Is shipping bulk products to Canada for local distribution cost-effective?

[bob21]

I manufacture and sell a product in the U.S. Basic shipping is included in the price for U.S. orders. Average cost to me is about $15 for a 10" x10" x 6", 4.5 pound box. My Canadian business has been picking up lately. Customers there have to pay on average $65 for shipping, plus taxes, duties and perhaps a brokerage fee. I am wondering if, A., would it save my Canadian customers much money if I shipped a quantity of product to a service in Canada which would then ship individual orders across Canada for a more reasonable rate. B, are there such services? And, C., would costs for this make the idea non-viable? 

[jessica0318]

You should ask a professional to help you with this kind of thing!

[Anindita]

Hi @bob21 

You can surely get suppliers who will take care of your shipping in Canada. But since you are also focusing on saving some of the shipping costs, I think it's better if you collaborate with cost-effective shipping carriers. Not just that having your own carrier account/s will help you to negotiate rates based on your needs.

[Elias]

Greetings, @bob21.

Thank you for reaching out and posting this question!

I understand that your Canadian business is picking up and you're looking for ways to reduce the shipping costs and duties for your customers. 

If your business sells in the United States or Canada, you ship a minimum of 3 orders per day, and you don't sell any regulated or perishable products, then the Shopify Fulfillment Network might be a solution for you. The Shopify Fulfillment Network allows you to store inventory across our fulfillment centers in North America, so you'll be able to offer more reasonable rates for your Canadian customers. However, as there are storage costs, you'll need to check whether this is viable for your business. If the Shopify Fulfillment Network can help the increase conversions from your Canadian audience by offering cheaper and faster shipping, then this could a viable idea. 

If you're interested, then I'd recommend applying for the Shopify Fulfillment Network. Once that's done, our fulfillment team will be in touch with you and you'll be able to more details from there. 

I'd love to know if the Shopify Fulfillment Network can be a solution for you. Keep me posted!