We are committed to providing the best shipping options and appreciate your feedback during the Canada Post strike last year.
Effective tomorrow, Thursday, January 31, our Canada Tracked service will be upgraded to a new and improved Canadian Tracked service partnering with Canpar.
What does this mean for you?
There will be no changes to how you create Canadian shipment labels or how you drop off. The service level will stay the same:
Same great rates
Transit times are the same
Tracking will still be visible within your account and will link to the carrier’s tracking page
Carrier insurance $100 liability included – excludes coverage during Chit Chats’ care. Add Chit Chats Insurance for complete coverage.
No changes to how dimensional weight is calculated
If for any reason Canpar cannot safely deliver to your customer they will redirect the package to a SMARTSpot. These are convenient and trusted partners that allow packages to be held for pick up. These pick up locations are chosen to be the most convenient option and packages will be held for up to 5 business days.
Chit Chats Canada Tracked Service is currently only available to clients in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions. We will roll out a Canadian domestic service soon for Alberta clients.
This is the first step in our longer term vision of reducing Canadian domestic shipping rates. Stay tuned as will be releasing improved local rates for Canadian shipping within the coming weeks!
We heard you loud and clear! Thank you for participating in our survey asking if we should stay with Canada Post or leave for the holidays. The response to switch, due to Canada Post’s ongoing backlog and delivery delays, was overwhelming. So, we are thrilled to announce that we will switch to an alternative Canadian partnership for the rest of the fourth quarter in an effort to improve transit times at this critical time of year.
Chit Chats Domestic Tracked Service will replace our existing Chit Chats Canada Tracked Service for clients only in the following regions:
Ontario ($7.80 + $2.10/kg)
Quebec ($7.80 + $2.50/kg)
Atlantic Canada ($7.80 + $2.50/kg)
If you ship from the Ontario, Quebec or Atlantic region this service will be available in your postage options. This option will not be available to our BC and Alberta region clients. This new service will launch Thursday, December 6 for the remainder of the month.
Important things to know:
Same great rates
2-8 business days delivery*
Tracking is included
This new service uses a combination of established national courier partners (i.e. Apple Express, Canpar, FedEx). We’ve been testing this service for the past few weeks with fantastic results. If you already have some Canada Tracked Service shipments, you can still drop them off or simply re-do the postage label if you want to take advantage of this new service.
*Estimated delivery days for Ontario region clients. 3-9 business days delivery for Quebec region clients and 3-10 business days delivery for Atlantic region clients.
Note that for remote rural addresses, apartments and PO Boxes the delivery may still be handled by Canada Post.
Feel free to ask any questions to our support team along with any feedback.
Chit Chats’ mission is to help Canadian entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and make shipping a little less painful. Being in Canada, we know how expensive shipping can be. We wanted to provide a Canadian shipping alternative that gives Canadian businesses another choice while helping them remain viable and competitive in the e-commerce world.
As Canada Post recently took action with rotating strikes, many online sellers have been looking for alternatives. Both eBay and Etsy provided some updates and showed us some love. We are thrilled to be considered a seller favourite! We know word of mouth is how so many of you found us today and our referral program is a great way to share Chit Chats with your friends. Plus, you’ll get to earn some extra money while sharing the love.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has decided to give Canada Post strike notices, which mean they could commence strike action as early as midnight on Monday, October 22, 2018.
According to Canada Post’s press release Canada Post will remain open for business, continuing to operate if the union decides to conduct rotating strikes across the country next week.
“Canada Post will remain open for business, continuing to operate if the union decides to conduct rotating strikes across the country next week. We will notify customers of any disruptions planned by the union as soon as we are aware, however customers may experience some minor delays.”
Chit Chats will continue to monitor this closely as any disruptions planned by the union may impact our Chit Chats Canada Service as there would be delays with shipments using this service.
The possibility of a work stoppage has hovered over Canada Post since September 26 after postal workers voted overwhelmingly in late summer in support of a potential walkout to back their contract demands.
Chit Chats has been an alternative to Canada Post during the labour disputes. Many Canadians have started shipping with Chit Chats as the threat of service being disrupted by the possible looming strike continues. Chit Chats has been recently featured in both Canadian Business and Chatelaine publications.
Canadian Business writes, “Canada Post doubts have spelled opportunity for its competitors. Canada Post has lost 75% of its parcel delivery business as labour disputes drag on.” Read the full article here.
A Canada Post strike or lockout would disrupt hundreds of thousands of small businesses, but there are other ways to communicate. Chit Chats offer alternatives to Canada Post as the potential strike or lockout would disrupt hundreds of thousands of small businesses. Read the full article here.
In July 2016 , Chit Chats was also featured on Chatelaine.com as a shipping alternative to Canada Post during the postal disruption. Even with the Canada Post disruption long over, Canadian online merchants are still joining the Chit Chats revolution in search of lower shipping fees and speeding up delivery of their Canadian products to domestic and international customers. Save up to 70% on shipping to the U.S. with Chit Chats which includes tracking and faster delivery at a fraction of the cost compared to Canada Post. Chit Chats helps Canadian e-commerce businesses compete on a level playing field in the global economy.
A potential Canada Post strike or lockout has left businesses scrambling for alternatives to their delivery and shipping needs. They’re turning to international carriers like FedEx and UPS, as well as to local businesses like Chit Chats, which specializes in shipping from Canada to the United States. “The influx of phone and email inquiries is up about 800 percent,” says President, Carly Wood, barely audible over the ringing phones in the family-run Markham, Ontario office. “It’s off the hook.”
Looking for an alternative to Canada Post during the possible strike? Chit Chats is your shipping solution. In the face of the looming Canada Post strike, Canadian businesses can rely on Chit Chats to provide a cost effective shipping option that offers value added services like tracking, insurance and faster delivery to the U.S. and worldwide.
Offering access to USPS postage and other carriers, businesses can use Chit Chats to alleviate concerns of how the strike will impact their shipping. A Canada Post strike would cripple many businesses as they rely on the mail service not only to ship their products but many businesses also rely on Canada Post to get paid or pay suppliers.
By choosing Chit Chats, businesses can take advantage of cheaper shipping options when compared to Canada Post can save businesses up to 70% on postage costs. Not only can you save up to 70% on postage, you can easily get estimates and create postage labels from the comfort of your home.
Chit Chats does utilize Canada Post for shipments destined within Canada and the team is working on offering a solution should Canada Post go on strike. Please be aware that if Canada Post does strike, there may be delays with any Canadian bound shipments that are in transit during the time of strike.
Updates on alternatives will be provided as soon as details are confirmed as we have received many inquiries from businesses who are worried about how this will impact them.
Understanding businesses and being able to help Canadians is part of Chit Chats mission. From humble beginnings, Chit Chats started out of a green station wagon and Derek Nolan’s efforts to reduce shipping his books from Canada to the U.S. He realized he could drive across the border to the U.S. himself and thereby take advantage of the United States Postal Service to ship his books to his customers at a fraction of the price of Canada Post. Before he knew it other book sellers started paying him to take their books and Chit Chats was born. Having seen how difficult it was to compete in the ecommerce world, Derek Nolan saw the biggest pain point for many businesses were shipping costs.
Chit Chats offers an option beyond Canada Post where it not only levels the playing field, businesses can start growing by opening up their market place beyond Canada where they once thought they could not compete.
Canada Post has quietly ended low cost eCommerce shipping options. As of January 15, 2018, Canada Post discontinued their Light Packet USA services and at the same time, will phase out the use of stamps on the Small Packet USA packages. This will definitely impact many Canadian eCommerce businesses who ship regularly to the US.
Canada Post Service Changes
Every year, carriers increase their rates — this year Canada Post not only announced its annual rate increase which took into effect January 15, 2018 but also made some ‘small’ changes. It’s important to point out that these ‘small’ changes in fact will have a ‘big’ impact for many businesses.
1. Canada Post changed its dimensional weight factor from 6,000 to 5,000.
A parcel that would have been considered at a dimensional rate of 4.5 kgs is now considered at a dimensional rate of 5.4 kgs which will not only include the annual increase but the higher dimensional rate factor.
Tip: Package your item as compact as you can to minimize dimensional weight charges.
2. Canada Post discontinued Light Packet USA service.
Canadian online businesses relied heavily on the use of Light Packet USA as it was a low cost shipping option which helped compete with American competitors. Chit Chats offers USPS postage to clients so that they can compete and unlike Canada Post, USPS offers low cost tracked shipping options.
3. Canada Post will phase out the use of stamps on Small Packet USA.
Online sellers like eBay, ship small packages to the US by purchasing stamps in bulk online at a big discount. Canada Post will phase out the ability to use stamps on Small Packet USA packages. This will mean that Canadian sellers will 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.
Looking for an alternative to Canada Post during the possible strike? Chit Chats is your shipping solution. In the face of the looming Canada Post strike, Canadian businesses can rely on Chit Chats to provide a cost effective shipping option that offers value added services like tracking, insurance and faster delivery to the U.S. and worldwide.
Offering access to USPS postage and other carriers, businesses can use Chit Chats to alleviate concerns of how the strike will impact their shipping. A Canada Post strike would cripple many businesses as they rely on the mail service not only to ship their products but many businesses also rely on Canada Post to get paid or pay suppliers.
By choosing Chit Chats, businesses can take advantage of cheaper shipping options when compared to Canada Post can save businesses up to 70% on postage costs. Not only can you save up to 70% on postage, you can easily get estimates and create postage labels from the comfort of your home.
Chit Chats does utilize Canada Post for shipments destined within Canada and the team is working on offering a solution should Canada Post go on strike. Updates on alternatives will be provided as soon as details are confirmed as we have received many inquiries from businesses who are worried about how this will impact them.
Understanding businesses and being able to help Canadians is part of Chit Chats mission. From humble beginnings, Chit Chats started out of a green station wagon and Derek Nolan’s efforts to reduce shipping his books from Canada to the U.S. He realized he could drive across the border to the U.S. himself and thereby take advantage of the United States Postal Service to ship his books to his customers at a fraction of the price of Canada Post. Before he knew it other book sellers started paying him to take their books and Chit Chats was born. Having seen how difficult it was to compete in the ecommerce world, Derek Nolan saw the biggest pain point for many businesses were shipping costs.
Chit Chats offers an option beyond Canada Post where it not only levels the playing field, businesses can start growing by opening up their market place beyond Canada where they once thought they could not compete.
We have been closely monitoring the ups and downs of the potential labour dispute between Canada Post and its major union (CUPW). It has been reported that CUPW has not issued a notice of strike at any point during the negotiations which is a very positive sign. We can also confirm that Canada Post withdrew its threat of a lock-out at 12:01 am EST, Monday July, 11. Both parties are back at the bargaining table, with the assistance of the Minister of Labour for Canada, and it has been publicly reported that “Progress is being made.”
Taking all of this into account, we believe that the threat of a potential labour disruption is quite low. Because of this, as well as listening to feedback from our clients, we will resume using Canada Post for our Canadian shipping. Effective Wednesday, July 13th, 2016, Chit Chats will be accepting packages via Canada Post and regular services and rates will apply. As of tomorrow, there will be no need to complete the online ‘ship Canada’ form. Please visit our website for more details on Canadian shipping.
Rest assured that we will continue to assess the situation with Canada Post and CUPW.
‘A family run Canadian company comes to the rescue of online retailers that could be left in the lurch in the event of a Canada Post strike/lockout’
While Canada Post has been hoping to avoid the potential July 2nd lock out/strike, it isn’t looking good. An enterprising family-run Canadian business has been taking a hands onapproach to helping Canadian e-tailers sidestep Canada Post and provide lower-cost shipping to the U.S. For the past 15 years, Chit Chats has been quietly driving Canadian customers’ parcels across the border 6 days a week. Their destination? The United States Postal Service.
With online sales reaching new highs, a Canada Post strike/lockout will have a major impact on Canadian e-tailers as they cannot afford to suspend shipping. While companies like FedEx and Purolator may come to mind as options, they typically also come with a hefty price tag, which would leave many small businesses in the red. Canadian businesses are now on a quest to find a reliable, economical alternative to Canada Post.
President of Chit Chats, Carly Wood talks about how their company has evolved from one rickety green Suzuki station wagon, to a full service shipping company with 6 locations, Canada-wide. “We ran a bookstore back then (2001) and we just could not afford the cross-border postage costs, so out of necessity my Dad started driving to the U.S. to drop off mail,” Wood says. Word soon spread and the family’s station wagon was overflowing with parcels from a range of local businesses. “We quickly evolved; got a fleet of cube vans to expedite deliveries and began focusing solely on helping Canadian e-tailers and small businesses save money, hassle and time on U.S. deliveries,” says Wood. “The success of Chit Chats is a testament to her late Father, Derek Nolan’s enthusiasm for helping e-commerce businesses succeed and his straightforward and cheerful spirit,” she says.
As a result, Chit Chats has helped Canadian e-tailers circumvent bureaucracy and benefit from shorter cross-border delivery times and tax & duty-free shipping. Most compelling of all, customers like eBay based Retro Heads and electronics retailer Alectron save an average of 70% on shipping, compared to traditional Canada Post business rates. “It is hard for Canadian retailers to compete against US-based e-stores who benefit from lower U.S. Postal Service costs and faster shipping times,” explains Wood. “Chit Chats helps level the playing field so Canadian e-tailers can fight the status quo and ship to the U.S. more easily and at a much lower cost. We’ve become a one-stop cross-border shipping shop because of our commitment to cutting the bureaucracy, hassle and costs that make it hard for Canadian e-tailers to succeed in the U.S.,” she says.
It is clear, another strike or lockout by Canada Post will have a negative impact on Canadian businesses. Fortunately, there are alternatives out there and perhaps a silver lining. As Canadian online retailers investigate ways to avoid delivery delays in the event of a strike, what they might end up discovering is a reliable, cost-effective alternative to Canada Post that is in it for the long haul.
ABOUT CHIT CHATS
Chit Chats is a 100% Canadian owned & operated company, with locations in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region. Since 2001, Chit Chats has been helping Canadian businesses and e-tailers reduce their shipping costs and improve service to the U.S. and abroad. Chit Chats drivers make delivery runs across the border six days a week saving Canadian businesses an average of 70% on shipping costs, compared to Canada Post business rates. Learn more about Chit Chats today and how you can save big on shipping to the U.S. and wordlwide.
