posted on December 18, 2001 10:37:48 PM new
Hello,
I'm from Montreal, Quebec. I ship about 100 items to the States every week. So I was thinking about going, once a week, to the nearest post office in the state of NY to ship them. Every item is worth about $20US. I charge about $5 for S&H right now. I was planning on using MEDIA MAIL and it's way less expensive.
Do I need a special permit to cross the border with all that stuff in the backseat of my car? If yes, how much is it? Any other requirements I should know about? And what about the return address, can I put my Canadian address? I'm not very sure about it since I only paid for "domestic" shipment...
posted on December 18, 2001 11:02:13 PM new
Well, I'm not a lawyer, but what you seem to indicate surely falls under some US customs regulations. Why are you doing this anyway? To save on postage?
posted on December 19, 2001 06:55:09 AM new
If you are that close to the border that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Any packages I have recieved from Canada take FOREVER to arrive, even ones coming from close to the border.
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I'd put the packages in trunk though......
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Your items better be MEDIA MAIL if you plan to ship them that way. Books, CD's etc etc. They have a list of what you can ship media mail and what you can't.
posted on December 19, 2001 08:03:41 AM new
I hope you are making a great deal of profit on the items you are selling because you're going to need it. I am familiar with USPS and Canadian postal and import regulations. First, if you are caught with items on your person that you do not declare at the border the items will be impounded by the border patrol and kept indefinitely. If you are bringing anything across the border in order to make a profit the items must be declared. If the items were of your personal use that regulation doesn't apply unless they are restricted items per US guidelines. That's the best part. The worst part of your idea are the fines you will incur if the Canadian postal service discovers what you are up to. They are as greedy as the USPS and go to great lengths to monitor mail and packages being shipped from US when the persons' residence is Canadian. The USPS assists them in this endeavor. The fines you could incur are enormous. If you have a return what do you plan to do? The USPS will not allow a package over a certain size to go to a P.O. box. That means you either have to divulge your Canadian address or have residency in the US. Sounds kind of complicated to me to save a little on postage. Most buyers know that packages from out of the US take much longer to arrive and cost more. I just wanted to warn you that you are taking a hell of a chance.
posted on December 19, 2001 08:25:51 AM new
The USPS will not allow a package over a certain size to go to a P.O. box
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This part has me really confused. I have a small PO box. When a really big package comes, I get a slip in my PO Box, and I go to a special window to pick it up. I have never been told this was against any rules. In fact, no one has ever said anything..just handed me my package.
posted on December 19, 2001 08:40:58 AM new
The following statement is completly untrue..
you can take your items accross the border...Canada Post does care. The person who made this statement makes it sound like you are up to no go...it looks to me you came here asking for advice because you are an honest person..
I drive down to Blaine Wash. all the time.
They wont charge any duties. They may charge 5.00 USD as you are going down for Business.
Print out your ebay sales and take them with you to show customs...dont lie about the value as they may look it up on Ebay.
I was only charge dutie once and that was for a Dress Model that was made in England...
You should have seed the comotion that caused..very funny.
As for the box number I also have a box with USPS at the post office,,,if I big package comes in they just put a card in my box...
You can also open a bank account in the USA..very easy.
When you hit customs just say you are going down to mail some items you sold on Ebay.
You find the mail is much faster if you mail from the USA. You will save money as well.
Cheers.
"The worst part of your idea are the fines you will incur if the Canadian postal service discovers what you are up to. They are as greedy as the USPS and go to great lengths to monitor mail and packages being shipped from US when the persons' residence is Canadian"
posted on December 19, 2001 08:50:01 AM new
i have a po box at our local post office as well,when the package is too big for my box,they just leave me either a note or a key to another mail box where it is stored.
but driving all the way from montreal to upstate ny to mail 100 packages by media mail does not sound like a good idea ,if you are ever stopped by us patrols and they see 100 packages ,no matter how small they are,they would not believe they are for your own personal friends,especially when they read the labels they are going to 100 different persons in the states.
with all that terrorism and anthrax scare,they could have tightened border patrol and ask you to open some packages.
media mail is for media items such as books and printed matters.
unless you have some friend on this side of the border to work with you in case of non delivery and return addr,it is just not worth the savings.
will these items be insured?if lost or damaged,you need to file claim,i dont think the usps insurance form is for intl claims.
also they will want to see an invoice with your company stationary ,so what address are you going to show?
posted on December 19, 2001 09:01:04 AM new
It doesn't sound like LeGrandViet is trying to be dishonest. So why are some of you assuming that? Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Canadians do this all the time.
lovepotions, they have pretty well always checked trunks and since 9/1l it is almost a given. Tell them you have packages to mail and you don't even have to mention ebay unless they ask. Have all the invoices ready with the right values in case they do ask. Also take a tape gun in case they ask you to open the packages.
It will cost $5.00 or you can do it for a yearly permit for $100 which is the better deal if you plan to do this all the time.
capolady, where did you get your information that Canada Post will fine people who do this?
posted on December 19, 2001 10:02:49 AM new
i dont understand it either,why should canadian post office fine or care if canadian citizens mail their packages in usa??
but should the us customs care?as they are losing the opportunity to slap customs duty on these packages??
if i were the seller,i would consider the wear and tear on the car and gasoline cost,also the time it takes to stand in line.
how far is montreal from us borders??
posted on December 19, 2001 11:53:49 PM new
Hello,
it was really helpful to get your advices. I did check the USPS web site and Media Mail is for compact discs... and that's what I ship (just to clear things out a little). I pay about $3 to ship the CDs to the USA right now and with Media Mail, it's $1.33, so I think it's worth it. And I can even get delivery confirmation for only 50¢! OK, so I'll need a mailbox, but it's not that expensive.
