How much should shipping 3lb package to Canada cost?

Factual Questions
1

I’m a dumbass. So I had thought I had set my Ebay auctions to sell to only those in the US, but guess not as a Canadian won the three auctions. Fine, it can’t cost that much more to ship to Canada, right? Wrong! So far, it seems it’s going to cost at least $20+ dollars to ship a 3lb box – plus I need a customs envelope? And it has to be in a pre-approved USPS box? What a pain in the ass – I don’t even have time to run to the USPS during work hours.

Then I tried to ship the three different items in an envelope each (which is how I ship most of my stuff) – $10! Which is roughly 3x what I pay for shipping within the US…grrrr.

So I’m wondering: Am I doing this right? $20+ sounds excessive for a 3lb box (but perhaps it isn’t) – same goes for the $9, 1lb envelope. The items would be shipped from San Francisco and would be going to New Brunswick, CA. What is my cheapest and easiet option (do they all require customs envelopes?)

2

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I sell to Canada all the time and the secret is knowing what postal class to use. You can ship up to 4 pounds to Canada First-Class Mail® International, for you it will only be $12.36 for a 3 pound package. Your one pound package will only cost $4.76. You will also need to fill out a form 2976. I have a built in advantage when it comes to selling to Canada, shipping from here in Washington to Canada is not that much more than regular Parcel Post in the US.

3

http://ircalc.usps.gov/