O' Canada, Hugo Tea has a question for you. (Update: First 3 take part)

38 Replies
Valerie said

Me as well! So long as the shipping isn’t bad and they don’t ship with UPS or a courier. I’m waiting to wait an extra week delivery time to avoid brokerage fees and the hassle of having to be home to accept the delivery.

Sil select said

O that’s a good point! I hate brokerage fees….shouldn’t be any ever.

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Kittenna said

Also Canadian here! I order frequently from the States. Too frequently. Again with the reasonable shipping prices: I’ll happily pay about $5, more if I’m ordering more, to a max of about $10. Butiki Teas’ shipping prices are good, and I like a free shipping threshold as well…

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Canadian here who wishes she didn’t have to order from the states all the time, haha!

Shipping prices often stop my order in its tracks – around 10 bucks and I don’t bat an eye (usually)

Valerie said

2nd this, $10 is usually the max I’ll pay, but I’d have to be buying a lot to make it worth that.

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Sil select said

Another thing? If there’s a shipping charge please make it easy to tell what it is…ie state it right up front, or at the very least when you’re doing the shopping cart.

Kittenna said

YES. THIS. mumbles

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Canadian girl here!
I buy from American tea places, mostly when they are on sale. Also, like many posts above, $5-10 sounds about right for shipping. Any more than that and I tend to back out.

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TeaLady441 said

I’m Canadian!

I’ve only ordered tea from the US, and that was from Della Terra during their black friday sale. I’ve looked at other tea companies but I don’t want to pay more than $10 in shipping when I have enough options in Canada (for just tea – obviously if I’m buying heavier items I can pay more). If a company offers $5 shipping to send it USPS then I’m fine with that, even if it means delays.

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Crowkettle said

I’m Canadian and have been eying your website for a while now :)

All of tea companies I’ve ordered from so far have been exclusively American. Like others have said, I tend to look for a $5-10 shipping rate or a free shipping threshold at $30-50 purchases.

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I’m Canadian, but living in the US. I’d often order from US tea companies.

What everyone said – reasonable shipping, shipping rates clearly stated or not complicated to figure out, no brokerage fees.

Biggest EVER pet peeve with shipping when I lived in Canada. Paying $10 to $12 shipping and seeing on the freaking package they used USPS first class international shipping and the seller paid like $6.

In the end if the shipping is terrible or not an option, but I was lucky, I would bounce shipping off american friends or canadian friends who had a PO boxes past the border.

Sil select said

Omg I HATE that. I am so with you on that one!

Uniquity said

Ohhh, true that. The shipping I pay should reflect the shipping paid by the seller. Perhaps add a VERY small amount for the cost of the packaging, but if you’re making profit on shipping, I’m out.

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Uniquity said

Canadian here as well – Though up front I’ll say that I’m probably not your target market. I’ve learned not to waste a lot of time fooling around with American companies and try to keep my spending local and support independent or Canadian businesses. I’ve been treated like a second class citizen for too long because of my geography to enjoy sending my money away to support another economy.

That aside, I WILL consider shopping from an American company but the product needs to be excellent and I need to see reasonable shipping information to Canada. Not just the cost, but the wait time for processing, etc. Verdant Tea, for example, will get my business. On the other hand, Harney & Songs won’t. Shipping experiences make and break my loyalty.

I’m not trying to be negative and it is GREAT that you’re considering opening your market to us Northerners (I feel like I’m in A Song of Ice and Fire – are we the Starks??) but sometimes it’s not worth it to open international shipping if the cost will be too great or the service too poor. As you say, you don’t plan on marketing to Canadian customers.

Best of luck, whichever way you go!

Thanks for your reply.

We support your decision to shop Canadian-First wholeheartedly.

Our thought is simply this: if we can ship our tea to Canada without being a financial burden—and we make one person happier for having received our tins, then it’s within the bounds of our mission to share simple organic tea with tea-drinkers and non-tea-drinkers alike.

You made me smile with that. Having never left the states, and having absolutely no head for geography whether actual or fantastical I have to admit that while reading the books I did actually imagine a giant ice wall somewhere ‘up north’. Like a barrier to protect us all from the menace of Greenland! ;-) So yeah, in my head without realizing it I guess you guys all get to be house Stark. Sorry!

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Hugo,

You should check out the USPS website. Shipping to Canada is actually incredibly cheap…in fact cheaper than most tea companies in the US charge to ship to US customers. For instance, a 10oz package is only $4.90 to ship to Canada using the first class mail international service. A 1lb package is only $5.75! :D

Why thank you very much for your recommendation!

We had indeed intended on shipping by USPS—the question is: what other customs forms, etc. are involved?

I believe it’s just a short declaration that you fill out a few boxes and it’s good to go! Took me about 2 minutes to fill one out for a shipment to Holland, so I’m assuming it’s about the same or less. You can also do it online I think.

I used to run a gift basket company and one day I found out that the reason my packages were held up in customs so long and cost so much was because I was filling out WAY too many forms, making customs pay unnecessary attention to each item. Wish I could remember the details. This was a few years ago, but I remember a very no-nonsense USPS employee explaining that I didn’t need to fill out all the crap I handed her and that it wasn’t a good idea to just ‘add it in just in case’ like I was planning. When in doubt, ask a veteran USPS employee, the new ones might not be sure, but the older ones do not mess around.

ashmanra said

I have shipped boxes of tea as gifts to Northern Ireland and New Zealand. I had to fill out one short form and that was it! It only took a few minutes. I have heard, though I don’t have personal experience with it, that shipping to Australia is more difficult because of laws about all things organic that could possibly affect the ecology.

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