How to ship books in Canada

Packing books

One book. Wrap it in plastic or paper and slip it into a padded mailer, or a book mailer with stiff card inside. Canada Post asks for a rigid material around anything that could bend.

Several books. Lay them flat, or stand them upright on their spines, never on their open edges. Put the heaviest at the bottom, keep similar sizes together, and fill every gap with paper so nothing shifts. UPS asks for a rigid box with its flaps attached and at least 5 cm (2 in) of cushioning around the contents.

A plastic bag around the stack keeps out damp, and a small box beats a big one: books get heavy fast.

Why books bill on weight

U-Haul’s small moving box measures 16⅜ × 12⅝ × 12⅝ in, which carriers round up to 17 × 13 × 13 in. Filled with books, say it weighs 35 lb:

Carrier	Billed as	Fits
Canada PostRegular Parcel	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
Canada PostOther services	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
UniUni	Limits and divisor not published. A quote asks UniUni directly.
PurolatorGround	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
PurolatorExpress	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
UPSStandard	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
UPSExpress	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
FedExGround	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits
FedExExpress	35 lbWeight sets it	Fits

Weight sets the bill at every carrier. The box would have to weigh less than about 17 to 25 lb before its size counted. A single book in a 13 × 10 × 1 in padded mailer bills at about 1 lb.

Keep each box under 50 lb

• UPS and Purolator add extra handling to a box over 50 lb, and FedEx over 55 lb.
• Canada Post asks for an Overweight sticker on anything over 22.7 kg (50 lb).
• U-Haul rates its small box to 65 lb, but the carriers’ lines come sooner.

Books to PO boxes and schools

Many readers in small towns get their mail at a PO box. Canada Post is the only one of the five carriers that delivers there, so pick it for a PO box address. Schools, libraries and offices are business addresses, where carriers deliver on weekdays in business hours.

Is there a cheaper rate for books?

Canada Post’s reduced Library Materials rate is for libraries lending books to other libraries and to readers. Sellers and individuals ship books at the same parcel prices as anything else, so the savings come from the box and the weight: a padded mailer for a single book, a small box for a few, and every box under 50 lb.

Rare and valuable books

Wrap a valuable book in acid-free paper, then bubble wrap, and use two boxes, as UPS recommends for fragile goods. Check the carrier’s cover first. Canada Post caps claims lower for items valued for their rarity, naming comic books, autographed items and antiques among them. Purolator carries collectors’ items at the shipper’s risk, with no claims paid.

Want a smaller bill? See what each box size bills at.