a UPS Canada rant

[FramFramson]

Yet another voice to confirm that UPS is the worst possible way anyone can send anything to Canada. There is virtually no mini order which will make that method of shipping worthwhile. Regular old national postal services are by far the BEST way to send anything here from abroad.

IN FACT, some of you might get a laugh to hear that BOTH my wife and I were very recent recipients of a letter notifying us that we were members of a class-action suit against UPS due to their grossly overcharging Canadian recipients for unnecessary brokerage fees for over a decade. Apparently they're going to start sending out settlement cheques in October! I doubt it'll be more than $20-$50, but still!

Look it up! You might be due for a cheque too!

[Doug ex-em4]

Well UPS to Canada sounds dreadful but I have to say I’m amazed how long Airmail parcels take to reach the customer in Canada. I use Airmail for all overseas orders and Canadian orders regularly take 1+ to reach their destination. Even at the height of Homeland Security mania in the US it was never this bad. Whereas it’s the norm in Canada - why?

Doug

[FramFramson]

Well UPS to Canada sounds dreadful but I have to say I’m amazed how long Airmail parcels take to reach the customer in Canada. I use Airmail for all overseas orders and Canadian orders regularly take 1+ to reach their destination. Even at the height of Homeland Security mania in the US it was never this bad. Whereas it’s the norm in Canada - why?

Doug

'Cos we're a bloody great big place! 

[Calimero]

'Cos we're a bloody great big place! 

Seriously, I think the time it take for parcels to travel from A to B is about the same as is always was... it’s just that parcels from abroad spend A LOT more time being “cleared” at the custom facilities...

[grant]

I've found posting anything via any means to Canada an absolute nightmare, nine weeks for airmail? Do one... 

That would be rare.
Airmail from the EU - anywhere - is usually 1-3 weeks. From the US typically 2 weeks.

What you’re talking about is a lost parcel. Those happen everywhere. Canada Post is quite efficient.

[FramFramson]

Yeah, generally I find sending via regular mail ether to OR from the US rarely spends more than two weeks in transit.

[Andrew Rae]

I only send to Canada by tracked mail. Most regular mail will arrive in good time, but a higher percentage of mail than to any other country - by a massive margin - takes longer than 30 days to arrive. My record, that I know of, is over 70 days. Tracked mail is fine, but not Tracked and Signed which can be delayed as much and isn’t tracked within Canada.

I can’t take the risk on untracked to Canada, it just got too expensive. I don’t like it, I no doubt lose custom, but I have to.

My experience is not unique.

[grant]

I order a fair amount from overseas; a very small percentage of parcels get waylaid.

Lucid Eye was one recently - it was 45 days, no joy. He resent, and I got the 2nd round within 2 weeks. A couple of days later, the ORIGINAL parcel arrived! I sent him PayPal for a full order, but he never acknowledged it. I feel like it was the right thing.

I’ve lost one Perry, but I order more from them.

GHQ - 100% success. Always tracked out of the states and always fast. Not the cheapest, but I order in enough volume that it’s ok, or I order when there is a sale to offset postage.

[Andrew Rae]

In my experience, international mail around the world is remarkably reliable. Only a fraction of a percent of orders go missing, either permanently or arriving late. It just happens that Canada has by far the worst record in this regard, of counties where I send to in large volume and have had orders go missing.

[grant]

In my experience, international mail around the world is remarkably reliable. Only a fraction of a percent of orders go missing, either permanently or arriving late. It just happens that Canada has by far the worst record in this regard, of counties where I send to in large volume and have had orders go missing.

Nah, Italy.

[FramFramson]

Nah, Italy.

Yeah this. 

Anyway, I've run into one or two others who've had weirdly bad experiences with Canada post, but in twenty years of buying hundreds of things online, I think I've only had 2-3 go missing.

[Codsticker]

If you are buying from Warlord's US website, postage is free for orders over $50, even to Canada If you know what the floor is for them switching to UPS you might be better off making three orders at $75 each instead of one at $225. Regular post they rarely take more than a couple of weeks.

[mellis1644]

In fairness Fedex lost my tax return in the UK one year - and it was tracked.  It never was found or any reason given and the Tax man was not very understanding. Luckily, it I had copies but it was a lot of added hassle...

Also had stuff actually stolen out of checked bags in an plane hold when traveling back from South Africa! They broke the lock, opened the bags and took stuff out before the bags got on the plane. That one did annoy and surprise me..

So these things can and do happen anywhere.

I have not lost packages in Canada post or UPS (so far touch wood) but have been hit by the UPS import clearing charge scheme, which is a bit of a con, compared to other importers.

[Andrew Rae]

Nah, Italy.

  whatever, guys. My numbers are a fraction of a percent go missing/are delayed worldwide, while to Canada it’s just below 4% for all the time I’ve been trading, so based on thousands of orders. But most of the missing/delayed Canadian orders happened in a short space of time last year, before I switched to tracked only. It wasn’t always bad. I’ve been told various things (by Canadians!) about why but won’t go into that.

Tracked is fine as I said.

Edit: If it's any consolation, I've been checking some of the recent Tracked items and delivery times are excellent. Some were delivered in 3 days, from the depths of Scotland to the depths of Canada!

[Calimero]

I also order a lot of stuff from UK and the US. Sometime it’s for a painting commission sometime it’s for my own collection. It only happened twice that I didn’t received the stuff that I bought. One was in the early 90s when I ordered some 15mm Old Glory ACW figures (from a store in Florida named [something]mart…) and another time, a few years back, when I bought second hand Front Rank Napoleonic Austrians from the UK. I was refunded by the Front Rank figures seller but, the poor man did lost money in the transaction and I never got the figures which was something I was really looking forward to as I really like these figures.