Well I got a shock today! Bought my sister (who lives in Italy) a birthday pressie....one of those tin stars that people hang on their houses (she likes things like that). They're really light (made from aluminium) so I thought that'd be a good thing to send....postage will be nice and cheap. Since her birthday is in a couple of weeks, I asked the lady if it could go express post or similar. No kidding....I promise I'm not telling fibs...the charge was $120. i nearly choked on my tongue when I gasped! I told her the gift (which I'd wrapped in bubble stuff and put in a padded jiffy bag) was only $10 to start with. i must say she was really helpful in trying to get the price down for me. To send it air mail the charge went down to $90.....I opted for snail mail, goodness knows when she'll get it but she would kill me for spending on postage like that. I knew others on here had warned of high postage costs but by the 'eck, I didn't expect to come out in hives just sending a small gift. I think I'll have to review the gifts I buy and be ever so organised so I can send them months in advance.

I'm still in shock and keep wondering if she could possibly have punched in the wrong info.

Light, bulky things will always cost a dispropotionately more to ship. Think shipping a ton of feathers vs a ton of lead & the space that it will take up in an aircraft/truck. The same would be true of using a courier such as FEDEX as Canada Post. That being said, I find Canada Post charges excessive generally. Internet shopping (in the country of destination) is the way to go!

How long have you lived in Canada?

I see, so I'd shop Italian and get it sent locally? Makes sense I suppose.

I'm still a newbie here and finding my way around the systems. I am finding things quite expensive though. My son thought he was getting a cold sore so in the UK I would have bought Zovirax over the counter at a cost of £8.99. You can only get Zovirax here with a prescription (according to the pharmacist) so he gave me the OTC equivalent, which cost (with tax) $25. Cripes.

It's our three month anniversary today.....I'm guessing you're going to tell me I have a lot to learn?

No, sadly it's true, Canada Post rates are downright obscene. I ended up shopping on Amazon uk for uk gifts before I came back over. Earlier this year, my sister sent me some Cheetos as a joke along with our birthday cards. I think snail mail cost her something like 15 bucks and it took 2 months to get here.

Have you not witnessed the Canada Post parcel ritual? Measuring the dimension of the parcel using a tape measure multiplying them by your shoe size and adding in the weight of the parcel itself?? They charge more if the parcel is a cylindar too.

We use John Lewis or Marks for gifts in the UK when we have to.

I honestly thought people would think I was fibbing....I know peops in the UK will think that! Well, I'll certainly take AE and your advice and do shopping online! Christmas cards.......hmmmmm......me thinks ecards will be the way forward this year!

Yep, that's exactly what she did....length x height x depth = RIP OFF!

Glad I posted on here now, at least I know how to send gifts next time!

I stopped sending xmas cards 8 years ago. No one was offended. We don't get many but that's good as they only serve to clutter the place up. Like I need more clutter.

Moonpig.com and M&S cards are the way to go. Customise a card online, it gets printed and mailed from the UK. Although, we've pretty much done with sending cards these days.

I agree, although I will still send 'special peops' a card....my Dad doesn't know how to turn on a computer, let alone open an ecard!

I'm singing the same song bats...

My sis in Italy uses Moonpig and raves about it. In my naivety I thought 'ah, my sis will love that star and it's nice and light to send'. Pffft.....

Amazon or eBay stuff to a different address... best way around it..