the border with no problems whatsoever. I understand that individuals may have had bad experiences - I am one of them - but it seems more and more that people are unwilling to ship to Canada, and to me it is doing nothing but stifling the musical community, especially here in the Great White North. Although we do have a lot of great builders here (Empress/Diamond/etc.) the online community at guitarscanada.com is pretty limited in terms of quantity and selection of listings, especially in comparison to TGP. Again: bad experiences happen to everyone. I don't downplay this fact at all. I guess what I'm saying is maybe people should be willing to give shipping to us Canucks another chance. We're ravenous gear sluts just like you!

 

[losergeek]

It annoys me a little when people won't ship to Canada, but I've had enough issues that I don't blame them. True, most of those issues have to do with Fedex and UPS, nut if someone is running a business, I wouldn't expect them to take unnecessary chances. Just like if someone refuses to ship USPS, then I won't buy from them.

 

[tdk8709]

I think that you'll find a lot of us are willing to ship to Canada, you just may not like the terms upon which we will do it (buyer pays the extra shipping cost, seller accepts no responsibility for items lost or damaged in the shipping process, etc.) For a lot of sellers, it's too much hassle and personally liability to send something out of the country, only to have the buyer claim that it is lost with no way to prove it (no tracking on INTL).

On a side note, our church is partnering with the churches in the London, Ontario area to plant/grow new and more healthy churches there. Not sure if you attend a church or not, but I'll be there from time to time so I guess I could hand deliver an item if necessary.

 

[tdk8709]

At least shipping to Canada is international. Just wait until one of the Alaska or Hawai'i guys spots this thread. W-w-w-watch out!

Good point. Better hide your wives and children...

 

[Farbulous]

@tdk8709 - Thanks for the offer! I am not religious, so don't attend any church (although it would be a synagogue if I did!)

I do find that a lot of people are willing to ship - otherwise I wouldn't have the sweet pedal selection I currently possess, but I have noticed a lot of people lately with "no shipping outside US" on their postings in the emporium.

On one recent purchase the seller (in the US) from here on TGP gave me a tracking number, and I was surprised because I usually don't get one. I asked him how he was able to get one and all he said was that he used Priority International service with USPS. I always prefer USPS because they don't ream you up the a$$ with brokerage fees like UPS, especially if you claim the value as less than $100. Now some people don't like to fib to customs, and that's all well and good. I have never had a problem adding a few extra bucks to cover the difference in shipping, but even then I have found that many people will refuse to ship.

 

[wleeds]

as long as both parties agree on the expectations of the transaction, whats the big deal?
and, I trust USPS->Canada Post waaaaay more than UPS or FedEx.

 

[tdk8709]

I think nkjanssen stressed the most important parts of any good transaction online or in a store. It definitely all comes down to your gut feeling on it.

Edit: And I agree, I wouldn't trust FedEx to ship me packing peanuts or bubble wrap safely...

 

[78deluxe]

I think that you'll find a lot of us are willing to ship to Canada, you just may not like the terms upon which we will do it (buyer pays the extra shipping cost, seller accepts no responsibility for items lost or damaged in the shipping process, etc.) For a lot of sellers, it's too much hassle and personally liability to send something out of the country, only to have the buyer claim that it is lost with no way to prove it (no tracking on INTL).

.

You hit the nail on the head. If the buyer assumes all the risk and expenses, most won't have a problem doing it.

 

[terrapin]

What's the problem with shipping to Canada? I have done it many times? Just use USPS 1st Class International declare it as a gift and undervalue the item. Everyone is happy........................

 

[guitardr]

You hit the nail on the head. If the buyer assumes all the risk and expenses, most won't have a problem doing it.

Nailed it on the head: also that declaration "line" when shipping to Canada.
If it's a "gift"? Not too much of a hassle.

Declared value with the probability of having it opened up & inspected with additional charges? That's the probable cause of hesitancy.

 

[kingofrats]

As a Canadian I too don't really see what the big deal is with sellers not wanting to ship to Canada. As already mentioned in the thread, use only USPS (no UPS, no Fedex, etc) and let the buyer decide and pay for whichever shipping option they want (First Class, Priority or Express)

 

[Blakemore]

This is in regards to TGP only, as on our website, we ship all over the world, but back to the topic....

I dont mind shipping to my TGP friends up North at all, however, I have not had many transactions actually come through. When I get PMS from Canada, 95% of the time they expect me to ship to them for the same amount I ship inside the US. When I ask if they will cover the extra money it takes to ship across the border, whether it be $6 or $60 extra (depending on the package), its always a slightly rude mannered PM back saying " i dont understand why you need to charge me more, there is no reason to etc etc...
I have heard it all... so it's not so much that I am not willing to, it just seems to be a little bit more of headache when people don;t understand that its going to cost you more to ship and they need to cover it or you totally lose your overhead. So it is frustrating when someone expects you to lose more of your butt on an item and alot of times its not worth it. Now, if they agree to pay the shipping difference, I do not mind at all.

It's not all bad though...there was one guy who bought my 64 Fender Princeton from Montreal and he was very easy to work with and covered the extra shipping which was like $100 extra( i felt bad for it, but that was the cost), and it was a great and smooth transaction.

This has been my TGP experience selling various pieces of gear on here and getting PM's from Canada. YMMV

 

[morsecode]

I've made dozens and dozens of transactions all without issues. (Knock on wood).

I don't have an issue though if someone doesn't want to sell outside of the US. I understand their concerns. It's no big deal to me.

 

[Clean Channel]

Doesn't bother me when people won't ship to Canada. It's just so much easier to keep things within your own borders.

I try as much as possible to buy from Canadians, because I don't like bothering with border hassles either.

Recently I put a WTB here on TGP, and requested only Canadian sellers. In less than a day a guy contacted me, and we had a quick and easy transaction!

 

[CaptainAwesome]

For me, sometimes it's just not worth the additional stress. I've shipped internationally a dozen times, with no issues in the end, but it's always more involved and does have elevated risks.

As an example, I shipped a CC2 ($700 sale + $50 shipping) to Denmark and it was held by customs for weeks - during that time, I had no idea if I was going to be out the money entirely, subject to another $50 in return postage, etc. It worked out fine in the end, but these are things you don't worry about when shipping to the US.

In the end, I don't know why people would criticize a seller for choosing to limit their sales pool - it's thier choice in the end.

 

[wundergussy]

I am lazy; I have literally a fifteen minute window on my commute home to get to the Post Office and am just flat-out too lazy to do more than the bare minimum for a sale.

I'll say it again: I'm lazy, CONUS is easier, and it's not discriminating to be a slouch.

 

[td2243]

I ship something to Canada about every other day. For those who are reluctant, they shouldn't be. Overseas is a different story.

Funny people saying that convenience is the reason because it more time at the post office. When is the post office ever convenient? I print ALL my labels on my computer, so every country is a breeze.

 

[Farbulous]

I think the unwillingness of people to ship outside the US is because it does open a can of worms. Once an item leaves my hands its up to the shipping company to get it there. If there is a problem I have absolutely no recourse yet the buyer thinks Im responsible. Then IF you do payment through PayPal your funds can be taken back from you if the buyer "claims" they never received item. Not to mention if you sell a high priced item Paypal WILL hold your funds till they "feel" the transaction is legit. I can tell you from personal experience international sales have cost me several thousands of dollars. Then you take into the count of Duty charges etc.....its just not worth it. Its not discrimination....its just being smart. Until the shipping companies can do a better job of doing their job I wont take the risk.

I've had horror stories happen to me, but that doesn't discourage me from making good transactions with good people. And I don't think that it opens a can of worms. There are many well-established means for shipping internationally, and while we may not get the best service from those entities all the time, that doesn't mean that shipments don't come through without issue more often than not with the services that they provide. And once something leaves your hands you do have recourse if you get a tracking number and insurance. That is your coverage. As many people have noted, as long as the buyer is willing to cover costs I don't see the issue.

I don't have an issue though if someone doesn't want to sell outside of the US. I understand their concerns. It's no big deal to me.

The big deal to me is that I find the pool of sellers in Canada to be small and obviously due to this exact situation we are discussing limited in their stock and selection. But if one seller says no, you're right - no biggie.

I am lazy; I have literally a fifteen minute window on my commute home to get to the Post Office and am just flat-out too lazy to do more than the bare minimum for a sale.

I'll say it again: I'm lazy, CONUS is easier, and it's not discriminating to be a slouch.

Lazy indeed. The difference in time is the length it takes you to fill out the customs form. Everything is remains equal. That's a whole 60-120 seconds of time out of your life. It's not discriminating to be lazy, it's just lame.

 

[amp boy]

Farb,

get used to it.

 

[succor]

I ship something to Canada about every other day. For those who are reluctant, they shouldn't be. Overseas is a different story.

Funny people saying that convenience is the reason because it more time at the post office. When is the post office ever convenient? I print ALL my labels on my computer, so every country is a breeze.

Do you need to get the customs forms stamped at the Post Office? That's what I've been told before, but I'm open to more options.