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There was a thread that I saw a while back about sharing the shipping costs to Canada... since the lowest shipping is around $20. There are a few things I would like, does anyone know any more info about this?
That's part of why I hadn't ordered from PTI yet, although I love what they're offering. Their stamps look so unique and multi-purpose and I really really like the colours!
My hubby is in school in the US right now, so I'm going to be taking advantage of that!! otherwise, I'd probably be interested in a shipping share if we're close enough! I'm two hours west of Edmonton. Where are you?
2.5 hours northeast. I think the idea of having the shipping share thing was that if people just ordered stamps, they would be able to ship around Alberta much cheaper once it was in Canada. If the shipping wasn't so huge I think I would be a big customer of theirs.
i know this doesn't help YOU, but what i've done is get an american PO box. hehe... it costs like $30 a year and i ship everything there and drive there and pick it up..
otherwise i would NEVER order from PTI.. not worth it....
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i know this doesn't help YOU, but what i've done is get an american PO box. hehe... it costs like $30 a year and i ship everything there and drive there and pick it up..
otherwise i would NEVER order from PTI.. not worth it....
Hi Tobi,
Do you live in the valley? I seem to remember from your blog that you do... nice to have a permanent box! For others in the GV area who don't want a permanent US PO box, there's a place in Point Roberts I've used before called http://thelettercarrier.com/ that will receive your packages for a nominal fee.
I've been dying to order from PTI but shipping costs & exchange are kinda killing me... I could use thelettercarrier but I worked out the gas vs. PTI shipping and it worked out to only a couple $$ in savings.
That's the only reason I also dont order from there -- I would love some of their stuff, but cant afford the shipping. I dont know anyone near me that would split an order (the shipping costs) with me, so that option is out, at least for now. Oh well, have to spend that money somewhere else I guess!
We have a PO box too. It's the same one Crafty Secrets uses, I noticed. We pay$85/yr but they keep all our junk till we go down to pick it up. I don't know what we'd do without it.:-D
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I am there with you ladies. I do own quite a bit of PTI stamps. I just wait months in between each order so it is big enough to justify a bit more the shipping cost. It sucks that so many of the online store I love are in the US.
The shipping isn't cheap, but I think they have a $10 rebate for orders over $200. I realize that is really high, especially now that the CDN $ = 75 cents US, but there products are great. I have only ordered once after a lot of saving and am happy that I did. I will probably save up and order once/year.
Shipping within Canada isn't really cheap. I would expect it would be close to $12 to ship a few sets within Canada, so not a lot of savings.
I just placed an order with PTI and it really is upsetting to know that I payed more for the shipping cost than what the paper cost me and that was before exchange, but I really like the quality of the paper for card bases. The other thing that is upsetting is three of the items in my cart didn't even have to be shipped they where the templates and they are downloaded instantly to my computer. I wish that PTI would have a flat rate like Gina K does, and her flate rate even allows for paper. Maybe we could get one of the Canadian online stores to start selling PTI paper so that we aren't paying over $20 US for shipping costs. Sorry just my little rant for the day. Love the paper hate the shipping cost.
I just placed an order with PTI and it really is upsetting to know that I payed more for the shipping cost than what the paper cost me and that was before exchange, but I really like the quality of the paper for card bases. The other thing that is upsetting is three of the items in my cart didn't even have to be shipped they where the templates and they are downloaded instantly to my computer. I wish that PTI would have a flat rate like Gina K does, and her flate rate even allows for paper. Maybe we could get one of the Canadian online stores to start selling PTI paper so that we aren't paying over $20 US for shipping costs. Sorry just my little rant for the day. Love the paper hate the shipping cost.
PTI only wholesales to brick and mortar stores ...
PTI only wholesales to brick and mortar stores ...
Well we could then see if Stamping Bella or Scrappin Great Deals would do it because they both have brick and mortar stores. Just a though, I am trying to save some shipping charges.
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I love the PTI line of stamps but the shipping costs are hard to swallow. It would be wonderful to have a Canadian supplier here. I would definetly place a HUGE order!
__________________ Some call me Pinky, some call me Lori - I answer to both Pinky's Pictorial DREAM as if you could live forever, LIVE as if you only have today.
Well we could then see if Stamping Bella or Scrappin Great Deals would do it because they both have brick and mortar stores. Just a though, I am trying to save some shipping charges.
me too ... I have a friend starting an online store so I'd asked her to see if she could carry them. That's how I found that out! I'd love to be able to save on the shipping too. But, as I said earlier, my hubby is in the US for school so I'm going to order once and get it sent to him. It's probably a one time thing, though!
I'm also hesitant to order due to the high shipping cost. Their stuff is gorgeous though! (and if there are any peeps in NL that want to talk about sharing the shipping drop me a PM)
The thing that I find most frustrating about the shipping from PTI is that Gina K who has Cardstock that is just as wonderful, in my opinion, can afford to ship to Canada for a flat rate of $5.95 if you spend over $50, why can't PTI. The price of the cardstock at both places is around the same cost per package, and the shipping isn't based on weight of the parcel because I went to order several rolls of ribbon from PTI and the price of shipping was the same amount for ribbon as it is for cardstock, there is a major weight difference there.
prchvs keep us posted on your friends online store and if she is able to get PTI cardstock and ribbon in her store.
Similar topic, different company. I just emailed a company yesterday asking them to justify twenty dollar shipping costs to Canada and three dollar costs if you live in the U.S. I told them they were losing a huge audience up here in Canada and with the economy and all you would think they would want us for business. Nice email back, they are looking into alternative shipping costs to Canada. Their postal system is much too blame.
pj
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the main difference between PTI and GinaK's shipping options is the tracking information. PTI wants guaranteed tracking so they can see where their packages go just in case things go awry. I can totally understand their need to know these things. What I can't understand is why they have no other options for those of us who will be honest enough to say whether or not our packages arrived and not rip them off.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the main difference between PTI and GinaK's shipping options is the tracking information. PTI wants guaranteed tracking so they can see where their packages go just in case things go awry. I can totally understand their need to know these things. What I can't understand is why they have no other options for those of us who will be honest enough to say whether or not our packages arrived and not rip them off.
Good point. I just bought online through scs from a woman in Wisconsin. To mail me flat clear stamps from inkadinkadoo cost me twenty. She said that was the cheapest she could find regular mail.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the main difference between PTI and GinaK's shipping options is the tracking information. PTI wants guaranteed tracking so they can see where their packages go just in case things go awry. I can totally understand their need to know these things. What I can't understand is why they have no other options for those of us who will be honest enough to say whether or not our packages arrived and not rip them off.
Sorry for the hijack but just to clarify, with USPS after a certain weight all international shipping to Canada HAS to go priority....for example I ordered 3 packs of Gina K paper 1 month ago along with a couple of their cool stamp storage cases and due to weight it automatically went priority (tracking included) so it cost the company 26$ to ship and I was charged only $5.95. This has been the case with both orders I have made with them. I am amazed that they still are willing to absorb this amount even by increasing their minimum purchase to 50$ from 35$ (which is way too easy to reach with them anyways) For me, this only means that they are my go to company for paper....can't wait to order the new colors:-)
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I'm just basing it off what I knew to be the last policy and it hasn't changed that I know of (I could be wrong, of course). Nichole's local scrapbook store in TN (Memories in Bloom, I think?) only sells stamp sets and none of the cardstock, ribbon, buttons, etc (again this is the last that I heard so it is possible that it has changed).
When Nichole announced that Papertrey was going to Summer CHA, she said they are only going to have a booth at the consumer portion because they don't wholesale and have no reason to have a booth at the normal show.
Sorry for the hijack but just to clarify, with USPS after a certain weight all international shipping to Canada HAS to go priority....for example I ordered 3 packs of Gina K paper 1 month ago along with a couple of their cool stamp storage cases and due to weight it automatically went priority (tracking included) so it cost the company 26$ to ship and I was charged only $5.95. This has been the case with both orders I have made with them. I am amazed that they still are willing to absorb this amount even by increasing their minimum purchase to 50$ from 35$ (which is way too easy to reach with them anyways) For me, this only means that they are my go to company for paper....can't wait to order the new colors:-)
I can understand the fact that after a certain weight the parcel has to go priority, but as you mentioned Gina K still ship's the parcel out at $5.95 and absorbes the shipping cost, which to someone that does alot of online shopping at US stores is a great incentive to shop at there store because they are looking after the customer and trying to make it easier for us to buy from there store. I also know that they make up the difference over time so it all works out in the end and they have satisfied customers who are willing to come back to there store over and over again and tell others what a great place they are to shop at. Where as with not offering the customer different shipping options it makes me hesitate before ordering from there store because not only do I have to pay higher shipping costs, I also have to pay the exchange rate and in most cases duty on parcels received. I do love the quality of PTI's cardstock and I will order from them at least two or three times a year when I know that I will have a larger order amount which makes the higher shipping price seem more reasonable, I just wish that they would allow us to have the option of how we want our parcels sent, most other online stores that I go to give me at least two options for shipping and I have never had a problem with the order showing up even the ones that I don't get tracking for, that is the risk that [B]I[B] take when I chose that option.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the main difference between PTI and GinaK's shipping options is the tracking information. PTI wants guaranteed tracking so they can see where their packages go just in case things go awry. I can totally understand their need to know these things. What I can't understand is why they have no other options for those of us who will be honest enough to say whether or not our packages arrived and not rip them off.
PTI used to use a different shipping method, but I think a lot of packages were getting "lost". There were also a lot of people that complained about how long it took their packages to get to them, using the old method. Here are a few quotes from the PTI forum...
From Nichole...
"As of this morning we have eliminated First-Class International as a shipping option and now only offer International Priority Mail Insured. We realize that this may pose an increase in shipping costs to those of you who preferred First-Class shipping, but due to our commitment to the best service possible we could no longer extend this offer.
As many of you may already know, First Class International offers no tracking or insurance. We have found that many packages sent in this manner do not end up at their final destination or take much longer than anticipated. In turn, we have no way of researching where the package is or it's status once it leaves our facility, which puts us at a disadvantage when trying to serve you best. In the long run, these types of incidents benefit no one and cause customer service issues that are unnecessary.
With International Priority Mail we will be able to provide you information as to it's status. The package will also be insured against damage, loss and other mishaps which can happen during the order's long international journey. All of these things will be beneficial to everyone and allow us to provide you the very best service possible."
And from Rick...
"It certainly was not an easy decision to make. We realize the hardship that it will cause to some of our most loyal customers....but there was really no way around it. It got to the point where I was getting a LOT of emails daily asking for shipping and tracking status on international orders, and I had nothing to tell them. Some customers responded with demands to provide a tracking number, or they were going to dispute the charges on their CC or PayPal account, and that looks bad for us and doesn't sit well with the CC companies.
We have NEVER had a package that didn't show up at the customer's doorstep eventualy, but some of our customers got very upset and demanded refunds....knowing full-well that we had shipped the order and were desperately trying to help them....and knowing full-well that First Class International did NOT have a promised delivery date or tracking info."
There really is no way for PTI to know who will be honest and not rip them off and who won't be honest and will rip them off.
I remember reading that ... I was disappointed. But, like I said, I do understand. Perhaps it's like wishing for a money tree, but I'd love to have the option of lower shipping knowing that I assume and and all loss. I'm honest and I hate being affected by the few dishonest people. It sucks rocks that the minority always overrule the minority ... it happens all too often, unfortunately. PTI was put between and rock and a hard place. I do understand. I'm just disappointed. That's all.
I remember reading that ... I was disappointed. But, like I said, I do understand. Perhaps it's like wishing for a money tree, but I'd love to have the option of lower shipping knowing that I assume and and all loss. I'm honest and I hate being affected by the few dishonest people. It sucks rocks that the minority always overrule the minority ... it happens all too often, unfortunately. PTI was put between and rock and a hard place. I do understand. I'm just disappointed. That's all.
I refuse to pay $26 shipping. Anywhere.
I agree that it sucks that because of a few people who complain about slow shipping or say that they did not receive there order at all, the rest of us have to suffer.
In all fairness to PTI, the company has the right to use whatever shipping method best meets their needs. I agree that it's really rotten that the shipping is so high but it's also understandable that they could not continue to send out duplicate orders for goods that were lost in the mail and are not willing to absorb so much in extra shipping costs. How much profit can there really be in a package of paper or set of stamps?
The only thing one can do to save costs at the moment is to share orders so you can split shipping or hope that PTI has a once or twice a year shipping sale to Canada...it could happen!
Perhaps, if they continue to grow, they will eventually have a Canadian distributor. For now I'll continue to dream.
Canadians ordering from PTI
