Canada Post Strike Is Crushing Small Biz — What Pawnshops in Vancouver Need to Do Right Now

Freeze the holiday hype: the Canada Post strike is already a cash hit — "to cost small businesses $1 billion" — and we’re not through week four yet. If you sell, ship, or depend on online orders, this is the liquidity squeeze you felt coming but didn’t prepare for. Why this matters at the counter Banks and pundits can talk rates and tariffs, but a broken delivery system hits dealers and pawnbrokers where it hurts: inventory turnover. The Financial Post reports the strike will cost small businesses $1 billion, and newsfeeds show sellers running out of workarounds as the disruption drags into week four. Translation: items sit longer, layaways pile up, and customers who planned last-minute gifts can’t be counted on. Warning signs you shouldn’t ignore - Slow-moving inventory that used to flip in days is taking weeks to move. - Customers cancelling purchases because “shipping times are unreliable.” - Your cash cushion is getting eaten by stalled sales and longer layaway windows. Counterintuitive insight (most people get this wrong) You’ll hear the reflex: “Push harder on online sales to make up for storefront traffic.” Wrong move right now. During a mail strike, online reach is worthless if you can’t reliably deliver. Local convenience and guaranteed pick-up convert better than distant promises of shipping that never arrives. Common mistake + how to avoid it Mistake: Raising online promotion and offering free or cheap shipping to compete. That burns margin and creates liabilities when packages don’t move. Fix: Pivot promotions to guaranteed same-day pickup, in-store gift cards, and buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) options you can actually deliver on. What changes now You have to treat fulfilment risk like a product cost. Shipping delays are not a temporary annoyance — they’re a line item that eats margin, slows turnover, and risks chargebacks. Shift where you can control delivery (in-store, local couriers, hand-deliveries) and re-price or re-bundle online offers to reflect the new reality. Mini playbook: what to do this week - Stop promising standard shipping windows on listings; post an explicit note about delays and pickup options. - Promote same-day/next-day in-store pickup and local courier delivery at checkout. - Re-price items with long hold times to free up cash (discounts on slow stock or short-term layaway fees). - Use layaway terms that force commitment (non-refundable deposit, fixed pickup window). - Keep tighter records of promised delivery dates — and notify customers proactively. Hypothetical example: Imagine you took in a vintage amp, listed it online with "free shipping," and accepted a sale from out of province. Two weeks in, Canada Post delays mean the buyer files a dispute. Now your amp is sold, money isn’t cleared, and you’ve lost the only negotiable leverage — that’s exactly the cashflow trap we’re seeing play out across small businesses (this is a hypothetical example). Pawn Counter Take - The Canada Post strike is not a minor holiday hiccup; it’s a measurable revenue drain for small businesses. - Online reach without dependable fulfillment is a liability — local delivery and pickup are the quickest way to protect cashflow. - Re-price, tighten layaways, and force commitment on purchases or expect margin erosion. If you’re in Vancouver… - Offer a clear, prominent in-store pickup option and promote same-day pickup on social channels and your listings. - Line up at least one reliable local courier or set firm windows for hand-delivery; build those costs into the price. - Reduce exposure: push fast-moving stock, discount slow items, and require non-refundable deposits for layaways. The postal mess is a liquidity problem you can solve with local focus — act like your turnover depends on it, because it does.