Question about Shipping a card from US to Canada

[WingNut]

Hey team. I recently sold a card on eBay for $20.00 and have to ship it to Canada from the States. I was SHOCKED to see it was $16.00 for a small 1oz bubble mailer.... It's clearly been years since I've shipped a card abroad.

Is there any way around paying the $16.00? Can I PWE it? Is there a cheaper option in a bubble mailer?

Some guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SkyFire47]

I recently learned the same but luckily sold something that was worth the shipping cost.

 

[zunato]

That's the cheapest you can ship to Canada in a bubble mailer. If you send it out in PWE without letting the buyer know first they will probably ding you for it.

 

[rvelligan]

Shipping in a DVD/CD hard cardboard mailer might be a cheaper option.

 

[mq13]

Do you have a Kiosk at the Post Office. I ship mine in a Bubble Mailer via that route and it is less than doing it at the desk.

 

[Danno79]

Ran into the same issue a few years back. I used to do a ton of trading on this board and 15+ years ago it was almost cheaper to send packages in bubble mailers to Canada than to other states. I took a break from the hobby and came back and sold a card for $15 on Ebay and only charged like $5 shipping. The post office quoted me $20 to ship in a bubble mailer and I was floored. The guy at the post office let me know I could send it flat rate for $2 but if customs opened it and found it wasn't "documents" they'd charge the recipient. Luckily it got through and I offered to refund some of the shipping charge the buyer paid.

But from that point I knew that selling cards or trading internationally was pretty much over for me unless it is a very high dollar amount. And unfortunately hockey cards are more popular in Canada than here in the states so trading with my fellow country men is pretty non-existent. I have since shipped my traders to comc and let them deal with the shipping.

-Dan

 

[Krakenfan]

I use a rigid hard board style envelope which are used for sending 4x6 photos. I bought a hundred of them off eBay for like $30 dollars. I throw on it six stamps to ship from the States to Canada. If it ships as photos, it is a lot cheaper. I just don’t use top loaders, but use semi rigid card holder, penny sleeves and team bags so it is thin enough to fit through there machines as an envelope and it doesn’t have much weight and thickness to it. The envelope gives all the protection you need. I have never gotten a complaint about stuff being damaged in shipping. It’s nice because you don’t also have to deal with the customs forms. I have probably sent over 40 trades or deals this way without an issue. It’s worth a shot.

 

[hduong]

eBay Canada offers tracked packet for smaller packages from Canada to the US for $7-$8 CAD depending on distance. Surprised there is nothing equivalent in the US. It does prevent trading and selling of lower value items for that shipping price.