QSLs from Canada

[KI6EAA]

I am new at this....

I wanted to sent a couple QSL cards out to stations I worked in Canada, hoping for a reply. I will send SAE, and am trying to figure out the best approach for postage.  I can send an IRC if that is best, but I would rather locate a source of Canadian postage, perhaps trade US postage with a Canadian ham. Any thoughts?

[KE5HOB]

I'm pretty sure that U.S. postage to reach Canada. I remember QSL'ing a ham in Ontario and used regular U.S. postage with no problems. Try looking on the USPS site to see if the territory your contact is in is a US postal region.

[AF3Y]

OK... 69 cents US postage will get an envelope,card & SASE, etc. to Canada.  Current exchange on the US vs. Canada dollar is pretty close, so sending $1US should get it returned to you. I guess you could send a $2 IRC if you are so inclined. However, $1 US has always worked for me. Hopefully, the US dollar wont drop too much further.  73, Gene, AF3Y

[VA3XQ]

.99 cents is the cost of postage for a card from Canada to the US.

[W2IRT]

$1 is not enough any longer. Their government taxes postage stamps (!), so a .99 cent stamp is reality would cost $1.05, if my math is correct -- plus the fact that one US dollar is worth LESS than a Canadian dollar these days and add in the fees the banks charge to exchange money. I'd suggest $2 USD or 1 IRC. Mint stamps are ideal.

Actually, I'm going to be in Canada over the US Thanksgiving holiday this weekend (please look for me in CQWW-CW as VE3THX), so I'll likely be coming back with a booklet of Canada-to-US stamps.

[WD9EWK]

In years past, I would either buy stamps in a Canadian post office when I was up there or order them from the Canada Post National Philatelic Centre.  From the US or Canada, a toll-free number: 1-800-565-4362.  They have their own web site:

http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/collecting/default-e.asp

I have tried online ordering from this branch of Canada Post in the past, unsuccessfully, so I would place all my orders over the phone.  They didn't charge shipping on orders, and with the orders being shipped out of Canada I avoided any Canadian sales tax that would be charged at a post office.  

There is now a new web site to shop for stuff from Canada Post:
 
http://www.shopcanadapost.ca/

which I have not tried yet.  I might try that, especially with an upcoming rate increase that will force me to get some smaller stamps to go with all the 49-cent stamps I have had for a few years (a previous rate for domestic mail up there, I'd put two of those stamps on my SASEs going to Canada).  

IRCs are not a good value for getting QSLs from Canada, when you can get stamps for just over US$ 1 per SASE directly from Canada Post instead of spending US$ 2 for a new IRC from USPS.  If you get IRCs from other hams, you may be able to get them for a lower price, but probably higher than getting the Canadian stamps.  Putting a US$ 1 bill in the envelope may work for some hams up there, despite the fact that you would be a couple pennies short of paying for the Canada-to-USA postage.

Good luck and 73!



Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/

[VE3LXL]

Canadian postage to the U.S. is 93 cents. The 99 cents that VA3XQ mentioned is the cost including the sales tax. Since the Canadian dollar is worth a few cents more than the U.S. one at present, it means that postage is currently slightly over $1 U.S.

I would recommend against sending IRCs. Just my personal opinion, but it's a lot easier to deal with U.S. cash than it is with an IRC, and the IRC will also cost you twice what you actually need to send. The U.S. cash is also useful for us because we can use it for return postage when we send QSLs to the U.S. or abroad.

You can send $2 if you want, but that seems like too much to me. If a U.S. ham sent me $2 for return postage, I'd probably return one of those dollars to him. A dollar is fine.