# buying stuff online from the US but vendor won't ship to us



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I'm a long time buyer of stuff from the US and I stumbled on this website and was pleasantly surprised to see such a thing existed. The idea is a clever niche for those of us who occasionally buy stuff online from the US, but where the vendor won't ship to us (or if they do the cost is prohibitive).

http://shiptotheborder.com/looking-for-a-us-po-box

The positives seem obvious (I don't have anywhere close to the US border to ship stuff to) and this could be cheaper than renting a PO Box if you only receive a few parcels per year.

I guess the downsides are:

-your time spent driving to/fro + waiting in line at the border
-cost of gas
-having to pick up the parcel in 30 days or else possibly pay more fees
-I don't go to the US very often so I would be making a special trip every time a parcel arrived

Has anyone here dealt with this service or similar? Comments/pro/con?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I've been shopping online for over 10 years, back in the glory days of eBay sniping and Napster. I usually boycott anyone who won't ship USPS or at least UPS expedited. I recently wanted a specific item that a company has a monopoly on, and I've never seen such horrible service! I politely explained how UPS charges brokerage fees and they refused to cater to any other option. I asked to cancel my order and they refused. I declined the parcel and they got the $100 brokerage + shipping...


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

There are some of them in the US border towns in Vancouver Lower Mainland area. As well, a number of people keep mail boxes there as well. The ones that accept parcels have been doing a land office business for the past 2 years.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Ah yes, the nasty UPS brokerage fees. You definitely want to avoid UPS as a shipper. I think a lot of businesses have been canvassed by UPS, without caring about the consequences for the buyer.

There's a lot of negativity being spewed at The Royal Mail (aka. "Canada Post") lately, about them being a dinosaur etc. These commenters seem to forget that the key element to online shopping is a shipping service for buyers to receive their products! Facebook and twitter won't deliver your widget to your mailbox or home. And CP includes brokerage as part of the shipping cost, so the only time you get charged more is if they decide to flag your item and charge sales tax. For a lot of the cheap stuff $50 or less many people buy online it's probably not worth the time and expense of trying to collect tax on such purchases.

Couriers also will not deliver to mailboxes and apartments/condo, so if you're not home during the day when the truck comes you'll be driving to a terminal downtown, at the airport etc. At least with CP you get the card and can just go to your local outlet. And less fees.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I had that problem when I was trying to order a knife sharpener from the US. I guess knife sharpers fell under the 'knife' category, which are controlled and can't be shipped across the border (as if we don't have knives in Canada).

We have a family friend that lives in western NY and has a cottage in Canada. We can have things shipped to their address.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I thought the Royal Mail was the UK's postal operator?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I prefer shipping to a friend to hold. Then we visit the friend when we pick up the stuff. Or we invite them up for the weekend.

But I will use USPS if the vendor offers it. In Mexico, I use "mules".


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

Bad Experiances with getting hit with charges by UPS so We just wait until Florida, do all the online shopping with No Shipping and No HST, then bring the stuff back with us.

I rarely use Amazon, I find their prices much higher than alternative sites.


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## Zara Mari (May 19, 2011)

The good thing about having friends or relatives abroad is that shopping and shipping is easier. It has always worked for us. If you have any friends in the location of that thing you are going to buy, why not just contact them. I always enjoy doing things like that cause it is one good way to connect to each other again. In far places like the US, usually we just get relatives to buy the stuff we need, get them shipped and pay for them. Well, its a little costly but its better than having to drive or travel that long.

Anyways, if you don't have any choice, find another seller, I'm pretty sure that out of the hundreds or thousands out there, there is an exact item such as what you are looking for and they will ship it to you.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Don't overlook British and HK sites. They will ship by Royal Mail to Canada.


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## Calgary_Girl (Apr 20, 2011)

I've never tried these guys but it looks like this would solve your dilemma of driving to the U.S. border:

http://www.myus.com/cgi-bin/aff/landing.cgi?myuskd=&id=1000978


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I think it will still attract customs/GST charges at the border.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Correct - due to needing to be shipped.

My difficulty is I have very few reasons to go down to the US and when I do it's not usually a cross-border trip but a flight to someplace far. 

I think the best thing is to have stuff shipped directly to you via post office (God bless the royal mail) and simply not buy from stuck-up vendors who won't ship to us. Failing that, then you can only hope to time the shipment with when you are planning to go down to the US.


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## w0nger (Mar 15, 2010)

i used a company called IPS Parcel to get my Dyson to Canada... great service and reasonable rates.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> I'm a long time buyer of stuff from the US and I stumbled on this website and was pleasantly surprised to see such a thing existed. The idea is a clever niche for those of us who occasionally buy stuff online from the US, but where the vendor won't ship to us (or if they do the cost is prohibitive.
> 
> Has anyone here dealt with this service or similar? Comments/pro/con?


Yes, I found that out with car parts which are much cheaper in the US.
You can buy the part for about a 1/3 of the cost of buying it here, but
most of the automotive online stores don't ship cross border..and the
ones that do..the shipping charges is ridiculous, as well as the customs clearance charges. 


> The positives seem obvious (I don't have anywhere close to the US border to ship stuff to) and this could be cheaper than renting a PO Box if you only receive a few parcels per year.


Well, if you live anywhere near Ottawa, there is the Ogdensburg NY FTZ just
across fromt the US border checkpoint about 60kms down the 416. 
I've had guitars shipped to the UPS warehouse/customs clearance center and had them held for "pickup" using an arrangement with a carving shop that had an account there.
http://www.ogdensport.com/trade.html

You still need to declare the goods and show the paperwork at the Canadian
border, otherwise..if they catch you...it could be expensive, but that may be
a way of getting goods shipped by UPS and then driving down across the
border to get them. I think you still need a passport these days to get by
US customs, so it's not a easy as it was 3 years ago.




> I guess the downsides are:
> 
> -your time spent driving to/fro + waiting in line at the border
> 
> ...


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## Istakoza (Jul 30, 2011)

the-royal-mail said:


> I'm a long time buyer of stuff from the US and I stumbled on this website and was pleasantly surprised to see such a thing existed. The idea is a clever niche for those of us who occasionally buy stuff online from the US, but where the vendor won't ship to us (or if they do the cost is prohibitive).
> 
> http://shiptotheborder.com/looking-for-a-us-po-box
> 
> ...


Here is a similar service where you don't have to drive anywhere: http://www.webuyitforyou.com. They ship the stuff to you in Canada.


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## rookie (Mar 19, 2010)

UPS is a fraud company. i cannot comment on their service, but i have vowed not to do any business with them.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

It's funny if you use UPS Express it actually costs less premium than the brokerage fees on UPS standard. Just because of this practice, I prefer USPS

That and I prefer to pick up from the post office than UPS depots


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## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

I've recently bought some automotive parts from rockauto.com, and my experience couldn't be smoother. First I inquired which method they would be using, it was fedex. So I simply got the package shipped to Fedex shipping center in Washington. The following week, when I went to the shopping in the States, I simply walked in, presented my ID, and picked up the package. All in all, I saved quite a bit of money, I bought a $100 part for $30 including shipping.

I know alot of people badmouth UPS over brokerage charges, but if you just stick to domestic shipping, they're not so bad.


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