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Cost of Shipping from Canada to the UK Explained
Canada to UK Shipping Costs Explained
The United Kingdom and Canada have many things in common. These nations are close allies and share strong historical ties. They also share international initiatives like NATO, the Commonwealth, G7 and G20 and are close allies in bilateral trade. The United Kingdom is one of Canada’s largest trading partners. With over 12 million international parcels shipped to the UK daily, Canada accounts for several thousands of this figure.
Shipping from Canada to the UK can be a daunting and overly expensive experience. The shipping cost between these two countries is a significant deterrent to individuals, businesses and institutions in Canada that need to send packages to the UK. These costs can run so high that some feel they may need to take out a second mortgage to afford the shipping costs all year round. It’s a major pain point that infringes on eCommerce businesses that want to explore new markets.
Now, shipping costs don’t only affect businesses and corporations. Consumers don’t want to deal with shipping costs either, as 28% of abandoned carts are caused by shipping costs. This is why smart eCommerce businesses (65%) incentivise consumer purchases by offering free shipping on different products and price caps. However, businesses cannot rely on their logistics partners to offer them ‘free shipping’. Hence, they would have to bear it, especially for cross-border shipping from Canada to the UK.
So, what constitutes Canada to UK shipping costs? How is it calculated? How much is shipping from Canada to the UK? What’s the cheapest way to ship from Canada to the UK? Bezos will reveal these and so much more in this article. Call this your very own Canada to UK shipping cost guide. Let’s begin!
Key points
- The United Kingdom and Canada send and receive several millions of packages yearly to and from each other. This translates to billions in shipping costs which factors like DIM weight, product size, value, travelled distance, mode of transportation, delivery type/time, etc., influence.
- Understanding these constituents and the intricacies of shipping cost estimates can help global eCommerce businesses gain insights into the best cost-mitigating practices.
- The fulfilment provider also determines shipping costs, and a partner like Bezos is the surest way to save your eCommerce business at least 80% of average Canada to UK shipping costs.
- Bezos might be the cheapest way to ship from Canada to the UK, but our service offerings are anything but sub-par. As a full-service fulfilment partner, our fulfilment solutions are comprehensive and AI-enabled. Hence, they permit automated inventory management at diverse logistics stages.
- Bezos is offering you the best fulfilment solutions at a fraction of the price. Don’t sleep on this opportunity. Start saving now!
Calculating Canada to UK shipping costs
As one of the most critical aspects of running an eCommerce business, shipping is a major business expense. Several processes and activities go into order fulfilment and shipping, which may justify the high shipping costs. However, Canada to UK shipping costs are influenced by various factors, and understanding them can help in cost mitigation. These factors include the following:
- Package destination
- Package weight and dimensions
- Package value
- Delivery time
- Mode of shipping
- Surcharges and customs.
Package destination
The destination of the package from the point of origin determines its travelled distance, and the longer this distance, the higher the applicable shipping costs. These carriers and fulfilment providers use dynamic geographic zones to estimate the distance a shipment needs to travel to reach its destination. Additional levies are applied to packages that need to cross countries or those going to remote locations.
Hence, because shipping from Canada to the UK involves travelling over the Atlantic Ocean, the shipping costs will be significantly higher than shipping from the US to Canada. However, with today’s strong postal networks, receiving a Canadian package in the United Kingdom can take less than a week.
Package weight and dimensions
This is a no-brainer. The heavier or larger the package, the more expensive it is to ship. Fulfilment companies use a weight-to-cost ratio to determine shipping costs. This is called ‘billable weight’ and is why shipping clothes would cost less than shipping a bed. The package's dimensions also work the same way. Fulfilment companies use a parcel’s dimensional weight (DIM) to calculate its shipping costs. DIM is calculated as follows:
DIM Weight = (Length x Width x Height) package / DIM divisor
Fulfilment providers and carriers in Canada, like UPS, base their shipping costs on whichever is greater between the DIM weight and the package’s actual weight. Higher DIM weights are synonymous with odd-sized non-stackable, cylindrical or bulky packages. These will also attract handling surcharges, further increasing the shipping costs. You can absolve yourself of these costs by boxing up your packages to make them easier to handle.
Package’s value
It’s a no-brainer that the shipment value influences the calculated shipping cost. Packages that cost less will have lower shipping costs than those that cost more. For instance, someone orders a bed from Marshalls to be shipped to the UK, and another person orders a luxury bag to be shipped to the same destination.
It would cost more to ship the luxury bag than the bed, even though it weighs significantly less. This is because shipping high-end or designer merchandise requires shipping insurance which indemnifies the buyer of risks if said item is damaged, stolen or lost in transit. Shipping insurance typically costs 0.3 to 0.5% of the merchandise’s worth. So, you can see how this would rack up the shipping costs.
Delivery time
With the modern day’s strong postal networks, shipping from Canada to the UK can take anywhere from a week to two weeks. Despite this fast timeframe, some customers still opt for shorter delivery timeframes that exacerbate the shipping costs. This is why carriers offer different delivery options, from expedited to standard delivery. Expedited deliveries could take the form of:
- Next day delivery
- Same day delivery
- Express delivery.
Standard deliveries exhaust more time, while expedited deliveries require the carrier to work with less time. Expedited deliveries require extra shifts to meet the short deadlines, which would require financial compensation. Hence, the increased shipping costs.
The package’s final destination also affects the delivery option. Delivering to shoppers in farther destinations within a small timeframe will require an expedited delivery option. So, to mitigate shipping costs incurred by expedited deliveries, eCommerce businesses and shoppers should always stick to the standard delivery options unless it’s a high-priority shipment.
Mode of shipping
Ecommerce businesses can ship from Canada to the UK via air or sea. Either option has benefits over the other. For instance, air freight is better suited for smaller quantities of products, while sea freight is best for larger containers. Air freight is best for priority orders, while sea freight might take weeks to months to deliver. Air freight is best for B2C eCommerce sellers, while sea freight works best for B2B companies. Finally, shipping via air freight is more expensive than land, sea or rail.
The mode of shipping influences the shipping costs for eCommerce sellers. However, if you’re a Canadian business seeking expansion into the UK market, you’re better off shipping all your stock via the ocean. Not only is this a more affordable option, but it’s also safer, and you can transport your entire inventory in one trip.
Here’s a rough estimate of the shipping costs that apply to either freight type for Canada to the UK.
Freight type
Sea
Source (from) --> Destination (to)
Vancouver -> Southampton, $650
Montreal -> Felixstowe, $450
Toronto -> London, $430
Kg /cbm
200
Freight type
Air
Source (from) --> Destination (to)
Vancouver -> Southampton, $930
Montreal -> Felixstowe, $695
Toronto -> London, $650
Kg /cbm
200
Surcharges and customs
International shipments from Canada to the UK are subject to customs and duty fees, which could be paid with shipping, separately or during delivery. The exact amount of customs and duties differ from one carrier to another, but they typically depend on the shipment’s worth.
Usually, customs is a calculated percentage of the shipment’s value. For instance, if your Canada-to-UK shipment exceeds £135, you would likely incur a 2.5% customs charge. However, the precise amount would depend on HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs).
On the other hand, surcharges may be added to the shipping costs. They’re meant to cushion any inconvenience the carrier experiences when shipping your inventory. Surcharges usually cover:
- Fuel - With the fluctuating price of petroleum.
- Address change - If there’s updated information about the recipient’s address.
- Weekend deliveries - If the carrier has to pick up extra shifts or work overtime to deliver on weekends.
- Odd-sized packages - If the package is cylindrical or non-stackable, handling surcharges will apply.
- Remote locations - For the inconvenience of navigating through remote locations.
- Dangerous goods - If the shipment is risky to a person or other shipments.
Comparing Canada to UK shipping costs (different providers)
The inter-border shipping costs vary according to the logistics partner’s service offerings and destination. As an outline, here are the hypothetical shipping costs of shipping one item from Canada to the UK as applicable to diverse fulfilment providers.
Provider
FedEx
Service
Economy
Max Weight
2kg
Cost
£143
Provider
FedEx
Service
Express
Max Weight
2kg
Cost
£171
Provider
DHL
Service
Express Import
Max Weight
2kg
Cost
£92
Provider
Canada Post
Service
International Parcel
Max Weight
2kg
Cost
CAD 97
Provider
Canada Post
Service
Xpresspost
Max Weight
2kg
Cost
CAD 133
Canada to UK shipping costs by Bezos
Bezos doesn’t have a templated service offering. Our comprehensive services are customisable to meet the needs of each eCommerce brand. Our pricing metric is flexible to accommodate each client’s service preferences. Hence, our shipping costs and charges vary from customer to customer. Nevertheless, just to give you perspective on how affordable our fulfilment solutions are, here’s an excerpt from our pricing manual.
Shipment value
£70
Shipment weight
2kg
Delivery speed
Next day delivery
Cost
£9
While this is our UK-to-UK shipping costs, one can gain perspective of the applicable Canada-to-UK costs from it. However, request a free quote for a detailed Canada to UK shipping cost estimate.
Partnering with us puts affordability on your side and enables you to financially pledge to other aspects of your eCommerce business, like branding or marketing.
Our fulfilment services
As a full-service fulfilment partner that ships from Canada to the UK and is available in 17 countries, Bezos has an array of fulfilment services that are comprehensive and customisable to each business’s unique needs. We’re renowned for transforming a labour-intensive task into your business's competitive advantage, and we do it through the following innovative fulfilment services:
- Order reception
Once you commit to Bezos as your fulfilment partner and issue an order fulfilment request, we begin serving you. Our world-class services commence with inventory reception, which we can achieve in any of our 63 fulfilment centres worldwide. At Bezos, Canada-to-UK inventory reception can be done in three ways.
First, you can ship us your inventory via another courier. We can also pick it up from your preferred location, which in this case, is Canada. Lastly, we can receive said inventory directly from your supplier or manufacturer, eliminating the costs of intermediaries. We'll support you through your preferred method.
- Order processing
At Bezos, we begin processing orders immediately after we receive the stock. We do this to ensure all orders are sold or delivered within 48 hours. Our order processing stage involves stock keeping, inspections, disinfection, storage, labelling, assembling and repackaging. This repackaging will give your customers an aesthetic unboxing experience.
At this stage, each stock will be branded with unique identification numbers with which you can remotely retrieve relevant information about the stock, including its fulfilment status, via the Bezos Seller Portal.
- Order shipping
As an eCommerce business, shipping orders to consumers is the most important part of the trade. With Bezos as your fulfilment partner, you’re guaranteed the safest and swiftest delivery possible. With 63 global fulfilment facilities, late cut-off times for same-day dispatch and over ten delivery options, your customers will receive their orders in pristine conditions.
- Order tracking
Bezos allows clients to track and manage their inventory remotely via the Bezos Seller Portal. This portal is easily integrable with 57 sales channels like Etsy, Amazon, WooCommerce, etc. It enables sellers to track and monitor their orders at every stage of the eCommerce supply chain. In essence, eCommerce sellers can see when an item is out of stock, get notified of damaged or returned orders, automate processes, track deliveries and gain valuable insights on inventory management through this AI-enabled Seller Portal.
- Returns solutions
Returns are unwanted occurrences for eCommerce businesses. Processing returns costs the business time, money and resources, but it must be done. With a fulfilment partner like Bezos, returns can be transformed into a competitive advantage for your business. We offer a fully-customisable range of returns solutions to boost your business’s consumer loyalty. How? We make your customers feel heard and valued while resolving their returns. Thus, renewing their faith in your company. Speak to our fulfilment experts to learn how our offerings can create a competitive advantage for your eCommerce company.
Conclusion
Shipping from Canada to the UK might be tasking and expensive without a fulfilment partner like Bezos that automates a good percentage of the process. For eCommerce businesses, exorbitant shipping costs are downsides of the trade, but you don’t have to deal with them anymore. Although distance, billable weight or shipment value influence international shipping costs, shipping from Canada to the UK on a budget is still possible with Bezos.
Partnering with Bezos will grant you access to tech-enabled fulfilment solutions at affordable rates. Choose Bezos today for cost-effective solutions to globally expand your eCommerce business.
FAQs
How much does it cost to ship from Canada to the UK?
Canada to UK shipping costs vary depending on several variables. However, with a different carrier, it could cost an average of CAD 100 to ship a 2kg parcel from Canada to the UK.
How long does it take to ship from Canada to the UK?
Shipping from Canada to the UK can take 3-10 days, depending on the carrier, product weight and freight type. Carriers prioritising excellence can ship from Canada to the UK in under three days.
What is the cheapest way to ship from Canada to the UK?
The cheapest way to send a parcel from Canada to the UK is via Bezos. Our fulfilment solutions absolve you of the shipping responsibility at highly affordable rates.
