The last mile handover is usually where things go horribly wrong.
That's why vendors that operate internationally choose UPS, the only courier that can deliver from a factory in China to a doorstep almost anywhere on the planet without having to hand it over to local services, which will vary wildly in quality.
Also, nobody wants to pay the extortionate prices an old school state monopoly like Canada Post apparently is. It always surprises me that North-America holds on to their state systems where in Europe all of this is being privatized and post offices are disappearing. The monopolistic postal service is exactly why competitors can't invest in a better service.
You must be in the U.S., because you have no clue what kind of shenanigans UPS plays. For example, if a package crosses international borders, certain brokerage forms need to be filled out. You can do this yourself, but most carriers include this in the price of postage. UPS only includes it in their most expensive level of shipping. If you use UPS ground, for example, they'll tack on brokerage fees unless you do the brokerage yourself, and the fees are disproportionate! $50 on a $200 package is typical. You either have to resign yourself to wasting time on forms or buy the expensive UPS shipping, because the cheap shipping will actually be more expensive after brokerage! UPS is also very sneaky when it comes to letting you know you can do the forms yourself. Several times, UPS reps have told me I couldn't do it unless I went in person to the port the package entered the country through! This is not true, but they keep telling customers that.
In short, UPS can suck it. Horrible, horrible company. They're fine if you're shipping from the U.S. to the U.S., or perhaps even from China to the U.S, but from the U.S. to Canada they are horrendous. Avoid at all costs!
That's why vendors that operate internationally choose UPS, the only courier that can deliver from a factory in China to a doorstep almost anywhere on the planet without having to hand it over to local services, which will vary wildly in quality.
Also, nobody wants to pay the extortionate prices an old school state monopoly like Canada Post apparently is. It always surprises me that North-America holds on to their state systems where in Europe all of this is being privatized and post offices are disappearing. The monopolistic postal service is exactly why competitors can't invest in a better service.