FedEx Ground To Canada Cheaper Than USPS?

[Planet13]

Hi there, everyone:

Is FedEx Ground to Canada cheaper than US Priority Mail to Canada from the US?

Our shipments are generally in the 6 to 8 lb range, and possibly the USPS considers them to be over-sized, since the longest dimension is over 12 inches (and I believe that is the cutoff for regular size versus over-size packages).

Does anyone ship FedEx ground to Canada and have any comments about it? I always thought that USPS would be cheaper.

Thanks in advance.

[jwolthuis]

There's no such thing as "over-sized" for USPS International. Either it's accepted by the receiving country, or it's not. For Priority to Canada, the maximum length is 79 in, and the maximum length + girth is 108 in.

The postage is solely based on weight, not dimension.

[Swanny007]

I'm in Canada and I can tell you there have been a few times where I have shipped FedEx ground to the US cheaper than the post office... and it's faster and has tracking. Don't fear FedEx when shipping to Canada, but avoid UPS whatever you do...

[votrechien]

I'm in Canada and I can tell you there have been a few times where I have shipped FedEx ground to the US cheaper than the post office... and it's faster and has tracking. Don't fear FedEx when shipping to Canada, but avoid UPS whatever you do...

Doesn't FedEx have brokerage fees as well now?

[jwolthuis]

Doesn't FedEx have brokerage fees as well now?

The OP was asking about shipments *to* Canada, via US Postal Service.

The response you quoted was concerning shipments *from* Canada, and compared FedEx with Canada Post, not USPS.

To answer your question, all shippers have fees, to cover their cost of opening-and-resealing the shipment for Customs inspection.

For shipments via USPS *to* Canada, Canada Post collects a fee of $5 from the recipient ($8 for Express), plus GST/HST. This fee is generally much lower than the fees charged by FedEx or UPS.

[Swanny007]

jwolthuis, in my experience Canada Post only collects the $5 fee on certain packages. I've received plenty of packages in the mail with nothing due at delivery. I wish I knew for sure, but as far as I can tell that fee is based on the size and declared value of the package. So small inexpensive packages will be received up here with no extra charge through Canada Post.

As for FedEx, yes they charge a fee when receiving up here, but it's something like $10 plus tax in my experience, which is a drop in the bucket compared to what UPS charges.

Based on the OPs box weight and size, I believe Canada Post and FedEx (and UPS) would all charge brokerage plus tax. UPS would be crazy expensive, Canada Post (USPS) would be the cheapest on the receiving end.

OP, if you were shipping that package to me up here, I would say ship it by USPS for overall lowest cost (but slower). Or send it FedEx if tracking is needed or the package needed to get here quicker.

[jwolthuis]

So small inexpensive packages will be received up here with no extra charge through Canada Post.

Thanks for the additional info. I also wanted to mention that there's no tracking on First-Class International, once it leaves the US. So beware, you'll have no proof of delivery as a shipper, and will lose all chargebacks.

You can obtain tracking information by sending the package via Registered Mail. It's pricey (around $11), but might be worth it if you're shipping something light and expensive.