Thread: Canadian Fastlaners: How did you possibly afford free shipping?!

I'm in the US so really can't answer your question (sorry) but have 2 suggestions if you don't hear from Canadian fastlaner:
1) I would order from the competition to see how they ship/who they use
2) Find suppliers who may be able to ship directly to customers for you (if possible) or who can sell at at price to make Canada Post an option.

hope it all works out for you.....

Originally Posted by ALSL

Hello!

This question is directed to Canadian fastlaners as I'll be starting my business in Canada.

I've checked the Canada Post rates and they are RIDICULOUS.

For a parcel with dimensions 3"(L) 1.5" (W) 1"(H), weighing 80g, it's a whopping ~$9 local and ~$14 to the opposite coast!

I'm going to be starting an online loose leaf tea store with a Monthly Surprise Tea Subscription as the primary product (each month's varieties will be added to an ever growing store that will eventually be capped for inventory purposes).

The margins on the tea itself can be CRAZY, but the SHIPPING will basically wipe that all out!

So the question is: am I missing something here? Are businesses using an alternative to Canada Post to ship to their customers?

I don't see how it's possible to offer free shipping because if I built that into the price people would most likely be scared away!

The average subscription service for tea costs from $17-$25 (free shipping) for most (if not all) our competitors. We know there is a need because we already know of 3 competitors that are doing reasonably well for themselves (without being Power Players that have monopolized the market).

Unless they have some sort of shipping secret, that literally means they aren't making any money! With tea profit margins being so high, it'd be a shame if all of it was dumped down the drain for shipping -_-

If they are doing bulk orders, might be just getting discounts from the shipping provider.
Look more into your competitors. Ask them as a potential buyer who they use for shipping. Purchase their goods and see what they do great and where they fall.

Well, I think you are seeing why there are so few good Canadian ecommerce sites.

Anyways, Canada Post has its Venture One program, make sure you look into that, it will save you a decent amount and lots of automated tools and free tracking and insurance.

I'm not sure if your competitors are in Canada or the US, but I am involved with an ecommerce venture and we offer free shipping but we have decent margins and a $60 product, but even then, it bites!

Nobody said the fastlane was going to be easy