Delivery Rates per Region (rural vs metro)
We are having a severe issue with our shipping rates for different regions of Canada that is causing us to have to cancel orders to most rural areas and maritime provinces. (Obviously giving us a hit on our metrics) The delivery charges range drastically from a rural area to a metro area in many regions.
We are creating a new shipping template and notice you can now divide and create different shipping rules per regions (rural vs metro) which is great and we have broken up the regions that have drastically higher delivery charges and are attempting to enter shipping rates that reflect each individual region.
HOWEVER once we have it set up and the corresponding rates, we get the message:
‘There are some regions, for which you have not set same charge. And 10 of them are required to be same charge.’
So even though the option to divide up these regions is there, you still have to enter the same delivery rates which makes very little sense and defeats any purpose of allowing us to create different rules per region.
We have attempted to contact Amazon Seller Support with a callback but the only response we get is a link to how to make shipping templates, no call and the support ticket is closed.
Delivery Rates per Region (rural vs metro)
We are having a severe issue with our shipping rates for different regions of Canada that is causing us to have to cancel orders to most rural areas and maritime provinces. (Obviously giving us a hit on our metrics) The delivery charges range drastically from a rural area to a metro area in many regions.
We are creating a new shipping template and notice you can now divide and create different shipping rules per regions (rural vs metro) which is great and we have broken up the regions that have drastically higher delivery charges and are attempting to enter shipping rates that reflect each individual region.
HOWEVER once we have it set up and the corresponding rates, we get the message:
‘There are some regions, for which you have not set same charge. And 10 of them are required to be same charge.’
So even though the option to divide up these regions is there, you still have to enter the same delivery rates which makes very little sense and defeats any purpose of allowing us to create different rules per region.
We have attempted to contact Amazon Seller Support with a callback but the only response we get is a link to how to make shipping templates, no call and the support ticket is closed.
Seller_yOQSz1WCydSKg
My canada post rate from Richmond BC to nelson house MB, is $28+ GST for a 0.9kg (2lb) 8x6x6 box
Nelson house is considered a remote northern native reserve, and that is why the couriers charge so much, they don’t service the area.
This would have been a great use of a Canada post flat rate box! $18.49/$23.49/$29.99 flat rates!
18 replies
Seller_Lzx0JkMrFsWyV
You need to take an average of the cost of shipping for your shipments and then charge accordingly for all 10 regions.
You will surely lose some money on most and you may occasionally make a bit more that it actually costs you to mail the parcel depending how much you decide to charge.
It’s a balancing act because you don’t want to charge too much shipping since you have to compete with other sellers who offer free shipping and you want to recuperate some of the charges. You also have the option of raising your prices a bit to absorb the cost of shipping.
Seller_k4zpr6KpUnVmG
Thank you Curly, we do have small portion of delivery costs wrapped in product price and have tried to average to the best we can but like to keep delivery costs no higher than $15.
Here is the estimated delivery costs on the latest order we were forced to cancel to Nelson House, Manitoba with Vancouver BC as a comparison. (We ship from just outside Vancouver)
2 lb package to Vancouver BC: $17.32 via UPS ($13.82 via Puro)
2 lb package to Nelson House Manitoba: $130.46 via UPS ($87.94 via Puro)
(Canada Post is generally in between the two carriers)
We charged $15 for delivery. It is a $25 item.
That would have been close to an $50-$100 loss. No averaging can make up these losses. We have no choice but cancel these orders if not given the ability to accurately charge for delivery rates. This is not a one off, we have similar orders we have cancelled recently to PEI, Saskatchewan and Rural Quebec.
Just frustrated.
About to have our account suspended due to these cancellations and cannot find a solution.
Seller_yOQSz1WCydSKg
My canada post rate from Richmond BC to nelson house MB, is $28+ GST for a 0.9kg (2lb) 8x6x6 box
Nelson house is considered a remote northern native reserve, and that is why the couriers charge so much, they don’t service the area.
This would have been a great use of a Canada post flat rate box! $18.49/$23.49/$29.99 flat rates!
Seller_k4zpr6KpUnVmG
Your not wrong, I checked out Canada Post rate and it is similar though we had the delivery dates a little tight on this particular order so the basic service would not have worked for us but pre-paid Canada Post boxes would have been the answer on this one to minimize the loss.
I suppose a part of our problem with Canada Post is that Amazon is a small part of our business, we have been selling online since 1999 through our own e-commerce platform and other marketplaces. We also supply the Canadian and US armed forces, search and rescue and other various law enforcement and emergency services (outside of our more novelty lines and products) We process several hundred orders a day, a heavy majority going into the US and have scheduled daily Purolator and UPS pickups. Puro pickups at mid-day for Canadian and fill a UPS truck at the end of the day with the majority being US based orders. As Canada Post won’t do pickups here, using post would require someone hiking out of the warehouse to a Canada Post location for drop off.
It just sure would be nice to be able to control the individual region rates to manage accurate rates, especially since it appears to be set up for it. Hoping something that is implemented in the future.
Thanks for the response and suggestion!
Seller_LTv2zrpA8Qcn1
Agreed. Meanwhile just note that even though we’re still obligated to deliver within parameters for your Expedited settings (5 days max) you can set any price you like there.
What I’ve been doing for many years now is – lengthen the delivery times for remote areas. Likewise, I’ve set my prices for Expedited Shipping (to remote areas) very high…so I can send them by Xpresspost, if needed. Works for me. Good luck.
Seller_AKFEePkCPtw6T
Do enough dollar volume through parcel shipments and they will. There is a certain dollar threshold to cross and then they will do daily pick ups for you without additional charge.
Seller_k4zpr6KpUnVmG
Had a general meeting between sales and the warehouse this morning and showed them your post. After a following management meeting (one I am not involved in), I saw the warehouse manager duck out mid-day and return shortly with a stack of pre-paid Canada Post boxes.
Thanks!
Seller_x6gIff7YBQWAa
AGREED!
Also, add a middle tier. Canada Post calls them Urban, Non-Urban, and Remote.
Non urban would cover all the mid-sized cities you don’t see in the listing template that are presently classified as ‘remote’ such as Kelowna, Trois-Rivieres, Saguenay/Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Sudbury, etc…
Also, are Langley and Abbottsford considered part of Metro-Vancouver? What exactly do they mean by “Southern Ontario Urban?” Where does Greater Toronto end?
Price discrimination by location would be nice too. I’m in Toronto, so relatively central, but having to pay the same shipping costs (unless your buyer pays for Expedited) right across the country seems insane, considering the price differences. This is more relevant than ever now that Amazon.ca is forcing out standard lettermail (same cost everywhere) and forcing us to pay for tracking.
