Why do I feel that I am getting screwed on regular basis by Canada Post, not only as an individual, but also as a taxpayer supporting crown corporations? I am sure I could fill a couple pages with all the comments I have to make over this, and sure, we tend to only remember negative experiences, but really, no positive experience yet comes to mind. Ever.

My latest beef is with expedited shipping. It is the only way to get tracking and confirmation on packages to the US, and costs a couple of limbs in the process. Fine, justify it as you will. BUT, do not then turn around and tell me that I (and probably by extension you) cannot even track said package once it has crossed the border. The same has been true going in the reverse direction.

I mailed something over a week ago, it is supposed to be delivered in four days, but really, it's not like I believe their estimates anyways. But both CP and USPS only have the package listed as being received at the post office. Seriously, WTF?! If my package is sitting there in the post office, get off your asses and send it out. And if it is not, then give me the information I am paying extra for. I am only asking for a bare minimum service here, nothing above and beyond that. I think I am being pretty reasonable.

Vent away, that's what the internet is for.

Canadian Post is probably one of the worst postal services in the world. Having a tracking number means nothing at all because all the CP site will EVER say is the package was entered in the city it started out in. Unlike EMS Japan, where you can take your EMS # and enter it in the USPS site and see real time results, Canadian tracking #'s I think are the same 16 digits used by US tracking numbers and therefore they never register on the USPS site. They also are ridiculously slow. Three weeks minimum usually from Winnipeg to Buffalo which isn't really that far. Oh they'll (Canadian Post) say the hold up is on our end with postal inspection. I seriously doubt that holds it up 3 weeks though.

Come live in Australia, we're taxed $9 just to send parcels o/s if they're over 500g....for no reason. It's criminal.

You can all put a sock in it. USPS is the only good thing about our government lately and they wan't to get rid of it. If Romney gets elected I may be mailing myself to one of you! I especially hear great this about Australia but Canada has always been nice.

MAil yourself to Australia...it's great here. Postage sucks though.

Not a personal complaint, but just read this confidence-instilling story. Guy buys records. Records are not delivered. Box ends up in the unclaimed section of postal warehouse. Despite having addressee name on it, package is not delivered, and instead contents somehow end up for sale. I am glad I don't buy really expensive toys.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/12/03/calgary-missing-record-canada-post.html



I am not saying all employees are bad seeds, some are in fact really great. I have had some good service through the years, it just isn't the majority.

In a related story, just last week in Vancouver, a man tried to hijack a postal delivery truck, and the driver, despite being threatened, hand on to the outside for several blocks before nearly being tazed and broke his arm.

Truly exemplary PR work by Canada Post.

Pretty remarkable how it invariably takes longer for packages I've mailed to Canada to arrive than stuff I've mailed to France, Hong Kong and Australia! I pity the poor pinkos

Waldo Jeffers had reached his limit...

I had the exact same answer from CP when a package was lost. I forwarded the HK seller that email, and he said his post office said it was bs and wouldn't reimburse him. I had to file an eBay complaint (which I won) even though I knew the guy wasn't at fault (it was delivered to the wrong address, someone else signed...). To this day, I don't know if it's really some weird quirk in international postal law or pure bs. It wouldn't make much sense that a package that is now in a foreign country and is being tracked as such is still the responsibility of its original country...

So for two years they've been making us pay an extra $9 to mail packages o/s for no reason and when you ask why they just tell you crazy shit like "It's to encourage people to buy from Australia and keep business in Australia."
"...but we're mailing out you dickheads! It doesn't stop us from buying EVERYTHING from the USA and getting it sent here which is still cheap." We'd say back.
I went to mail something the other day and was told they abolished it because it was nuts.
So yay for that because it was bonkers.

Alright, got a new gripe with Canada Post, not that that is going to come as any surprise. So I took a toy I had sold and packed up (which I will admit is large, but nonetheless) to the local post office. The clerk tells me the cheapest option to get it to Germany is going to be 93$. That's right, ninety-three dollars. Now, half of my family is German, and I have mailed stuff back and forth countless times in the past - it is not cheap by any means. But you cannot tell me it costs that much to send a package via the slowest method possible. Hell, give me a boat I don't care. Just ridiculous. Thanks for nothing. The worst part is not even my annoyance, but that someone can't enjoy an awesome toy now, because of overpriced bureaucracy and bad service.

Incidentally, as a sign of how bad things have gotten here, I recently discovered a regular flight home for me was cancelled as a route by the airline because they didn't have enough freight to fill the plane. Yes, freight. Shows how much they value passengers in our terrible system.

I'm on a first name basis with some of the postal workers at the PO for my area. They are totally helpful to me

Same here in the UK. I needed to post some trainers to Spain - it was a large package box that the Royal Mail sells. If I wanted it tracked it was going to cost £85 for a pair of £65 trainers.

Stupid.

Wow maybe I shouldn't I FART A LOT so much about our postal system.

I ordered something from Mandarake in Japan (value 22,000yen) & they sent me the wrong item! The value Mandarake listed on my shipping label was 1,600 yen. Mandarake tried to claim they sent correct item, but have since admitted they made a mistake (only after I opened a Paypal dispute/claim)... They haven't found my item yet, so I'll hopefully get a refund. I have to send item back to them with tracking number, etc. before they will process refund, but the US Post Office wants $60.35 to ship item back to japan. Why does it cost Japan about $21 to send my package via EMS, yet the PO wants $60 for express mail... Same package, box, weight, etc. yet it's $40 more????

carlisle, well it has a little bit to do with the exchange rate. Yen is worth more than the dollar still (despite recent gains). Our postal system is also hard up for money! Did you email them or write a note in your paypal payment to them about the declared value? It defaults to a low amount unless you notify them you need it declared higher. They do this to save overseas customer import taxes. I only do this when something very expensive is coming to me. Just letting you know for future orders. English is also not their first language so sometimes that is a bit of a barrier when communicating. I was sent the wrong item once and they definitely fixed the error and sent the right one.

I have to agree. Mandarake's customer service is top notch. I have never had any issues to warrant serious complaints about. They are incredibly helpful (and knowledgeable). And to add, I really appreciate the low cost shipping options they offer, it makes a huge difference to me to know I can get a toy that is awesome and use SAL with no problems. I also am buying just cheap stuff, but I hate getting dinged with extra duty (which is a lot in Canada) so going that extra bit is really appreciated if it happened to me - again subject to insurance if there was a problem, which I have not had. You also can't really expect them to offer any more than they did; a full refund pending return of the item, that only makes sense.

My experience with them has been different.... They would not reply to my emails regarding the item , so I contacted Paypal. Their first response to Paypal was I had been shipped correct item. I sent then photos of wrong item and they still balked at helping me. I told them shipping label showed a item with different weight than one I ordered, different shipping charges from what they quoted me and of course, the 22,000 yen item listed as 1,600. I was up all night with this & they finally admitted wrong item sent. They are trying to find correct item, but it looks like that may not work out. So I have to send this item back, at $60 cost to me, plus insurance/tracking and signature required. My Post Office hasn't been very helpful as well...They act like i can't send the package and have someone at mandarake sign for it... Paypal said I will not get a refund if package not signed for.... Sorry for the rant.... But i do have a Postal gripe... I'm looking into sending the package back via EMS... there is a skullbrain topic regarding that And just to note, I have ordered 3-4 things from Mandarake with no problems.. inexpensive items though

Yeah sure, sounds like is it mostly a USPS issue in any case. Just didn't want you to get too turned off such a great resource. I, and I am sure others will tell you, I am not sure what happened in your case, but I would not hesitate it saying it is a rare exception.

Is it that PP is insisting on the signature? Since Mandarake is a store, with lots of employees, I wouldn't really say it is necessary (for your sake). They are honest and will initiate the refund once the item is returned. Also, in terms of value, if they sent you the wrong thing, then maybe the one they sent was worth 1600 yen. Just a thought, but that might explain it.

Well, they have tried to say they posted lower value to help with customs, but they did first claim they checked everything and i was sent correct item... just as good as said I was lying to them. Even after i sent picture of wrong item, they still said we sent you correct item... By the way, the 22,000 yen item i ordered was the Obakedog boogie man (figure only) and I don't even know what the item is they sent me ... it looks like a M1 orange -suited female with a blue helmet and a round "base" to stand on?? I know its not a boogie.. But thanks for the replys and I'm hoping this works out...can't seem to find the thread about using EMS to mail a package from USA to Japan... I guess I'll have to shell out $60+ dollars to send it back somehow...But in PO defense, UPS wanted $178 and Fed ex wanted $98.... So there you go.. UPDATE..(4/4/13).. Just for info / fairness sake... Mandarake paid the $60 return postal fee and refunded the total cost of my item. They are also trying to get the missing Obakedog Boogieman back, so I can re-order it. So it took almost a month, but all's well that ends well.

Here is something that I have always wondered about. When you get sent a large envelope, that clearly has some type of stiff cardstock in it, especially if said item comes in a standard oversized envelope, say 8.5x11, does it not stand to reason that whatever is contained inside this envelope is something that should not be bent? And if it could be, would the sender have not folded the contents themselves, in order to reduce the overall size of the package? Where oh where is the ever-lasting logic that would ever inspire a postal carrier to thick, 'hey, this is large and stiff, I will have to apply extra force and effort to squeeze it unnaturally into a space,' ? What part of this system am I just not getting?

Not happy when anyone can't seem to just think for themselves, literally and figuratively, even just slightly outside of the box.

I feel you bro

Even Japan Post is upset with Post Canada

Ha! That is no surprise. A model of efficiency not comprehending the bumbling inefficiency. This is the best part,

Because we all know how effectively that works.

^^^ I've found EMS tracking from Japan always works . . . from USA, Canada and Europe tracking is hit & miss to the point of total incompetence.

I just got stung £23 customs and Parcelforce handling charge for a Mandarake package.
They don't always mark the value down enough even if you ask them.