Canada Post strike: Quebec pee-wee tournament suffers $50,000 in sales losses
"We basically closed our online stores because the orders were coming in, we couldn't deliver them until we saw them," explains the tournament's general manager, Patrick Dom.
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament has been forced to halt its online sales of promotional items due to the ongoing Canada Post strike, leading to a $50,000 loss for the organization.
"We essentially shut down our online stores because we couldn't fulfill orders until we knew we could ship them," explained Patrick Dom, the tournament's general manager.
Partial Resumption of Deliveries
While the organization has resumed online sales for domestic orders, it now faces additional costs and longer shipping times. However, international shipments continue to be problematic. "For shipments to Europe or the United States, the cost that the customer paid for transportation, which was around $20 to $21, has now doubled or tripled if we use a different carrier," Dom noted.
Creative Solutions
In response to these rising costs, Dom has taken matters into his own hands by traveling to a post office in Maine to ship American orders. "We had many packages ready for shipment to the U.S., including badges. The players are proud to participate in the tournament, so last Wednesday, we personally drove to Jackman, Maine, to send them out," he shared.
The organization is now concerned about having excess inventory. "We're basing our orders for this year on last year's sales. If the items don't sell, we know what will happen after the tournament—we'll be stuck with them," Dom concluded.
Since November 15, when 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike, all letter and parcel delivery services have been suspended.
