Cross Border Package Pickup - They're Piling Up!

I hope we don't allow Canadians to leave and come back if we're not allowing Americans to come in because the outbreak is still out of control there. And I say this as a frequent cross boarder buyer.
I think your best bet would be to have a US friend pick them up for you and hold until this is all over. If you need them now, see if you can have the shop ship them out at your expense, but it will be costly to ship and to pay duty.
I stopped ordering things back in January... wish I had also thought about selling my investments, but with a buy and hold long term strategy, you basically forget about them. Oh well.

@pokee99
You are not alone in this problem
There are other threads here on RFD with folks dealing with similar issues at other named US Parcel Holding Services
Some folks are opting to get their parcels consolidated into one shipment
Other places are just charging more for storage ... longer holds

(Lol, I imagine some of the most popular spots must be OVER RUN with parcels and taking on additional facilities ... I got to say I am envisioning a whole lot of those Storage Depot Units being rented as their solutions to lack of space ... cuz many of these places are just small storefronts )

And then some other places ... just seem to be threatening their Cdn Clients to start returning stuff to sender
(Seriously how DUMB is that ... these places wouldn’t be in biz at all without their Cdn Clients )

The smart ones are going the extra mile ... and making a few extra bucks no doubt by pushing items north
Or taking on the burden / expense of longer storage

Fortunately for us... we travelled just prior to this lockdown
So we were able to pick up all our outstanding pkgs at our US Parcel Drop late in February
And haven’t ordered anything since

Our biggest issue going forward is probably going to be changing our US Shopping Strategy
As I don’t see us travelling there for at least a year or more ... unless a vaccine comes along
Too risky for us Seniors ...
So I’ll be in the market to find a US Parcel Service that does Push North ... hopefully at a reasonable cost
As we’ll definitely still want to get our US Shopping fix from time to time
(Unless the economy really tanks badly ... and we go back to the days when a US $ 1.00 was costing $ 1.50 Cdn )

Where are you located @pokee99?

There's this cross border pickup that will bring your packages to one of their location for local pick up.

Thanks for the info @PointsHubby ...

Yeah, my storage place is NOT interested in forwarding items for clients. They cited liability and financial responsibility being the issue. I can totally see their point. They'd have to make you sign your life away even consider it. I think some couriers are doing it for clients that have urgent items, but i suspect there's big bucks involved in that. My average package is about $20, and nothing urgent, so clearly for me it's not worth the expense. I'd be better off just walking away and eating the loss! I at least have the ability to self isolate if i do need to get them myself.

You are certainly right about the shopping strategy changing for the next year or two. Luckily i have a friend in the US who can ship to me for anything that i can't buy in Canada. I used my pick up place out of convenience more than anything. And not wanting to bug my friend all the time, too!

Even when the borders do open back up, I'll be sh!++ing bricks going down there, knowing I'll be grilled... knowing it's going to be risky. I really hope the pickup place let's us wait it out a while longer!

jay-em wrote: ↑Where are you located @pokee99?

There's this cross border pickup that will bring your packages to one of their location for local pick up.

I pick up in Sumas WA. I've heard of some people getting FedEx or other couriers arranging delivery, but i have soooo many packages - i fear it'll be really dodgy or too expensive to justify...but I'm willing to explore...

engineered wrote: ↑I hope we don't allow Canadians to leave and come back if we're not allowing Americans to come in because the outbreak is still out of control there. And I say this as a frequent cross boarder buyer.
I think your best bet would be to have a US friend pick them up for you and hold until this is all over. If you need them now, see if you can have the shop ship them out at your expense, but it will be costly to ship and to pay duty.
I stopped ordering things back in January... wish I had also thought about selling my investments, but with a buy and hold long term strategy, you basically forget about them. Oh well.

If Trump opens the border, and Trudeau does not, that's exactly what would happen. Based on what I've read though, both borders are likely to have closures extended another month.

pokee99 wrote: ↑ If Trump opens the border, and Trudeau does not, that's exactly what would happen. Based on what I've read though, both borders are likely to have closures extended another month.

I can't believe Trump would open the border to Canada if we don't do the same for them.

pokee99 wrote: ↑ I pick up in Sumas WA. I've heard of some people getting FedEx or other couriers arranging delivery, but i have soooo many packages - i fear it'll be really dodgy or too expensive to justify...but I'm willing to explore...

Why don't you try putting an ad in Craigslist for Sumas and see if there are any services in Sumas which will collect, box-up (ie put the smaller packages into one bigger box) and then ship to you for a fee. I'm sure some enterprising person/business will see the business need for it for at least the next few months.

craftsman wrote: ↑
Why don't you try putting an ad in Craigslist for Sumas and see if there are any services in Sumas which will collect, box-up (ie put the smaller packages into one bigger box) and then ship to you for a fee. I'm sure some enterprising person/business will see the business need for it for at least the next few months.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd only be interested in having someone corporate, with insurance, forward my packages. Or someone who's recommended by a trusted friend, rather than sift through a bunch of potential scammers. It's also possible at some point the pick up place might change their minds about providing a shipping service. For now, just a waiting game - like everything else!

engineered wrote: ↑ I can't believe Trump would open the border to Canada if we don't do the same for them.

You would think, but they talked about it on the news today as a possibility!

pokee99 wrote: ↑ You would think, but they talked about it on the news today as a possibility!

We shouldn't even let people go to US. Essential service might be

We don't need another 600 new daily case to understand the closing should work both directions

smartie wrote: ↑ We shouldn't even let people go to US. Essential service might be

We don't need another 600 new daily case to understand the closing should work both directions

I think we need to be smart about this...

Hopefully, someone kept some level of detailed statistics on where these cases came from - ie not only that they were travel-related but from where and how long were they there. For example, if you look at the stories in the past few months about Canadians returning from overseas due to the pandemic, how many of them tested positive upon return? How many of those who got family or friend related transmission knew someone who was one of those who returned? And then, they should break down the trips - how many were day-trippers vs how many were returning snowbirds? If the numbers show that returning day-trippers were a source of infection, then absolutely keep everything closed! If not, some allowances should be made in order to keep things running as many Canadians own businesses/properties or have relatives just across the border.

craftsman wrote: ↑ I think we need to be smart about this...

Hopefully, someone kept some level of detailed statistics on where these cases came from - ie not only that they were travel-related but from where and how long were they there. For example, if you look at the stories in the past few months about Canadians returning from overseas due to the pandemic, how many of them tested positive upon return? How many of those who got family or friend related transmission knew someone who was one of those who returned? And then, they should break down the trips - how many were day-trippers vs how many were returning snowbirds? If the numbers show that returning day-trippers were a source of infection, then absolutely keep everything closed! If not, some allowances should be made in order to keep things running as many Canadians own businesses/properties or have relatives just across the border.

From what I've read, most of our cases came from the USA, but it didn't break down day tripping vs longer trips.

I have 2 packages at CBI and they cut deliveries off a month or so ago because they're out of space. They'll help get things shipped to you but you need to provide all the paperwork yourself. If they offered a full service option, I'd probably just have my stuff shipped up here and pay whatever fees they were asking (within reason).

engineered wrote: ↑ From what I've read, most of our cases came from the USA, but it didn't break down day tripping vs longer trips.

And that's the problem.... In the Greater Vancouver area, day-tripping, heck, I would say hour-tripping, down to the States for a tank of gas and a parcel pick-up is a very common occurrence as some did weekly or maybe daily trips just across the border and I wouldn't say that we have had a large outbreak problem like in Ontario and Quebec. Sure, we had larger early numbers in relation to the size of the population but many of those came from international flights/cruises and not necessarily day-trippers.

TomRFD wrote: ↑I have 2 packages at CBI and they cut deliveries off a month or so ago because they're out of space. They'll help get things shipped to you but you need to provide all the paperwork yourself. If they offered a full service option, I'd probably just have my stuff shipped up here and pay whatever fees they were asking (within reason).

Curious what did you end up doing

And also exploring consilidators out of the US now

Biscayne05 wrote: ↑ Curious what did you end up doing

And also exploring consilidators out of the US now

I haven't done anything yet. The things they're holding for me are just DVDs and a pair of shoes so I'm not in a huge rush to get them. With the borders being closed until July 21st, I may just start to look into getting them shipped since I expect the border closure to be extended a couple more times.

TomRFD wrote: ↑ I have 2 packages at CBI and they cut deliveries off a month or so ago because they're out of space. They'll help get things shipped to you but you need to provide all the paperwork yourself. If they offered a full service option, I'd probably just have my stuff shipped up here and pay whatever fees they were asking (within reason).

Yeah I only have one thing over there, I keep wondering whether to get it shipped here or not, seems like it's a pricey option with the shipping costs and fees but doesn't seem like the border is gonna open this month either, so getting a bit old sitting there. I asked the seller for the commercial invoice, but all they sent me was the regular sales invoice, lol. Dunno if CBI will accept that as they are probably gonna want the commercial invoice so they can ship it according to regs/laws.

pokee99 wrote: ↑ Anyone else regularly get their US purchases shipped to a border pick up place, and affected by the border closures?

As soon as all of this started back in mid-March, i already had 2 packages ready and waiting for pickup, and 3 more on their way in March. Then I had 4 in April, and 2 this month. Most were subscriptions that I've now canceled, but now I have a couple of pre-orders due to come next month, too. That's 13 packages! All told worth maybe $300CAD. (Almost certainly will have to pay taxes at the border when i haul it all home...boo! And maybe even the ole cavity search...lol!).

I'm not in a huge hurry to get them, but the package pick up place has already extended their hold time past the 60 day limit to accommodate the border closure, but they've been very clear that when the US border re-opens for Canadians, they won't be holding them for much longer.

There's talk that it's possible Trump will open the borders to Canadians, but Americans will not be allowed to come into Canada. Interesting. Whatever the case, when the border does reopen, it most certainly means a 14-day quarantine for any Canadian returning from the US - even if it's for a 10 minute errand. UGH!

Wondering if anyone knows of a company or service that could facilitate picking up packages? The pickup place isn't set up for that, so I'd definitely have to look at a 3rd party for help.

I might be better off just going myself and planning for the 14 day shut-in, but hoping there could be other options?

Ongoing maybe try 24/7, in our part of the world. They state they will mail to you http://247parcel.com/index.html and as photo.

They use to have a service where they would bring it across the border, and pick up in the Lower Mainland. But that stopped, at least a year ago.