question for Canadians

[BenDMitchell]

For all my friends up north--what do you consider a fair price to ship a card up to you from the US via USPS First Class International? At what price do you not consider buying a card just because of the shipping price?

 

[Triple B]

I’m always in at $12.25 if it’s a card I really want. The GSP is a deterrent but I find that asking a seller to ship outside of it is usually successful.

 

[SNobles]

At this point I think that it is fair to expect around $9usd to be asked by the seller as that seem to be the actual cost if the card is shipped the way usps says it should.

I do not have a specific number I am out at as it depends on the card. I will not pay more for shipping then I do the card.

Some sellers seem to be able to beat the system and can ship for less, so whenever I see that it is a bonus.

 

[99goals]

I factor shipping cost into the card I am buying. So if i am comfy to pay $20 on it, that price includes the shipping price as well.

 

[habscards]

I have an American mailbox with Get It Shipped International. If you are Canadian and you make a decent amount of purchases from the States I strongly recommend it.

 

[fly4apuckguy]

I have only spent more than $10 on a single card for shipping once, and that was for a Cup RC auto'd printing plate.

If it is more than that, I scroll on by. Mind you, most of the cards I buy are $2.00 - $10.00, so the thought of spending more on shipping than on a card makes me ill.

 

[terry1hockeyfan]

I used to use my comc account, but with the addition of the 10% state tax I have recently switched to using ShipMyCards for anything of higher value or with more than $10 shipping. It is only $2 a card and they will scan the cards into my inventory, store them and ship them all at once to me when requested.

 

[30ranfordfan]

I’m always in at $12.25 if it’s a card I really want. The GSP is a deterrent but I find that asking a seller to ship outside of it is usually successful.

^^^ This.

That's what it costs to send from USA to Canada, so I'm okay with paying it.... but I'm probably not buying an easy-to-find $20 card, and then paying an extra $12 for shipping.

I use the COMC mailbox, but I find it's now only worth using if the GSP is in place.... or the seller will not ship to Canada.

 

[rohara99]

I used to use my comc account, but with the addition of the 10% state tax I have recently switched to using ShipMyCards for anything of higher value or with more than $10 shipping. It is only $2 a card and they will scan the cards into my inventory, store them and ship them all at once to me when requested.

I need to get setup with shipmycards.

Do they only charge $2/card to receive and hold your cards indefinitely? What do they then charge to forward them off to you?

 

[chefjason]

I won’t buy from the USA unless it’s a high end card that actually requires tracked shipping, I just can’t justify spending 0-50$ on a card then adding 10-25$ US on top of that

 

[Tachyon]

Depends. If I see a card I need for the PC I don't mind the shipping because it is factored into the total cost. I factor the total cost in everytime. I have an American address at COMC.com for the cheaper cards.

The total cost has prohibited me from buying from Americans many times. I buy eBay 100 eBay packages at a time but I cannot send them to USA. I have to buy manila envelopes and send that way. I can get away shipping about 10 cards by slapping stamps on the package but if I send an eBay package they automatically think it's a parcel and will charge $10+

 

[GabbyGuy]

I have shipped many many cards to Canada. The cost of shipping any card (bigger than a base card thickness) in top loader and bubble envelope is $12.25 USD. That doesn't factor in the cost of the bubble envelope itself. That also has tracking. That is the actual USPS postage cost, as it is considered a package due to thickness of the bubble envelope.

You can try to send in a plain white envelope (PWE), but those go through sorting machine rollers and can be damaged easily. Cost of USPS Global stamp is $1.20 USD. I personally would never like to receive a nice card in a PWE. Would you? Just asking for trouble.

--Curt

 

[terry1hockeyfan]

I need to get setup with shipmycards.

Do they only charge $2/card to receive and hold your cards indefinitely? What do they then charge to forward them off to you?

Yes, they hold them indefinitely at $2/card or $5/card if shipped to OR. No state tax is charged to OR, whereas their AZ address is 8.8% state tax. So anything outside of eBay (facebook, HI, etc.) it makes sense to ship right to AZ. eBay purchases would be better sent to OR for cards over $35 roughly. They just let you run a negative account, but ask that you kind of keep it up to date or you can add store credit similar to comc. Here is their brief from their website. Lmk if you have other questions.

What are the fees for using ShipMyCards?
Here is a simple breakdown of the fees we charge:
Arizona Address:
$2 per card
$5 per lot
$5 for a box of Cards
$5-$20 per large Item
Oregon Address:
$5 per card
$8 per lot
$10 for a box of Cards
NO Large items without prior approval.
All items from Oregon are forwarded to Arizona everyday.

We also charge $3 per outgoing mail request for our supplies/time.
We do not charge additional for keeping you items here longer or have any time limit of when you must ship home. We also do NOT have any type of membership fee. Our pricing is made to be simple for all collectors and ourselves! $2 per card or $5 per lot, +$3 if forwarding from Tax free address, with the $3 outgoing mail.

 

[Tachyon]

Okay, forgot to add that when I go to the post office I stock up on the Air Mail stickers. I can get away some 98% of the time with just a package, stamps and an Air-Mail sticker on each side. These package seem to go through as people think it was done by a clerk at the front desk. If anyone gives me a hard time by saying something like "this doesn't feel like just paper" and want to charge it as a parcel. I literally say each time "It is cardboard, so it it paper but it cannot be bent since it is a photo so it is covered in one layer of hard plastic."

It works. I have a had a handful of packages come back but I am trying to keep the hobby going and I still charge only $3.75 to USA for 1-10 normal sized cards. I do sandwich it in a type of foam that you would get from many things, like buying a dresser or a TV or many other things where this foam comes between each piece so they do not scratch during shipment. That is how I ship to USA. Not one problem and I have been doing this for about 2 years.

Shipping a $4 card but shipping costs $12 takes away from the Hobby. Sending a $4 card with shipping at $3-4 gives another $8 to the hobby and I believe this is the mentality we all need to have to keep the hobby going or at least make it stronger as a whole.