What is the best way to ship photography equipment from Canada?

Hello,

I`m new to Wetpixel and would like to know what is the best way to ship my underwater photography kit from Canada.

I`ve never really sold anything online before. I have a complete underwater set up in the classifieds and would like to know how to ship it to wherever. Also, what is the best way to receive payment? What does everybody here at Wetpixel do? What about Insurance? What is the protocol to protect both the buyer and seller?

Thank you,

Paul from Montreal

I ship stuff from BC all the time. I use Canada Post as they do (unfortunately) offer the better prices for shipping, if you want the item insured for more than $1k however, you need to use a commercial carrier like FEDEX, UPS or Purolator. I have shipping insurance via my commercial insurance policy.

You can opt to take payment by Paypal but their exchange rates and limitations for us Canucks are a PITA, you may want to look at Square Register, it's an app for your smartphone and you can either swipe cards or enter them manually. However, manually entered transactions greater than $2500 are held for 30 days. If you can get your buyer to agree, a bank wire transfer is best from countries outside of Canada (European and Australian banks make it very easy for them to transfer the funds) if you're selling to someone else in Canada, an Interac email wire transfer is easiest.

You post the most honest description possible on the items you're selling, offer a review period if you'd like. Most purchases on forums is basically as is unless it's posted as working and you get something not working. Generally, folks on this forum are easy to deal with, you do have to be careful of those trolling for a scam. If the deal doesn't feel right, walk away.

Cheers

S.