In the last two years, Canada Post has increased their prices on parcel shipping to the point where I’m done. They’re so convenient and easy to get to, but at a massive cost.
If you’re a small business that ships something inside Canada or to the US every week, you HAVE to know the alternatives or you’re overspending literally thousands of dollars. Even if you’re just sending four or five parcels a year for presents, the alternates will save you at least a hundred bucks a year as well.
For individuals: Yesterday I discovered netparcel.com. The company gets bulk rates from courier companies that are insanely low. Last week I shipped a parcel to Calgary with Canada Post (0.72 kg) for $16.90. Netparcel would have been $8.67 – close to half the price for a tiny and light parcel! Their home page has a quick quote where you can get a courier rate inside of 10 seconds.
For small businesses: You HAVE to get away from Canada Post because those few thousand bucks of shipping costs you’ll save are pure profit. I sent 10 of my books to a great store on Harvey (in Kelowna) called Dare To Dream. Canada Post for the 2.6 pounds was $22 versus $10 almost anywhere else.
I also sell 8 of my books on Amazon in the US. That means that I have to ship inventory to Amazon quite frequently. The last parcel was 7.8 pounds and Canada Post to the US would have been $37. I paid $15, or 250% less through any company that does cross border shipping. These companies put US postage on your parcel. They then courier it across the border (to Sweetgrass Montana from here in Edmonton) and mail it at a US post office. No tax, no duty, no customs, no charge to get it across the border. So you’re sending it here in Canada as if you were across the border using the USPS. These companies give you a US address so you can also get incoming shipments from the US.
If you’re in the Okanagan, it appears that these companies aren’t there yet. If you find one, please let me know so I can share. The website for DYK is at: https://www2.dykpost.com/# and Net Parcel is at: https://netparcel.com/home.action
And finally, the blog from someone who has listed the different companies (in Canada) you may want to check: https://www.cindylouwho2.com/blog/2018/10/18/canada-post-alternatives-other-shipping-companies-in-canada