# How much would an 8.5X11 envelop cost to send to Canada via USPS Express Mail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074 "2007-02-13T20:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/1 "2007-02-13T20:39:49Z")
I’ve ordered an item off of e-bay. The original shipping costs were $10 USD. I asked to have the item FedEx-ed instead, to easure easy passage through customs - I paid $26.50 in shipping instead of $10. The person sending it has just informed me that they sent it USPS Express Mail and not FedEx. Assume it’s in a standard 8.5X11 envelope and is not over weight, what would USPS Express Cost? The reason I ask is that a parcel of the same size going the other way is about $25 via FedEx but only $12.46 via CanadaPost Express Post. I’m a little annoyed, to be frank - I think the fella may have thought he would have a little pay day, but I’m not sure if USPS Express Post rates are similar to Canada ones, so before I have a hissy-fit I want to make sure I know what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/2 "2007-02-13T20:47:14Z")
Before the [USPS Express Mail Postage Calculator–Destination Canada](http://ircalc.usps.gov/default.asp?Mode=Intl_Single&CID=10054) (which is as far as I got) will work, it needs a weight, expressed in terms of pounds and ounces. How much does this thing weigh, approximately? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/3 "2007-02-13T20:53:21Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Before the [USPS Express Mail Postage Calculator–Destination Canada](http://ircalc.usps.gov/default.asp?Mode=Intl_Single&CID=10054) (which is as far as I got) will work, it needs a weight, expressed in terms of pounds and ounces. How much does this thing weigh, approximately? [/QUOTE] Not much - about 4 ounces. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/4 "2007-02-13T21:01:59Z")
Global Priority mail is $4.25. Global Express mail is $16.25. Global Express Guaranteed mail is $25.25. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/5 "2007-02-13T21:04:14Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/6 "2007-02-13T21:04:20Z")
Okayyyyy, soooo…plugging “4 ounces” into the calculator, I see that Global Express Guaranteed Document Service costs $25.25; Global Express Mail costs $16.25. Are you sure it was only 4 ounces, or are you just guessing? Just plain Global Priority Mail (large envelope) is only $7.50. So the phrase “US Express Mail” can mean two different things. If he sent it Document Service, then yeah, it was about $25. I have had experience with eBay items that I bought not costing as much to ship as I originally paid for, and the seller refunded the extra money without being asked. Before you assume this guy is shafting you on the postage and give him a Negative, make sure he doesn’t have a refund in the works. P.S. FedEx actually [works with the USPS,](http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/pr01_alliance0110.htm) BTW, so by specifying “FedEx” you’re not really gaining anything–it all goes on the same airplane anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/7 "2007-02-13T21:23:03Z")
[QUOTE=alice\_in\_wonderland] a parcel of the same size going the other way is about $25 via FedEx but only $12.46 via CanadaPost Express Post. [/QUOTE] The [FedEx calculator](http://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=CA&language=en) won’t give me a quote for a weight less than 1 lb., so a package of 1 pound going from the House of Commons in Ottawa (which was the only Canadian postal code I could find offhand) to my house in Decatur would cost $54 to have it tomorrow (International Priority), $45 to have it Thursday (International Economy), and $13.85 to have it Friday (International Ground). So your parcel “going the other way”–is it being sent via “next day”, “next two days”, or “within 3 business days”? And of course, the USPS quote is for only 4 ounces, whereas the FedEx quote is for 1 lb. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/8 "2007-02-13T22:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] And of course, the USPS quote is for only 4 ounces, whereas the FedEx quote is for 1 lb. [/QUOTE] A standard FedEx envelope coming from Canada to the US overnight is about $26 Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-an-8-5x11-envelop-cost-to-send-to-canada-via-usps-express-mail/392074/9 "2007-02-13T22:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] I have had experience with eBay items that I bought not costing as much to ship as I originally paid for, and the seller refunded the extra money without being asked. Before you assume this guy is shafting you on the postage and give him a Negative, make sure he doesn’t have a refund in the works. [/QUOTE] Of course - I won’t leave any feedback at all until the package arrives and then I’ll check the postage he actually paid. He has another item that I’m interested in but I want to see how the first one makes it here first.