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Anyone want to clue me in on customs when sending things across the border?
I know people end up getting charged for stuff over a certain value and have heard it causes a delay, but that's pretty much all i know. So i've got a bunch of questions:
Is it only items going into canada that have problems with delays and such? How long do things get delayed and is there a way to help avoid delays? How much are the taxes, duties, etc on items. Are these charges collected even if you choose to refuse the package or is it only required that you pay them in order to claim the package?

persoanally i always mark the trade as a gift, because its not really a purchase and has allready been taxed. if your buying something or whatever thats different. but usually takes at most 2-3 weeks, i have gotten stuff from canada as little as a week.

if your hesatant (sp?) about trading across the border, then dont.

Steve

Shipping is a ton and I wouldn't do it unless it's an entire army you are getting.

I have some experience in international trades. I am based in Canada.

I find that shipping from Canada to the US is often cheaper than shipping within Canada. I do not pay taxes on International shipments. I often ship Xpedited (free insurance and tracking) as I get better value than Parcel Post.

Shipping times to the US is about 4 to 7 days using Airmail Parcel Post. The slowest this method has taken is about 13 business days, or over 17 calendar days. Xpedited shipments have a similar delivery standard.

Packages sent from the US to Canada usually take up to 3 weeks. I never use UPS, as there is a high customs chargs. UPS charges a customs agent fee of $25, plus all applicable import charges. If my trading partner can not use USPS, then there is no trade for me.

How much does it cost to ship to Canada from the US? Most times it costs $1 US more than shipping by domestic priority mail. Global Priority is an option if you prefer more safety for your trade items.

If you are shipping a hardcover book, the cost will be much higher though. USPS has a media mail for domestic shipping, but there is no discount for international shipping.

Canadians can receive merchandise up to $20 CDN without paying taxes. The customs people talk about is really the sales tax, plus a $5 handling fee. It is not a customs charge, so much as a government required tax on all sales within or delivered to Canada.

If the package is marked as a gift, taxes are charged when the declared value exceeds $80 CDN. For exact dollar limits please refer to the Canada Customs web site.

I like to have sellers and traders declare $12 US for merchandise, and $50 US for gifts. These limits have reduced my import charges.

I have received packages where the shipper did not put the customs form on the package. I would not recommend this method though. Packages without the declaration may be opened by customs and be assessed an import charge based upon a value estimated by customs agents.

Canada Customs reserves the right to inspect packages. From experience, I have about 1 in 8 packages opened for inspection. I do not know if this is a high rate of inspection.

Canada Customs does have a website. They do post if there will be unexpected delays in clearing customs.

When trading single minis, ship in a padded envelope and ship letter mail. If sending a light package, I have seen my trading partners pay $3 US for shipping a small card box. The online USPS estimate is high when compared to the actual cost at the postal outlet. It does not provide you with all the options that you have at a postal outlet.

I heard a rumour that the US was going to adjust import charges for toys. They were supposed to use a system closer to the Canadian system. I do not know if the US has changed any import regulations though.

Well put, fellow Canuck!

Just to touch on a quick topic, from my experience, the time it takes for parcels to get to Canada from the US is much shorter than it takes for packages goign from Canada to the US.

Some of the stuff has gotten over the border in a week, in perfect condition. Lately, for whatever reason, the stuff I've sent took quite a bit longer (3 weeks on my last trade, via airmail no less; and it was damaged). I looked into why that was, and got some semi-satsifying answers.

The fact to the matter is, processing is absed on where the item is going from, and to. As an example, Canadians trading (sending/receiving) from British Columbia are more likely to have to deal with delays/opened packages, because there's a rather large drug smuggling crackdown at the moment in the area. It's worth looking into things like this, and holding off on a trade for a week or two, if you want to have the trade go more smoothly.

I'd write more, but Klahtoo really nailed it with his explanation, so I'll just copy-paste it below.

Or not.

Alkatchoff