USA mail & parcel forwarding service?

[sh4dow]

did anybody here watch this thread for a while and can tell me one or two services people here were happy with?

i read about games for canada but since my order would arrive in september and they're on vacation then, i'll have to use another service. but i've read so many mixed reviews for everything so far... except for the places in niagara falls where you can pick it up yourself. but as i don't own a car, that's not an option for me...

[Goomba478]

Yeah I'm sorry that we'll be on vacation during that time. We'd love to have you as a customer and invite you to try us once we get back in the middle of October! I may be able to arrange something with a friend or family member to forward to you if it's not a GIANT item (weighing a lot or requiring a lot of handling) if you can't find any similar service at a comparable price. I know it can be quite tricky, which is why I started the service in the first place. Best of luck to you and hope to hear from you soon!

did anybody here watch this thread for a while and can tell me one or two services people here were happy with?

i read about games for canada but since my order would arrive in september and they're on vacation then, i'll have to use another service. but i've read so many mixed reviews for everything so far... except for the places in niagara falls where you can pick it up yourself. but as i don't own a car, that's not an option for me...

[sh4dow]

it would just be one 4 pound package - IF i win the auction. and it actually will end on the 28th of august, so maybe i'll get all necessary information even before you close your service on your website.
nice to see you making an effort like this though - a friend of mine already has your site bookmarked too

[Goomba478]

Yeah, we can totally work with you on that. We're not actually leaving the country until the end of September, but we want to close the service on the site down early enough to make sure we get all the orders out before we leave. If you win the item, just use our Package Forwarding site. If it says it's closed down, you can reach me directly at JJParks AT improcomics DOT org . Thanks! I appreciate it .

it would just be one 4 pound package - IF i win the auction. and it actually will end on the 28th of august, so maybe i'll get all necessary information even before you close your service on your website.
nice to see you making an effort like this though - a friend of mine already has your site bookmarked too

[O1IN85]

Can anyone recommend me a package forwarding service?

I'd usually pick up my stuff @ CBIUSA but I don't have time for it right now. I'd love to use GamesForCanada but I'm not confident about the goods reaching his place on time - he's going on vacation soon and won't be back until end of Oct.

I looked at Package Express based out of WA and it seems like they're the safest bet - $4 per package(small) and they have the USPS rates listed which look to be accurate.

I've checked ShipitTo, Bongo, MyUSaddres and they all look very expensive.

[makaveli86]

What do you all tell the people at the border? If you're just crossing for a few minutes, can you just tell them you're picking up a package? I just dont want to be grilled when I cross over and return. Any suggestions or advice would be of great help! Thanks guys!

[h00ch]

What do you all tell the people at the border? If you're just crossing for a few minutes, can you just tell them you're picking up a package? I just dont want to be grilled when I cross over and return. Any suggestions or advice would be of great help! Thanks guys!

Just tell them you're a drug mule, then say, "Ha ha, just kidding" "I'm actually going across the border to buy some plutonium"

(I find telling the truth is always the best thing to do at the border. There's nothing wrong with quickly going over the border to buy stuff, as long as you claim it when you come back over. Be ready with any paperwork you might have on the way over, they most likely won't care though, but definitely make sure you have all invoices, receipts, etc showing the value of the product on your way back to Canada)

[makaveli86]

Just tell them you're a drug mule, then say, "Ha ha, just kidding" "I'm actually going across the border to buy some plutonium"

(I find telling the truth is always the best thing to do at the border. There's nothing wrong with quickly going over the border to buy stuff, as long as you claim it when you come back over. Be ready with any paperwork you might have on the way over, they most likely won't care though, but definitely make sure you have all invoices, receipts, etc showing the value of the product on your way back to Canada)

Awesome, that sounds fair. I dont mind paying the duty fees and what not, just wanted to make sure there wont be any other issues that may arise. In terms of fees, what could I expect?

[h00ch]

In terms of fees, what could I expect?

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-im...x-calculation/

[miss_swan]

What do you all tell the people at the border? If you're just crossing for a few minutes, can you just tell them you're picking up a package? I just dont want to be grilled when I cross over and return. Any suggestions or advice would be of great help! Thanks guys!

Look 'em in the eye, be polite not rude and tell the truth. Put it this way, you're gonna get grilled if they think you're acting funny or overly nervous or your story doesn't add up. Just relax and be yourself, have your documents ready and in the front seat next to you in plain sight, same with the product if possible.

"What's your purpose?"

- I am picking up a package from xxx.

"What the value of the package"

- xxx

"Personal or commercial use?"

- personal

then answer any challenge questions honestly and with common sense.

"How often do you pick up packages from xxx?"

- ... this is my first time -or- sometimes once in awhile -or- sometimes every 2-3 weeks, blah, blah, blah. Depends on what's on sale.

I've had this before:

"Do you always drive this far to pick up a package?"

- yeah, the shipping charges are pretty high to Canada so I got a pretty good sale price for xxx. I can't wait too long to pick it up since they don't hold the package for over 2 weeks without extra charges ... and I get some gas along the way too and save some money there.

if they want you to come in and pay your taxes then smile and say sure!

Good luck.

[Rehan]

What do you all tell the people at the border? If you're just crossing for a few minutes, can you just tell them you're picking up a package? I just dont want to be grilled when I cross over and return. Any suggestions or advice would be of great help! Thanks guys!

I always take with me the printouts of all my receipts (mostly for the return crossing) as well as a printout of http://cbiusa.com/contact.php , which shows the shipping address matching the receipts and a little blurb at the top about what CBI is. Just be honest with them...they're aware of this kind of thing.

For the Canadian border guards, I also make a categorized list of the purchases and item values... usually I have 20+ different items, so the list makes it quicker and easier for them.

[joe friday]

What do you all tell the people at the border? If you're just crossing for a few minutes, can you just tell them you're picking up a package? I just dont want to be grilled when I cross over and return. Any suggestions or advice would be of great help! Thanks guys!

All good comments from the previous replies. I've done this many times (probably too many! need to give the wallet a break for a while...) and never had a problem. as everyone has said, just be honest. I tell them that I'm going to pick up some parcels at (wherever you're going) and only expect to be in the country for an hour or two at most. I have copies of all my receipts with me but I've never found the US border guards too interested in asking a lot of questions. On the return, I've been asked questions about the possible savings etc from the Canadian guards, which I think is more curiosity to find out what they might be missing than anything else. I always have my total value ready and sometimes get sent inside to pay the HST, but I've often been allowed through without having to pay as well. I always make it a point to say thanks when that happens.

One other thing to remember, you won't have to pay duty on things which are made in the USA, so it will only be the HST (in Ontario at least, the taxes will vary depending on the province). In fact, even when I've had to go inside to pay the taxes, I've never had any questions about country of origin or been asked to pay any duty. YMMV and I'm sure on certain items like vehicles for example, the question of duty will certainly come up.

[peter330]

Hi guys

I stumbled across this thread looking for a US forwarding service.

Question for those people at gamesforcanada or anyone that can chime in that has used this service.

What's the difference between direct service and package forwarding from a cost standpoint? What I'm looking to buy is a lot of 18 air filters that are not sold in Canada, nor will they ship directly here.

Will this qualify as a "lot" rather than counted as separate individual items, and which service would you recommend in this case?

I want to buy this ==> http://www.amazon.com/Lysol-Neutra-P.../dp/B0018S63XQ

Thanks in advance

[karst]

Will this qualify as a "lot" rather than counted as separate individual items, and which service would you recommend in this case?

I am interested to hear the answer to this as well. The 'per value' and especially 'per item' extra charges are a major reason why I have not used GFD. I don't mind paying a per package charge and even the extra weight charge, since these at least make some sense to me. But I see no reason why any forwarding service is opening my individual packages, to count my individual items and tack on extra charges, or to check my invoice and charge additional fees for contents valued over $150, etc.

A while back I posted here to ask what GFD would charge for a hypothetical forwarding request, involving 2 small packages of 5 books and 5 dvds. According to my calculations this would cost $27+ in forwarding charges on top of shipping. I didn't get a response which seemed like confirmation enough. GFD is definitely not worth it for many kinds of orders I would make.

Until I find a better solution, I've been using Package Express. Very quick, responsive and professional service with a fairly straightforward fee system. Not as cheap as I would like (compared to previous services I used, Shop the States and The Letter Carrier, that are no longer options). But good enough for now.

[MtX]

Do you guys know of any receiving services that are open during Black Friday weekend? Specifically Friday 24th morning or Saturday 25th morning? I have a few things I want to pick up...