Shipping with Canada Post can be expensive and complicated! We’ve assembled this handy guide to help you ship all your smaller items for less, and with just 4 stamps that you can actually find at any postal outlet in Canada! Keep reading to learn about shipping with Canada Post, what is Oversized Lettermail, the denominations of stamps that are available, and which stamps you need to keep on hand to ship any oversized Lettermail package in Canada!
What’s the Issue With Shipping?
If you sell online, you’ve definitely made the dreaded trip to the post office wondering “how much is this going to cost me?” or “will I even make any money on this item once I pay for shipping?”. Parcel rates in Canada are expensive, but luckily there’s a better option if you are ok with your items shipping without tracking. Enter Oversized Lettermail!
Oversized lettermail is the BEST way to send smaller items (anything that fits through the SLOT OF DOOM and weighs less than 500g) to any address in Canada for under $6! Considering that parcel rates are $15+ and the smallest available flat rate box is $20+, having a ~$5 option for most small items is a small business life saver!
Check out our SLOT OF DOOM How To Guide, and get your very own SLOT OF DOOM by Green Fox 3D HERE!
While Canada Post sells Permanent stamps for regular letters, and $1.94 stamps for the first tier of oversized mail (up to 100g - read more about that below!), they do not sell stamps in the denominations needed for heavier items! Why not? We asked and apparently they just don't. Unsatisfying, I know!
This leaves you with 2 choices - make a trip to the Post Office *every* time to have your oversized lettermail weighed (and scrutinized to make sure it's not too big) and then buy the correct postage, OR keep reading for a quick how-to guide on getting the right postage at home, without a trip to the post office! We like this option better :)
What is Oversized Lettermail?
Before we get into all the details, let’s back up a bit. What exactly *is* Oversized Lettermail? According to Canada Post, Lettermail is, well, for letters! This includes all the ‘normal’ you’d expect - letters, invoices, advertising, birthday cards, etc. BUT it also includes “Any other mail you choose to send which meets the applicable qualifications”.
Basically, as long as it meets Canada Post shipping requirements (not hazardous or controlled, etc), if it fits, it ships! So Oversized Lettermail is a Cost Efficient way to get smaller items to and from anywhere in Canada!
How Big Is Oversized?
Now that you know about Oversized Lettermail, you might be wondering about those size requirements! The minimum size requirement for Lettermail is 140mm x 90mm x 0.18mm. The maximum size determines if it’s Standard or Oversized.
Standard: 245mm x 156mm x 5mm
Oversized: 380mm x 270mm x 20mm
The picture below shows and Original Slot of Doom with a piece of letter sized paper in the oversized slot, and a standard envelope in the standard slot.
Large envelopes, padded mailers, rigid mailers or poly mailers can all be used for Oversized Lettermail. A regular sheet of paper is 280mm x 216mm, so an envelope or rigid mailers that fits standard paper is the right size for Oversized Lettermail!
How Much Does Oversized Lettermail Cost?
Regular lettermail uses a permanent stamp (92¢) for all letters up to 50g. Oversized mail has 5 different rates depending on the weight of the envelope/mailer. Under 100g is $1.94, 101-200g is $3.19, and 201-300g is $4.44. Most oversized lettermail shipments will be under 300g, but if you happen to have something heavier that still fits in the oversized lettermail size limits, it’s $5.09 for 301-400g and $5.47 for 401-500g. Above 500g you can’t use oversized lettermail and have to ship using parcel rates.
What Denomination Stamps Can I Buy?
Canada Post sells a variety of stamps in many different denominations. You can get as little as a $0.01 stamp (and we don’t even have pennies anymore!), an $8.00 stamp (maybe just for collectors as there’s no postage rate that needs $8!), and many options in between. Standard lettermail stamps are available at all Canada Post locations, but most of the Low Value stamps are only available online. In London, ON we’ve found the 1¢, 5¢ and 9¢ at some post office locations, but it’s not reliable. All stamps, including the low value ones, are available on Canada Post’s website. (Pro-tip: If you buy >$25 of stamps online, Canada Post will mail them to you for FREE!)
Low Value Stamps: 1¢, 3¢, 4¢, 5¢, 6¢, 7¢, 8¢, 9¢, 22¢, and 25¢
Standard Lettermail: P/92¢ - permanent stamp for domestic lettermail (standard letters, under 5mm thick and less than 50g)
US Lettermail: $1.30 - standard stamp for USA lettermail (under 30g). *Note that ONLY paper can be sent as US Lettermail - nothing else!
Oversized Lettermail: $1.94 - standard stamp for domestic oversized lettermail (under 100g)
International Lettermail: $2.71 - standard stamp for International lettermail (under 30g). *Note that ONLY paper can be sent as international lettermail - nothing else!
What Stamps Do I Need?
While there are lots of ways to get to the necessary stamp values, if you follow the chart below you can make all the required postage rates exactly with just 6 different stamp values, and a max of 4 stamps per package! It could be fun to put a dozen stamps on the envelope, but 4 fit nicely in the corner and still look professional without the custom denominated label.
All the shipping rates can be achieved with a combination of 1 or more of the following 6 stamps: P/92¢, $1.30, $1.94, 5¢, 8¢, and $2.71. If all your items are under 400g, you can actually do it all with just the stamps in the top row!
The only stamps you need for ALL your Oversized Lettermail!
If you don’t want to mess with the low value stamps, check out the ‘Easy Combo’ column for options that use only stamps available at every Post Office (no low value stamps). You’ll overpay by a few cents on the 101-200 (5¢) and 201-300g (11¢) packages, but you can get away with only using P/92¢, $1.30, $1.94 and $2.71 stamps!
** The EASY Combo ($1.94 + $1.30) puts $3.24 on the envelope (5¢ over the required rate) but it’s a great option if you don’t want to mess with the low value stamps!
*** The EASY Combo (4 x $1.30 stamps) puts $5.20 on the envelope (11¢ over the required rate) but it’s a great option if you don’t want to mess with the low value stamps!
Two options for $1.94 postage for a 100g oversized lettermail envelope are shown below. 4 stamps fit neatly in the corner of the envelope and still look professional!
Remember, all prices are the STAMP FACE VALUE and do not include tax. So when you are figuring out how much to charge for shipping, remember to add the tax! In Ontario, that means a $1.94 stamp is actually $2.19 ($1.94 + $0.25 HST). If you’re a small seller and not responsible for collecting HST (so you don’t claim an input tax credit), make sure you account for the extra cost of the sales tax!
Looking for another way to save a few loonies? If you buy Permanent Stamps in bulk at Costco, it’s $88.20+tax for a roll of 100 stamps. At Canada Post it will cost you $92.00 + tax for the same roll, and $1.07 + tax if you want to buy just single stamps!
What To Buy?
Once you know what your typical Oversized Lettermail weights are, you can buy the appropriate stamps. We recommend always keeping P/92¢, $1.30 and $1.94 stamps on hand. These three stamp values will cover you for up to 400g packages. We’ve never actually had an Oversized Lettermail package that was 401 - 500g, but if you do then keep a few $2.71 stamps on hand and you’ll be good to go!
You can buy stamps at your local Canada Post outlet, or online. Buy P/92¢ stamps in bulk at Costco (in store only). Get your SLOT OF DOOM here!
**Make sure you check out our detailed How To Guide for how to prepare and ship your Oversized Lettermail using the SLOT OF DOOM**
