5LikesTips and tricks for shipping stuff to Canada.
03-07-2018, 11:58 AM
#1
Tips and tricks for shipping stuff to Canada.
Hi Guys, I buy and sell a lot on here. I've set up a US address and sometimes have stuff sent there and go pick it up myself but that's a 2 hour drive.
I just wanted to let people know how to avoid some frustration when shipping to Canada.
Flat rate box is a bit of a rip off. If you make your package as small as possible, you will potentially pay less for shipping in the long run.
Always declare the item a gift or at least no retail value because after all, it's a private sale.
Make sure you declare the correct value for insurance however so if something does happen you are covered and don't loose your money.
Declaring a customs value alone without those details will make the Canadian Border Service consider it a retail transaction and charge duty and sales tax on the package.
I did a trade with a great seller on here, he shipped before I had a chance to tell him. He called the stuff merchandise with a value of $300. This was not his fault, he was being the best seller/trader he could be. When the stuff arrived it cost $58. No money changed hands, it was just errors in the paperwork.
Canadians can apply for a refund of these charges but only after they are paid.
Hopefully this can save everyone a few bucks and maybe a headache or two.
I just wanted to let people know how to avoid some frustration when shipping to Canada.
Flat rate box is a bit of a rip off. If you make your package as small as possible, you will potentially pay less for shipping in the long run.
Always declare the item a gift or at least no retail value because after all, it's a private sale.
Make sure you declare the correct value for insurance however so if something does happen you are covered and don't loose your money.
Declaring a customs value alone without those details will make the Canadian Border Service consider it a retail transaction and charge duty and sales tax on the package.
I did a trade with a great seller on here, he shipped before I had a chance to tell him. He called the stuff merchandise with a value of $300. This was not his fault, he was being the best seller/trader he could be. When the stuff arrived it cost $58. No money changed hands, it was just errors in the paperwork.
Canadians can apply for a refund of these charges but only after they are paid.
Hopefully this can save everyone a few bucks and maybe a headache or two.
03-08-2018, 12:03 AM
#2
Super Moderator
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: RIP 'Chopper', 4/18/13 miss you bud:(
Posts: 15,484
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All that is the reason I don't ship to Canada.
03-08-2018, 12:57 PM
#3
same here.
03-08-2018, 04:25 PM
#5
Tech Master
iTrader: (204)
Your at a disadvantage on this post, reason being is maybe 1% of all members will read this, IF that and of them they won't remember any of this stuff, so best advice is for you to remind people of your recommendations as not many people will want to say it's a gift, and if you have a US address then people will ship faster to that as ease of shipping with less forms to fill out, not that people are busy, but they sure act like they are and always in a rush to go no where
03-08-2018, 05:03 PM
#6
It is no big deal to ship to any foreign country. The only additional step is a customs form with tiny writing and not much room to print on. On the form after the to and from is the what. I always write "model car parts" and an approximate value. That's it. I won't say gift or any other half truth or lie for that matter. If the buyer isn't happy with that then it is his problem.
03-08-2018, 05:40 PM
#7
You are correct, tell the truth. We are not a retailers, no sales tax is charged, no invoice or receipt is provided as proof of sale and there is no warranty on the goods being sold.
Our dealings on here have no commercial or retail value.
Its helps if we say that, I do when I ship down there.
I simply put " No Commercial Value" on the form.
Our dealings on here have no commercial or retail value.
Its helps if we say that, I do when I ship down there.
I simply put " No Commercial Value" on the form.
03-09-2018, 07:08 AM
#9
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
What sucks more then taxes, duty fees and border delays is seeing more and more for sale posts with.. shipped US only! With respect to seller I never respond even thou I always calculate exchange, additional $20 for shipping and $60 for duty before contacting seller. This is life.. these charges have me searching for large $$ sales only and usually adding items not posted.
03-09-2018, 07:52 AM
#10
myself and SteveM have bought and sold between us im in the USA and he is in Canada , and we never had any issues or payed ridiculous amount for shipping , i always put toy/gift on the customs form. Always make the package small as possible and is not that differenty than shipping to california hawaii or alaska
03-09-2018, 03:58 PM
#12
Tech Master
iTrader: (204)
I was just at the post office and priority international shipping was 24 dollars, then she said it goes by size of box, not to mention the added paperwork, so I am not sure what not expensive is, but what bothers me more is tracking stops at the border for some reason, as she said she could track a package, but it takes time to get updates.
03-09-2018, 04:28 PM
#13
myself and SteveM have bought and sold between us im in the USA and he is in Canada , and we never had any issues or payed ridiculous amount for shipping , i always put toy/gift on the customs form. Always make the package small as possible and is not that differenty than shipping to california hawaii or alaska
There are many US based sellers unwilling to ship to Canada claiming horrible forms to fill, crazy costs, etc. but this isn't exactly correct. When I ship to the US, I do have to fill in a form either manually or through the PayPal shipping that links with Canada Post. It is super easy and I can always provide precise shipping costs and delivery options by using the Canada Post web pages. I know that USPS website can do similar. I almost always PM to ask US sellers if they will ship to me in Canada. Some will....some won't and it's all good.
TIME MACHINE - the larger items like the SC truck are a bit different and can be costly I agree. Package size and weight are the main determining factors, with speed of shipping being another. I have bought and shipped car kits, built cars, R/C airplane kits and more to and from places all over the planet and rarely have an issue.
I recently shipped a larger Tekin charger to a buyer in Taiwan that took 3 months to arrive and cost $75 for snail mail shipping that went by boat. I likely won't ship to Asia again due to the time and costs involved. Lesson learned there.
Anyway, there isn't a 'trick' to shipping anywhere, Canada and USA included. You just have to understand that you are dealing with 'for profit' companies (USPS and Canada Post) and that the tax man on both sides of the border keeps a watchful eye looking for additional revenue. You just need to ship smart and deal with trusted people.
03-10-2018, 06:51 AM
#14
Tech Master
iTrader: (204)
Yup....Marcos and I have done several deals and never once had an issue. Tracking does not stop at the border contrary to what some people may think and I am tracking a package I shipped to Australia now and I can see it arrived in country today. I might not ship down under again as the shipping time is very long and costs high.
There are many US based sellers unwilling to ship to Canada claiming horrible forms to fill, crazy costs, etc. but this isn't exactly correct. When I ship to the US, I do have to fill in a form either manually or through the PayPal shipping that links with Canada Post. It is super easy and I can always provide precise shipping costs and delivery options by using the Canada Post web pages. I know that USPS website can do similar. I almost always PM to ask US sellers if they will ship to me in Canada. Some will....some won't and it's all good.
TIME MACHINE - the larger items like the SC truck are a bit different and can be costly I agree. Package size and weight are the main determining factors, with speed of shipping being another. I have bought and shipped car kits, built cars, R/C airplane kits and more to and from places all over the planet and rarely have an issue.
I recently shipped a larger Tekin charger to a buyer in Taiwan that took 3 months to arrive and cost $75 for snail mail shipping that went by boat. I likely won't ship to Asia again due to the time and costs involved. Lesson learned there.
Anyway, there isn't a 'trick' to shipping anywhere, Canada and USA included. You just have to understand that you are dealing with 'for profit' companies (USPS and Canada Post) and that the tax man on both sides of the border keeps a watchful eye looking for additional revenue. You just need to ship smart and deal with trusted people.
There are many US based sellers unwilling to ship to Canada claiming horrible forms to fill, crazy costs, etc. but this isn't exactly correct. When I ship to the US, I do have to fill in a form either manually or through the PayPal shipping that links with Canada Post. It is super easy and I can always provide precise shipping costs and delivery options by using the Canada Post web pages. I know that USPS website can do similar. I almost always PM to ask US sellers if they will ship to me in Canada. Some will....some won't and it's all good.
TIME MACHINE - the larger items like the SC truck are a bit different and can be costly I agree. Package size and weight are the main determining factors, with speed of shipping being another. I have bought and shipped car kits, built cars, R/C airplane kits and more to and from places all over the planet and rarely have an issue.
I recently shipped a larger Tekin charger to a buyer in Taiwan that took 3 months to arrive and cost $75 for snail mail shipping that went by boat. I likely won't ship to Asia again due to the time and costs involved. Lesson learned there.
Anyway, there isn't a 'trick' to shipping anywhere, Canada and USA included. You just have to understand that you are dealing with 'for profit' companies (USPS and Canada Post) and that the tax man on both sides of the border keeps a watchful eye looking for additional revenue. You just need to ship smart and deal with trusted people.
I agree to them wanting money for NOTHING as for me and when I have shipped to Canada it seemed that it got to the border and stopped, then miraculously showed up delivered as might be lack of communication between usps and Canada post, even tried tracking items bought from Canada last fall and seemed to just sit and then a few days later it showed it was at a usps office and moving, so what the hold up was ? I really don't know, but it seemed it took longer for me to have my packages delivered than when I received from up their.
So with that said why don't we get feedback when we buy from people more than once???
