Canada Post has given new meaning to the description of frustration and incorporating the phrase "going postal!" Canada Post is once again restricting the letter-post airmail service that customers have been receiving to date. A package containing ANYTHING other than documents will be required to carry documentation declaring it as either a Small Packet or Light Packet item. (Even a staple or a paperclip will exclude an envelope from Airmail letter service, which means that paper piecings filled with nailheads and other miscellaneous metal embellishments exceed this definition by default!)
We've attached the new schedule of services below and for your convenience, this page has also become a permanent link available from our "ABOUT ME" page on eBay. The most common services have been highlighted in yellow. Unfortunately, the LIGHT PACKET service does NOT include an airmail option. (We hoped that it would be offered AIRMAIL. The delivery window for surface mail has occasionally been PAINFULLY slow and unreliable in the past!) As the majority of our items weigh in under 200g, we expected this new schedule to represent a small savings. However...the authority at Canada Post insists that the lesser rate of 2.55 will apply ONLY to items under 100 grams. This means that the least expensive method for shipping ANY of our packages [up to 500g inclusively] is now 4.25. Additionally... because a 12x12 PREMADE layout usually weighs under 500g but exceeds the specified dimensions for light packet shipping to the US and other participating countries, we can only offer SMALL PACKET (4.65 surface or 5.95 air, which includes insurance up to $100) or PARCEL delivery (rates vary by weight and destination & insurance is optional/extra. We attempt to mitigate this occasional expense [rarely incurred] by sharing the fee in most cases.)
For the moment, we are charging LESS for shipping than we actually pay. We feel that it's unreasonable for Canada Post to charge MORE for a LESSER service and wish that we could do more to protest. The new regulations also require us to apply a hand-written label and customs declaration in addition to one of the numeric O/S G/F labels thumbnailed above. (To add insult to injury, they do not provide these and we're expected to print our own!) The time-consuming nature of the entire process has made this endeavor EXTREMELY unpopular with most postal outlets and equally unpleasant for Canadian sellers. For now however, all of our items will ship BY DEFAULT according to the light packet service regulations. If you wish to specify airmail shipping service the the US instead for 5.95, please indicate to us and we will accommodate individual preference at the recipients' expense. We apologize for the expense and the terms of our limited shipping options.
PLEASE NOTE: Although insurance is NOT included with Canada-Post's new Light Packet shipping service, most of you are already aware that we are personally prepared to warranty everything we put in the mail. If you DO NOT receive a package or it arrives in questionable condition, please contact us. Customer satisfaction and service is important to us and we are always prepared to warranty our creative efforts. In the event that a package is misdirected, lost or damaged, please let us know. We warranty at OUR OWN EXPENSE because pursuing satisfaction from CP (a government-run bureaucratic organization!) involves prohibitively long delays that we feel are unacceptable to download to our customers. There are a number of options which our customers may consider from a discretionary perspective. A resolution is always based on the individual circumstances and we prefer to honor the customers' preference in these matters.
