Today was the official date for a postage increase in Canada. Year over year I have come to expect that the base postage rates go up a slight bit. I believe the last increase was minimal at best. However this morning, I came to learn that my postage for a .29g bubble mailer (5×5 roughly) was going to cost me $2.95 to go from Canada to the USA. I almost fell out of my chair. Previously I was paying $1.34 for the exact same weight and size of package. What followed blew my mind. The exact same package, shipped within Canada was $1.80. Previously I paid just over a buck.

I knew the increases were coming. I was not happy about it however I was just curious to see if my method of shipping would work out to be cheaper. I cut all my bubble envelopes in half to cut down on weight and waste (I hate using bubbles but the industry mandates we use it via self-policing).
Here are the exact prices for shipping

Within Canada
$1.80 for up to 100g,
$2.95 for over 100g
$4.10 for over 200 to 300g
$4.70 for over 300 to 400g
$5.05 for over 400 to 500g.

To the U.S.
$2.95 for up to 100g
$5.15 for over 100g to 200g
$10.30 for over 200 to 500g.

Other international destinations:
Up to 100g: $5.90
Over 100g to 200g: $10.30
Over 200g to 500g: $20.60

Seems like pocket change to some of you who only post a few items a month. However for guys like me, who trade hockey cards, this cost adds up over time. The cards we collect have not risen in value at all over the past 10 or so years. A common jersey card is worth 50 cents to a buck on the open market. As you can see, it is hard to stomach spending $2-$3 in shipping for a 50 cent card. Those collectors / sellers who offer free shipping, will find it very hard to continue to offer such incentives for making a deal.

Let’s be honest. The collectible trading card industry doesn’t usually pay the bills. There are only a few hobby shop owners who make golden coin. The people most affected by this increase are the collectors themselves and small hobby shop owners. How can they continue to enjoy or profit from the hobby?

The answer is easy you say. Pass the cost onto the customer. In an ideal world, that makes perfect sense. However the collective mindset of the borg, err I mean trading card collectors is the same. Buy things cheaply. Trading card collectors are a finicky bunch and will not budge on spending more than X amount for cards. However the same crowd has no issue spending $100 a month for a smart phone. It is what it is.

Even eBay is out-of-wack when it comes to shipping, but I will save that for another post. Oh the lovely DSR’s

I get inflation and price of fuel has increased. Totally understand that. I get that the going rate for high priced execs are north of $400 to $500k a year. I don’t agree with it, but that is the way the economy works. Conversely, we are a free market society and there are many pros compared to cons living in such an environment. I’d love to see the playing field be a bit more level. But I am a small pebble in the ocean. Right now I can only worry about myself.
Right now I worry about how I can continue to enjoy the hobby. How do I complete my sets? How do I justify the expense to ship, buy bubble envelopes, buy supplies? There are days where I want to pack it all up and say enough is enough.

I am scaling back dramatically and postage expenses have a lot to do with it.

There will come a time where we will match the USPS in terms of the expense to ship overseas. I just with CP would find a better way to service the general public. There is a way to do it, however they have to have the courage to push the envelope.

This post is devoid of the full picture and I have not had the time nor interest to exhaustively research the topic.

It is an opinion post at best and the best part of blogging is that it is free. I have an outlet to vent. Perhaps this is the best way to approach the hobby. Window shop and blog it.