Shipping to and from Canada.

[lonewolf]

I thought I would post this for all of us here in Canada.
After reading some posts by others.
I've been shipping and recieving parts for quite a while now and will share some tips for you .

If someone is sending you a letter/payment/envelope.
Have them send it by just regular mail.make sure it's correct postage but still just regular old mail ,nothing fancy.

US priority or any other form of their faster mail never gets here any faster than regular mail.
Unless they pay for the big buck overnight reg mail is just fine.
It takes what it takes.
I've had mail from back east get here in 2 days ,sometimes2weeks.
same with anything closer. It is what it is .
There is the security of registered I guess but
I have never not recieved a piece of mail in 25years.

Shipping .
For us up here mail is the cheapest going to the US.
anything 1k and under goes "small package". 0-250g 5.00,250g-500g8.00,501g-1000g12.00.
I can ship a small part to Hawaii for 5+.00 but to Toronto 15.00 so be carefull.
Anything over that in any box use expedited parcel post. It's the mails cheapest service and cheaper than any other courior we have to choose from.
Only 1 simple form to fill out
It's trackable and parts get there in 5-7days.
Everything goes by cube weight or actual weight .whatever costs more so carefull on your box size.

Customs.
Anything coming up here that is over 20.00 has to clear customs. There can be a brokerage charge.
The mail only charges 5.00 brokerage fee not 50 like UPS or others
Then there could be other charges.
The mail though isn't as sticky as others and in my cases parts over 20 get here with no charges . Most times I ask seller to put .... on the package slip so I don't have to worry about it.

To the States the parcel has to be over 200.00
If the parcel coming here is under 20.00 and going there under 199.00 then there is no customs at all.
That saves a lot of time .
I sent a gas tank to chicago and it took a week.

The above goes with shipping worldwide as well. canadapost is the cheapest and easiest.

So if you want to save time and money shipping, you know what to do.

[JJ 911SC]

Good info for those who are not lucky enough to be close to the border like we are in Ottawa.

I know from what thread you are speaking of and I previously had exchange one post with T.R. and he is a F%$#@! Trou de cul... trou du cul - Wiktionary

[lonewolf]

Honestly ,never got the going over the border thing.
the time it takes ,cost of fuel , what are you saving?

If they are used parts or vintage or US there is no duty so why not have them shipped straight here?

New ,high dollar stuff may be a different story.

[JJ 911SC]

Looking at all my custom receipt (100+ in the last 2 years) I add up to thousands in saving.

Take a look at amazon.com (they wont deliver to Canada) and compare some of the prices. I paid $200 for 2 Sony Noise Reduction Headsets and they were $200 a piece up here. 3M Hi 90 spray glue $10 a Lowe's, $20 in Ottawa and so on. The only thing cheaper in Canada are books from Amazon.ca

Never paid any duty, even of Porsche part, only HST and anything below $100 usually get wave off ($400 at the Niagara crossing).

As for the cost to get there, it depend afar you are from the border. I'm 50 minutes away so getting my gas there pays for the trip (around $1.00/liter for the van and $1.05 for he Porsche (93 octane)).

But I agree if you don't have any choice, USPS is the best way to avoid the famous brokerage fee rip-off.

[haycait911]

I just got a money order from the US in a 'priority envelope' I think it was, 12 days and cost him $12.95. I've had regular letter mail from the states in 4 days.

rather than the going over the border thing, which costs time and money and always the joyful prospect of a random cavity search. I use a broker. I submit an invoice to them, and have the item sent to their US warehouse. they bring it thru the border, doing all the paperwork, and bring the item to the local depot, I pick up in town for an additional $33.00.

[andyt11]

Good info regarding shipping to the states. Thanks.

[Mr Beau]

Has anyone shipped SSI's/heat exchangers up from the states? I've been told that they're too heavy (38 lbs) for USPS but on the website I was able to get a price, and the dimensions (28x14x18) don't see too large.

Fedex wants $300+ for air (which includes brokerage). Ground is ~$130.

Thoughts? Thanks!

[billybek]

Originally Posted by Mr Beau

Has anyone shipped SSI's/heat exchangers up from the states? I've been told that they're too heavy (38 lbs) for USPS but on the website I was able to get a price, and the dimensions (28x14x18) don't see too large.

Fedex wants $300+ for air (which includes brokerage). Ground is ~$130.

Thoughts? Thanks!

I picked up my used SSIs at one of the company franchise stores south of the boarder, made a weekend of it and drove back on a Sunday afternoon.

[coldstart]

I bought SSIs off this board and had them shipped to Niagara. Well worth the drive-- which I love to do anyways.

Get a Nexus pass to avoid the lineups and the cavity search.

[Mr Beau]

Unfortunately doing a cross border trip from Edmonton wouldn't make much sense...

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

Customs.
Anything coming up here that is over 20.00 has to clear customs.

It might have to clear customs, but I've never been charged anything for items received that ran under $50. The items came directly to my mailbox.

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

Honestly, never got the going over the border thing.
the time it takes, cost of fuel, what are you saving?

Lets see now, maybe this will help you "get it".

While tracking prices on my Excel spreadsheet during a one-year period, I spent about US$5500 where those same items would have run me just short of $9000 up here. I know my gas didn't cost over three grand.


I need a power steering rack for my 1999 Honda CR-V. Prices are for the same rack from same major rebuilder.

Rock Auto: US$168
Benson Auto Parts (Ontario): CA$400

Hey, thats close enough, isn't it. Only 2.38 times as much. Well OK, so I have to add US$13 shipping.

Guess where I am buying?

[Traveller]

Here is just another example.

A 20 liter pail of this commercial chemical cleaner lists for $299 up here with a sale price of $200. No wonder they can knock that much off. It is grossly overpriced to start with as the following sentence proves.

The same product at their US distributor goes for US$68.

Nuff said! I have a pail on order. By the way, the product is made up here.