Shipping updates for Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, PO Boxes, and more
We’ve got some shipping news … For those who want to ship to military addresses, PO Boxes, and for those in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, we have secured USPS for certain shipping options. You can read more about all the new options in our blog and check out our updated Shipping page. I know you’ll let us know what you think. – Kathy
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I was pleased to see the announcement that there were changes to shipping to Canada. However, I don’t see that what you have done is an improvement. In my view it makes the situation worse. As an example my most recent book was shipped via UPS standard at a cost of $14.95. It arrived 2 days after it was shipped and was completely trackable. I was extremely satisfied. If I were to order the same book today it would cost $11.98 for USPS, $20.79 for "priority " or a whopping $53.55 for "express". A package shipped via USPS may be held up at customs for payment of duty, This can cause a delay of several days and since this method of shipping is not trackable there is no way to know that the package is at customs, or lost, or delayed for some other reason. Now the next step up is to "priority" which is still not trackable but costs (in the case of my book) about 40% more than the UPS standard that I was using. Your announcement says that this method offers "delivery confirmation". I don’t see that being of much value – all it really tells me is that I should have stayed home that day to receive delivery – but I didn’t know the delivery was going to happen that day. So this "priority" option seems to offer less service for greater cost than you had before with UPS standard. The last option is "express" which is trackable and comparable to the fastest delivery you had before – except that it costs more. I did consider it for my most recent book and I think the cost would have been around $35 under your old shipping options which, for me, was too much as I did not need the one or two day delivery. Now it is $53.55 – a 54% price increase for my book!!! I love the product that you offer. The quality is outstanding and your customer service is second to none. And it is great to see the company evolve and improve and your customer base grow. However, I think you have taken a backward step with the new shipping options to Canada. We really do need a trackable option at reasonable cost. I hope you will take another look at the situation and bring back the UPS standard option. Bob
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I live in Canada as well and am in total agreement with Bob as I was happy with UPS . I have received 3 books delivered to my door by UPS in good time. and no extra charges. Now I am at the mercy of Canada Post who use outside contractors to deliever parcels and being I receive a large amount of parcels that I order out of the US, I can tell you that its not all a bed of roses dealing with the issues of parcels not delivered and chasing to various postal stations to find my missing parcel. So for everyone that believes that their book will come via USPS, that is only as far as the border and from their its Canada Post. I wish UPS was still a option. Jerry
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I also have concerns.
There needs to be a less expensive option that what we had before but we also need a less expensive trackable option like we had before. Also of note, when I order more than two hardcover copies of my book the USPS option disappears, perhaps because the cost becomes too much, and the only options left are more expensive than I paid before.
I typically order 10 or more books, which the old system was better for but was prohibitive for folks trying to buy a single copy. The new system is better for them but worse for larger orders.
Will there be an opportunity to remedy these issues?
Thanks,
bret
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Bob hit it right on the nose. I was thinking of sending a note saying how pleased I was with the UPS service, only to find that it has been changed, and not for the better.
I too hope you bring back the UPS standard option.
Steve
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Yeah I agree. The price estimate with USPS is $11.95 for a 200 page hard cover 8×11 book. Before the price with UPS is about $14 but it’s WITH TRACKING! Now the price is $2 cheaper but no more tracking. I do hope that we bring back the UPS standard option. I don’t want to keep worrying about my book being stuck at the custom or lost somewhere! Thanks Petti
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Hi – I’m concerned about the cost of shipping books to Canada. I had one come this week with a shipping charge of about $15. I am ordering 120 for some students and the only shipping option i get is express for $450. It makes the books pretty pricey. Is there no “priority” shipping available anymore???
Thanks. Nancy
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Hello,
Could somebody from Blurb please let us know if these concerns are being considered or not?
The more I ponder these changes the more I realize how much better off we were before.
Thanks,
bret
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Hi Bret, The move to USPS was driven in large part by our very vocal, loyal Blurbarians in Canada who have been struggling with customs and UPS for quite some time. For those who have not benefitted from this move, we completely understand your concerns, and as a result, are actively looking for solutions. When we do have a solution, we’ll post it here in the Forums. Thanks for your patience. – Kathy
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Thanks Kathy,
I completely understand the need for USPS, I was one of those asking for it, mostly for individuals interested in buying a single copy or two. It is definitely more affordable for a single book purchase than any previous options.
The problem is that the I have been ordering books in 10’s, or more, to sell to photography patrons at exhibitions, lectures, etc and the trackable UPS option cost much, much more. Prohibitively so. And USPS is not available beyond 2 or 3 books, depends on hardcover or softcover.
Why couldn’t we have the less expensive trackable UPS option that we had before and the USPS option? Would either of the UPS options currently available result in the border "brokerage" fees that I have also been nailed with?
BTW, I am a big fan of Blurb. You have done amazing things in a short time and you are responsive to your users.
I am really looking forward to start participating as a B3 member.
Regards,
bret
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Bret
I still agree with what Bob said
“As an example my most recent book was shipped via UPS standard at a cost of $14.95. It arrived 2 days after it was shipped and was completely trackable. I was extremely satisfied.
If I were to order the same book today it would cost $11.98 for USPS, $20.79 for “priority ” or a whopping $53.55 for “express”.
A package shipped via USPS may be held up at customs for payment of duty, This can cause a delay of several days and since this method of shipping is not trackable there is no way to know that the package is at customs, or lost, or delayed for some other reason.”
It doesn’t seem “better than previous options”
Since Blurb only marks “unit value” at $5.00 / book there were no customs/brokerage fees from UPS. I have heard people with larger quantity book orders splitting up the orders to avoid “brokerage” fees. I think I read 3 books was the cutoff.
I have 2 books on the way shipped “priority” but the tracking # takes me to a USPS tracking page which states “they have no record of this item”. therefore I have no clue where the books are. This was not the case before, they arrived 2-3 days after being shipped and were trackable every step of the way (quite amazing actually).
With Blurbs “processing is complete we have shipped your stuff ” email they gave me a tracking number (that took me to USPS) but wrote ” Visit http://www.UPS.com to track your order.” I still am not sure how the book was shipped.
I am sure the books will arrive in good order and I am not too concerned as Blurb has excellent customer support. However I still say for me “it wasn’t broke…”
I very much agree with you though when you say..
“BTW, I am a big fan of Blurb. You have done amazing things in a short time and you are responsive to your users.
I am really looking forward to start participating as a B3 member.”
Best Regards,
Steve
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My point really was why couldn’t we have both.
Previosuly, I have got responses from potential buyers that have balked at the expensive UPS shipping option for a single book, even stating, "Why can’t they ship by Canada Post?" For them let’s have an inexpensive non-trackable option.
And why can’t we have what we did before for those of us who want/need it? I really think that we need both. Regards,
bret
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Hi Bret, If we could give you both options (and more shipping options for that matter) right now, with a flip of a switch, that switch would have already been flipped. Shipping is a tricky business and our aim is provide the best we can offer considering all of the factors we must consider. That said, we take everyone’s feedback very seriously and work behind-the-scenes to tweak and make things better. – Kathy
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Thanks again. You guys are great. bret
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The contributions to this thread certainly indicate that there are many of us in Canada who are concerned about the new shipping options. Special thanks to Kathy for contributing – we know you are trying to improve service to Canada and we appreciate that. We thought you should know how important a trackable, reasonable cost option is to us. I think when a parcel is shipped via USPS it gets transferred to Canada Post when it enters Canada. Somewhere along the line it passes through Customs. Thus there are three different entities handling the package and if it gets lost one of these entities will normally point to one of the others as being the culprit. With UPS, one company handles the shipment door to door, so that it is lost or delayed, there is no question about who is responsible and who should correct the problem. Thus our request for a low cost, trackable option. Now it might ease our concerns (or maybe heighten them) if we could hear from some folks who have had a book shipped to Canada via USPS. If you have done this, please share your experinces, good or bad. Thanks Bob
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I have a book on its way to Canada via economy (USPS) , I’ll let you know how it goes. Jerry
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My Books (2 large) were shipped out May 28 and I received them in good order June 3.
I used the priority method which is USPS. The tracking number given to me really is simply a delivery confirmation from the USPS site. Although I was unable to track my package through every step (as with UPS standard), the confirmation was spot on and accurate.
This is exactly what Blurb is promising. There were no customs/brokerage fees or other surprises. It looks like the 6-10 day delivery estimate seems pretty accurate.
Steve
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Well there you go, all my bitching and complaining about losing the UPS option was for nothing as I just got my latest book in the mail from blurb that was shipped economy on May 29th with today being June 6th. It arrived in pristine condition at my door step without additional charges. Previous books received via UPS were no quicker getting here. Jerry
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Hello, As one of the more vocal Blurbarians about the lack of a USPS option, I am not loudly thanking Blurb. I just tried getting my book shipped to Guam via USPS Priority Air and it got here in 6 days in great shape. Thank you. UPS may still b a good continental US option, but USPS opens up the world. Express Mail is fast and trackable and Priority Air is always consistent. Thank you. I hope this will boost sales from those balking at the steep UPS international costs. Tim of the Deep
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That should be "NOW THANKING Blurb". (How do you edit posts????)
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Hi there! I live in Canada and received my book via USPS in just over a week !! The book arrived in great shape, well packaged, and it was dirt cheap to send ($4.00). My two previous books were sent with UPS and I had to pick up the package at the depot after two failed delivery attempts – a big pain. I have actually returned to Blurb now that they have USPS. I love their book quallity and their software by far is the easiest to use, of the different programs I have tried. I’m glad Blurb has USPS. I will be ordering many more books! Keep up the great work! Pam
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