- Canada post and our annoying customs agency
- which countries should I avoid
- should I send first
- I should probably ask the recipient what type of mail service he/she likes??
- anything else important I should be aware of
Thanks,
Tiger
University is time consuming, cherish your free time!
I am sure a lot of people will join this post, so is my top 3 advice:
1) Communicate politely and build trust! - nothing is more annoying than getting a message from a "beginner", like "Hi, wanna swap?". Introduce yourself, tell why and what you wish to have and personalize your messages. (reading some of your posts this shall be not a problem)
2) Choose an experienced swapper! to start with (e.g. 100% rating with more than 40 or so swaps) they would be happy to guide you through some of the technicalities of the process.
3) Yes, offer to send first till your first 5-6 swaps, however, if you follow advice 1-2 carefully, they will not insist, but still it is trust-building if you offer...
Maybe, look for partners within Canada first to gain some experience...
With regards to Canada post if they ask to put a customs form just right tokens or hobby supplies. The Canadian Customs and Border Agency don't do anything unless the declared value is over a certain amount. I don't know what the amount is but if I were to guess it would be $50. A big tip to you as we are both in Canada. Postage is expensive, unless you have $15+ to spend on registered mail, send only by regular mail. Not all countries are safe to mail regular/unregistered too. Just as a quick tip most african countries, mexico, India and Russia are not safe. I have heard of problems with Italy however, I have sent unregistered and there was no problem with my letter getting there. You should confirm with the member you are swapping with right away so that you don't waste lots of time negotiating a swap to only find out they want it registered. By sending unregistered and having no ratings you may be asked to send first so when you start only swap with members with some positive ratings. Just a reminder to a previous topic, never put tape on coins. I was an offender of this because when I started nobody told me, it wasn't until another collector told me that I found out. If you have anymore questions fell free to ask me.
Having a scale for coins or letters helps me a lot. Canada Post costs within Canada and to the US have been substantial for quite some time. The USPS has now caught up and they no longer have dirt cheap postage to Canada. Learn how to pack in thin letters, weigh them, slap your own stamps on them for Canada/US mail and drop in any mailbox. This way you can still get away with 100g for $2.20 to US or $1.34 in Canada. The post is safe and reliable enough between these two countries, that the risk is worth it. If you choose to pack thick and have confession with a Shoppers Drug Mart employee that represents the post office, they will start you at anywhere between $7 and $9, after asking if there is only paper inside. With the postage cost savings, you can afford to send coins twice if need be. There is no tracking or guarantees with either option anyway.
I'll be doing that tonight.