Creighton residents wanting to purchase through Amazon.ca are in for significant charges.
The online store is a convenient way for people around the world to purchase items and have them shipped directly to their homes. In many communities it’s a great way to shop for items not sold locally.
However, Creighton has recently been designated as a remote community by the company, meaning the cost to ship items has increased substantially.
An Amazon customer service representative confirmed that Creighton has been designated as a remote community but neighbouring Flin Flon is not.
As such, free shipping specials and regular shipping rates are still available on items shipped to Flin Flon but not to Creighton.
“Remote locations are determined by what Canada Post deems as remote,” said the agent.
While Amazon provided a list of postal codes that are considered remote in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the agent was unable to explain why the neighbouring communities were not given the same status.
Creighton resident Moira Davis looked into the designation when she was trying to make purchases through Amazon last month.
“I was ordering two pieces of jewellery. One was being shipped by Amazon and one was being shipped directly from the company,” she said. “The item being shipped from Amazon was going to cost me $35 in shipping but the item coming from the company in China included free shipping. It didn’t make sense.”
After contacting the company she learned that Creighton had been designated a remote location effective last March.
The customer service representative she spoke with suggested she have her items delivered to Flin Flon using the Flex Delivery system option with Canada Post. According to Davis the service is easy to activate and is free, allowing her to have items delivered to the neighbouring community without the additional charges associated with a remote location.
However, the inconvenience of having to pick up items in Flin Flon and the fact that the two communities don’t carry the same shipping designation puzzles Davis.
“Everything comes on the same truck from Winnipeg,” she said, adding that the additional charges don’t sit well with her.
According to information found on Amazon.ca, remote locations within Canada are “postal codes that are difficult to serve. Examples are: towns far from a shipper’s hub, towns that are infrequently served by shippers, and Canada Post Air Stage Locations (where mail must be airlifted at certain times of the year).”
Information on remote location shipping costs goes on to explain, “Total shipping cost equals per shipment cost plus per item cost,” which is determined by the item’s weight. Each item is then charged a minimum $29 fee plus $22 per kilogram.
By comparison, standard shipping through Amazon.ca to communities not designated as remote includes a $3.99 per shipment cost plus a per kilogram charge ranging from $0 to $3.28 depending on the type of item purchased.
As such a 14-kg bag of dog food worth $40 would cost an additional $337 to ship to Creighton and only $49.91 to ship the same bag to Flin Flon.
In addition, as a remote location, shipments going to Creighton are no longer eligible for free shipping specials.
Creighton mayor Bruce Fidler was concerned when he learned of the new designation by the company.
“I can see that this will really affect the sales that go through Amazon,” he said. “I hope that people realize that they will be charged significantly more for shipping before they make their purchases.”
