eBay and Etsy warned sellers they could be impacted by shipping disruptions for mail travelling within, into, or from Canada. Canadian sellers are more likely to be aware of the labor issues, but sellers outside of the country should also keep up-to-date in the event they receive orders from Canadian shoppers.
Canadian postal workers may disrupt service as early as Monday if deals cannot be reached over the weekend, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) announced on Tuesday. Canada Post noted: “Rotating legal strikes may be isolated to one or two specific locations at a time, affecting those areas for a period of 24 hours. In that situation, Canada Post would continue to accept, process and deliver mail and parcels in all other areas. Once the temporary disruption ends, we would return to normal operations in the affected locations.”
In eBay’s announcement to sellers, it wrote, “The last time Canada Post had rotating strikes, eBay did not actually see a material impact on shipments. This notice has been issued, but both parties are still negotiating and at this time we do not know if the disruption will, in fact, occur.”
eBay advised sellers to keep their shops open and offered the following advice:
– Keep your listings active. If you want to manage buyer expectations, consider increasing your handle time.
– Add an alternative carrier to your listings, such as UPS, Purolator, or FedEx.
– Consider freight forwarding companies such as Chit Chats – a seller favourite.
– If you don’t offer local pickup, consider starting now. Let buyers in your area know that they can get your items quickly and easily.
Etsy advised sellers to consider updating their shop policies with information about delivery adjustments and researching alternative commercial shipping carriers such as Chit Chats.
Sellers with questions or concerns about how this situation will affect their Etsy shop can contact Etsy Support at www.etsy.com/help/contact, it advised.
Update 10/21/18: Canada Post announced late Sunday afternoon that the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) gave notice that it intends to hold rotating strikes in Victoria, Edmonton, Windsor and Halifax beginning after 12:01 am on Monday, October 22 (local time), and lasting 24 hours. In those areas, mail and parcels will not be delivered or picked up. Canada Post said it continues to operate across Canada – “we are accepting and delivering mail and parcels in all other locations.”
