Shipping Alternatives/ Canada Post
Dearest Blog Subscribers!
Fedex, UPS and Purolator's rates for example, for a small 5x7x2 envelope, weighing 1.5 lbs is $30.50 within Ontario, with prices increasing further as the weight/ size of package does, and further yet when shipping out of the Province/ Country.
Note that we have also given careful consideration to reviewing whether we could offer discounts on shipping rates, however this will also not be feasible unless we increase our prices to match the current increases we have experienced ourselves for ingredients, packaging, shipping costs, inflation, tarrifs etc.
We are not pleased with having to chose this option, including the possible ramifications that this decision may continue to have on our e-commerce side of our business, however we hope that we will get through this hurdle as we have over the past few years since COVID.
As you may be aware, Canada Post has been our primary shipping courier since 2013. They have provided our business and customers with a reasonable ship rate and reliable/ quick delivery times within Canada and throughout the U.S.
Amongst other things, this is one of the reasons that we are able to keep costs down.
Pure Radiance Natural Skin Care has also provided our local/ rural oline customers with the option of utilizing our drop ship services at a decreased cost.
Area covered- Hagersville, Caledonia, Townsend, Jarvis, and Port Dover.
Areas being expanded will include Dogs Nest, Varency, Woodhouse Acres, and Garnet.
Note that Brantford and Simcoe may be added in the near future (depending on the amount of service requests).
When Canada Post recently went on strike (Nov.15- Dec.17, 2024), we were faced with the dilema of adding alternative shipping couriers or temporarily halting shipping services for our online customers, other than continuing to offer our rural/ local drop shipping.
When we looked at adding alternative courier options, we found that unfortunately for small business' such as ours, the shipping rates were extremely high and would have had a dramatic effect on our pricing.
Couriers such as FlagShip and ChitChats, unfortunately do not have drop boxes in our rural area, so these were also not feasible options.
In our opinion, shipping rates in Canada are excessively high, and disappointing not only for the e-commerce side of our business, but for you, our customers as well.
This led us to the difficult decision of not offering these alternatives as shipping options. Instead, we chose a temporary shipping stoppage for that month, to our e-commerce customers while Canada Post was on strike.
Many small businesses that rely on reasonable shipping, unfortunately had to close due to these same circumstances.
Up until now, we have been fortunate to be able to continue our business during these difficult times over the past few years, thanks to our larger vender/ merchant contracts and our loyal e-commerce customers returning once shipping resumed.
Unfortunately, it appears that we are again faced with the same decision- with Canada Post having resumed their negotiations and the possibility of another strike may cause additional service disruptions as of May 22.
We can certainly add the 3 couriers (Fedex, UPS, Purolator) as alternatives, however based on customer feedback and surveys, customers do not want to pay the higher shipping costs and would likely purchase from big box companies rather than from small business.
Note that we have also given careful consideration to reviewing whether we could offer discounts on shipping rates, however this will also not be feasible unless we increase our prices to match the current increases we have experienced ourselves for ingredients, packaging, shipping costs, inflation, tarrifs etc.
This leads us to have to choose the option of halting shipments once again if it comes down to another work stoppage by Canada Post.
We are not pleased with having to chose this option, including the possible ramifications that this decision may continue to have on our e-commerce side of our business, however we hope that we will get through this hurdle as we have over the past few years since COVID.
In the mean time, we are open to our customers feedback or any suggestions and in the event of a strike, we will continue working with our larger contracts to keep our small business going.
If there is a strike, we hope that it is a short one like the first, allowing us to restart e-commerce shipping as quickly as possible.
Pure Radiance Natural Skin Care will continue to strive to offer the highest quality of organic and natural ingredients/ products at reasonable prices. We will continue to do our best ro minimize price increases.
To all customers- if you are planning on placing an order, we recommend placing it prior to May 22. Please account for the shipping time so that your package can arrive at your location avoiding possible disruptions in the event of a strike.
We thank all of you for your ongoing support to get us all through this uncertain time.
If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, please feel free to contact us.
We will get through this!
Until next update,
Love your skin,
Pure Radiance Natural Skin Care Team