Chit Chats Blog Archives

Client Success Story: 18 Waits

Posted on April 18, 2019

We love sharing our client success stories and how we help Canadian businesses thrive and grow.

Meet Daniel, the founder of 18 Waits, a menswear brand based out of Toronto. He started by selling wholesale to stores and with the rise of eCommerce he saw his online sales grow. For a long time shipping was a major challenge to his business as so many of his customers were frustrated with why it was so expensive.

When he discovered Chit Chats, it not only helped increase sales but reduce shipping prices for his customers which allowed repeat business. Online sales for 18 Waits is now a big part of their business. Watch his story below to see how Chit Chats helped transform his business to reach customers across the globe.

People don’t like to spend a lot for shipping…is what I’ve learned. As soon as it gets above a certain threshold, that’s a deal breaker. When we discovered Chit Chats, it quite literally changed the game.
18 Waits
Daniel Torjam, CEO/Founder

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Hours of Operation: BC region updates

Posted on April 17, 2019

Starting May 1, 2019 hours of operation will be extended at the following branches.

Vancouver branch

Monday to Friday 9:30 am-7:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed

Richmond branch

Monday to Friday 9:30 am-7:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed

Our Surrey branch hours of operation will remain the same.

Monday to Friday 9:30 am-5:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed

Postage Rates API

Posted on April 17, 2019

As part of our continued commitment to you, we have recently updated our API to now fetch postage rates! We know this has been a request from many of our clients who use our API and we are excited to announce that this is now available.

API refers to an application programming interface which allows our platform to communicate with other programs or systems.

With this recent update, clients using our API can now retrieve postage rates through our API to display on a website. This will allow clients’ buyers to view all of the available postage options at the time of purchase or allow clients to estimate rates prior to purchasing postage.

This improvement does not change the workflow for our current API clients.

To access our API find your API access token in your Settings / Account. API documentation can be found here.

Updates to Printing Postage on Desktop Printers

Posted on April 10, 2019

As part of the improvements we’re always making to our platform, we are changing how our postage labels print on desktop printers to better suit your needs.

If you print your postage on a desktop printer, you may be familiar with seeing postage appear in the centre of the PDF file.

Based on your feedback, we are changing this layout. All postage will now be left-aligned to make it easier to print multiple labels to a sheet and to save paper.

We appreciate your feedback and will continue to make improvements to help make shipping easier for you.

Happy Shipping!

Hours of Operation: Easter 2019

Posted on April 9, 2019

Please note our hours of operation for the upcoming Easter holiday. Don’t forget to plan in advance and advise your customers accordingly.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Regular business hours at all branches & drop spots
Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International shipments received on Thursday, April 18 will be processed Monday, April 22 and may have tracking delays due to the holiday (Good Friday, April 19)
All USPS shipments received Thursday, April 18 will be handed off to USPS on Friday, April 19
All shipments received in the Atlantic region on Wednesday, April 17 will be processed Monday, April 22

Friday, April 19, 2019

All branches & drop spot locations will be closed except for special holiday hours at the following branches:
- Richmond 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
- Mississauga 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
- Markham 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
- All USPS shipments received Friday, April 19 will be handed off to USPS on Saturday, April 20
- All other shipments (UPS MI, Canada Tracked, International Standard, Asendia, UPS/FedEx) will be handed off to carriers on Monday, April 22
There will be no pick ups scheduled
The Vancouver After Hours Drop Box will be checked on Monday, April 22

Saturday, April 20, 2019

All branches & drop spot locations will be closed

Sunday, April 21, 2019 Easter Sunday

All branches & drop spot locations will be closed

Monday, April 22, 2019

Back to regular business hours for all branches and drop spots except in BC the Main Street drop spot will be closed
Regular pick up schedules will resume

We wish you a Happy Easter!

The Chit Chats Team

Shipping to U.S. Territories

Posted on April 4, 2019

We’ve heard your feedback on the transit times and tracking updates for shipments to U.S. territories. In order to offer you the best services and experience possible, we are removing the UPS Mail Innovations (UPS MI) option for shipments to U.S. territories.

UPS MI postage options will no longer be available for the U.S. territories below:

American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands

Please note that USPS postage options will still be available for all shipments addressed to U.S. territories.

Understanding dimensional weight

Posted on April 2, 2019

Postage rates are calculated by the weight of the package and the dimensions. When postage is calculated based on dimensions this refers to dimensional weight. This is a common industry practice with shipping carriers like USPS, FedEx, Canada Post and UPS to name a few. Carriers will calculate postage based on the greater of the two: actual weight or dimensional weight.

What is dimensional weight?

Dimensional weight, also known as volumetric weight, is a standard for which carriers use to calculate postage. It is calculated from the length, width and height of a package. For example if you have a 5 lb package that is packaged in a larger box (i.e. 20″ x 20″ x 20″), this package will take up more space (volume) than if it was in a box with smaller dimensions (i.e. 5″ x 5″ x 5″). Therefore carriers will charge postage based on the dimensional weight versus the actual weight.

It is always important to be accurate with your weight and dimensions to ensure you pay accurate shipping costs.

Avoid underestimating dimensions or weight. Most carriers will always round up weight to the next point. For example, USPS will calculate postage for 1.3 lbs at 2 lbs.
Postage adjustments may be applied for inaccurate weight and dimensions.
Shipments can be returned to sender or delivered to your customer with postage due if postage is inaccurately purchased for your package.

Your packaging matters! Package your item as small as possible to minimize extra packaging that could be factored when calculating shipping costs.

Chit Chats Insurance: eChecks Start April 1

Posted on April 2, 2019

Chit Chats Insurance is provided by U-PIC Insurance Services, a well known shipping insurance provider. Based on feedback received from clients U-PIC has announced eChecks which will make getting your money back for completed claims much faster!

Starting on April 1, 2019, the insurance provider will move from paper claim checks sent through the mail to eChecks. An eCheck is an electronic version of a paper check that allows you to access your money faster, and reduces our collective carbon footprint significantly.

How do eChecks work?

EChecks will be emailed directly and may be printed up and deposited immediately just like any other check. This new process eliminates the wait time between claim approval and getting the money in your hands.

Once a claim has been processed your eCheck will be emailed to the address that you provide when submitting the claims form.

Don’t forget you can easily file a claim for any package with Chit Chats Insurance from directly within your account.

UPS Mail Innovations Update

Posted on April 1, 2019

UPS Mail Innovations is a low cost option for U.S. bound shipments. Learn about the upcoming processing changes for the carrier.

Currently this service is only available in the BC, Ontario and Atlantic regions.

Starting April 22, 2019, the rates for UPS MI will be updated to reflect new induction points for this service. Induction points are where packages are injected into a carrier’s mail stream to be sorted and processed. This update is to help streamline and ensure that packages flow efficiently in the carrier’s processing system and network.

This change will affect some of the rates depending on where you are shipping to. Find updated rate cards on our pricing page.

Feature Release Notes: March 2019

Posted on March 29, 2019

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Find all the latest updates for new releases, improvements and bug fixes for the month of March.

New features & updates

Need to find the closest Chit Chats location? Access our locations page easily from your left hand side bar navigation

Don’t forget to pay for your shipments before dropping off at a Chit Chats branch or drop spot to prevent any delays with us receiving your packages

If any changes are made to update your postage type or customs description they will be visible in your shipment details view
QZ tray certificate updated and all bugs have been resolved

Assign your default size and weight units in your Settings / Shipping / Default Units so the default will be selected, when creating new shipments, shipping presets and during the shipment import edit step