Topic: Another shipping question

[2256]

 Hey guys, I haave heard a lot of horror stories about buying stuff in the U.S. and having the shipping companies charge a ridiculous amout for "brokerage fees". What are some of your experiences? The reason I ask is that is that I just ordered some stuff from BCR and I heard from someone (dont remember who........old age setting in) that you can have it shipped to a UPS store in Ogdensburg N.Y. and pick it up yourself. I live about 1 hour away from there and it would be much simpler. Has anyone tried this method?    Thanks

[Boner]

A co-worker of mine had some truck parts shipped that way recently , if nobody replies with first hand experience I will ask him what happened and post a reply. I believe it was leaf springs for a Toyota land cruiser ?  and I recall him saying that the savings on shipping alone was incredible.

[seaweb11]

If the parts are mailed through US postal you are better off than using a courier type service.

[bwaller]

I live very close to the NY border and have a friend receive my stuff, so that's an option if you know someone.

Also look for a UPS shipping center. They will likely receive package for you but probably charge you a couple bucks/day to hold it until you pick it up.

Close to us in NY there is an ambulance dispatch office that became a UPS shipping center. The bonus is they are open 24hrs. 

The upside to all this is you keep your stuff out of the hands of Canada Customs because it can take a long time. Declare it yourself coming back across and save time. At a border crossing they rarely take the time to charge me tax on small dollar items (less than $100) so it can save money too!

[754]

 It works good on bigger stuff, First off it cost a lot to ship bulky or heavy parts (less  to the border), and weight/size limits are smaller on shipments crossing the border.
 Works good if you are fairly close, we are 1.5 ish hrs from the border, takes a whole morning to make the trip..

 On most smaller stuff, USPS works quite well (as Seaweb mentioned), if they do charge duty it is a 5 $ broker charge vs around 40? for UPS. I believe the UPS broker charge is the same on larger items, so 40$ is not so bad on 700$ value, but it sure makes you walk funny on a 15$ piece..

 Shipping got way outa hand the last 10 yrs.
 Also make sure that seller puts actual value on it, you get charged taxes, on declared value, and I think shipping cost.So if they fluff up the value, you pay more tax..

[my78k]

The last few things I have ordered through Ebay or whatever came in via USPS and I had no extra shipping charges to contend with. They were small and relatively cheap itmes though.

Dennis

[FunJimmy]

I regularly have packages shipped to a parcel handling firm in a US border town and drive to picl up. They charge a flat $2.50 per package and email me when it’s in. Canada Customs rarely sends me in to pay taxes especially on used ebay items, regardless of value. Items in the hundred dollar range are mostly ignored too. CBSA is more concerned about guns and alcohol than us pesky bike restorers, so don’t grab a quick bottle of your finest Scotch on the way home.

[Bowswell]

I ship everything there,$3 by box...
http://www.freeportforwarding.com/ebayusers.htm