Small Changes To Canada Post Means Big Changes For Canadian Ecommerce

Canada Post discontinues low cost ecommerce shipping option

Vancouver, BC – January 23, 2018 – Canada Post has quietly ended low cost ecommerce shipping services for Canadian businesses. As of January 15th 2018, Canada Post discontinued Light Packet USA services and at the same time, will phase out the use of stamps on Small Packet USA packages. This will have a profound impact on Canadian ecommerce businesses who ship regularly to the US.

Statement from Canada Post:

“Light Packet Services will be discontinued in favour of our value-added Small Packet service which offers a number of benefits including: fewer size restrictions, ability to print labels online, improved delivery times, and a new 0 to 100 g weight category.” Source

What these Changes Mean for Canadian Online Businesses

Though these changes seem small, they will affect Canadian online businesses as many rely heavily on the use of Canada Post Light Packet services to compete with their American competitors that use services like USPS First Class. Unlike Canada Post, USPS offers low cost tracked shipping and more options for how mail gets delivered.

At the same time, Canada Post will also be phasing out the use of stamps on Small Packet USA packages. Many online sellers, like eBay ship small packages to the US by purchasing stamps in bulk online at a big discount so they can be competitive. However, with this change from Canada Post many Canadian sellers will now have to raise their shipping costs which will make it difficult to remain competitive.

By offering USPS rates to Canadian businesses, Chit Chats provides a solution and an alternative to Canada Post and their recent changes. Chit Chats “helps level the playing field so Canadian e-tailers can fight the status quo and ship to the US easily and at a much lower cost” says Carly Wood, President.

As a comparison, Small Packet USA for 100 grams ships for $7.18 CAD with no tracking or insurance with 7-10 business days for delivery while Chit Chats offers tracking, insurance and a 2-4 business days delivery for approximately $4.10 CAD. With Chit Chats, Canadian ecommerce businesses can grow their businesses by substantially reducing their shipping costs by as much as 70% while offering similar services like their US competitors.