[Earwax]

Are there any problems right now in shipping things from Canada to the US?

I'm asking because I think I read about some sort of strike or customs snafu that was holding things up badly, but I don't even remember if it was to or from the US that was problematic. I'm thinking about buying something from Canada.

 

[elnero]

I believe the strike didn't last to long and is over now but there still seems to be an delays that are being chalked up to the "war".

 

[minya]

That was Canadian customs, so that was shipping TO Canada. That was a couple of months ago, so I think it's been cleared up now.

- Chris

 

[TrevorNetwork]

Still quite delayed receiving items from other countries with a value above the $20 threshold. Not as bad as before however. It has been taking ~10 or so days for me from the USA via USPS Global Express. A far cry from the ~3 day wait typical of any time before a few months ago.

 

[dffman2001]

Maybe its bad luck of mine but I have an average wait of 2 weeks and for some of the larger and more expensive stuff, just under a month. I'm sure the mail system many developing nations is faster than the Canadian one.

 

[aerius]

The strike is technically over, but the contract still hasn't been ratified by the members so we're still not working at full speed. Items coming IN to Canada are still getting delayed, but outgoing items are fine AFAIK.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minya That was Canadian customs, so that was shipping TO Canada. That was a couple of months ago, so I think it's been cleared up now. - Chris

Yeah, but apparantly there have been problems with items going to the US as well. When I shipped my Cambridge CDP to California around the time the strike was on it took over 3 weeks to get there, which is a week over the max. it should have taken. I guess gone is the time when it only took 5 business days to and from Cali.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

There was no golden age of shipping across the border (edit: in the past 4 years that is). Lets not kid ourselves, its always been slow, except before you never knew how long it would take, and now theres an increased percentage of those long wait packages.

Biggie.

 

[episiarch]

Seems to be OK, but running a little slow. Last week I received a Headsave amp shipped from Ontario on December 2nd, arrived in California on December 15th.

It was shipped Canada Post, Expedited Parcel - USA (with a big "2" preprinted on the shipping label, if that means something to you).

 

[minya]

I've always had lots of problems shipping to Canada and getting things from Canada to the USA. It's incredible, really. Why are Canadian customs agents such duty-nazis? Why are delays so rampant? Canada and the USA aren't Pakistan and India. It boggles the mind, frankly.

- Chris

 

[Earwax]

(I'm in Illinois.) 4 or 5 years ago I was getting better and faster deliveries to & from the UK and Europe than to & from Canada. I guess things haven't changed much since then.

Oh well, I guess I'll just expect to to take a bit longer....

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ There was no golden age of shipping across the border (edit: in the past 4 years that is). Lets not kid ourselves, its always been slow, except before you never knew how long it would take, and now theres an increased percentage of those long wait packages. Biggie.

When I first started buying and selling on Head-Fi I found shipping to and from the US for the most part quite fast. I did quite a bit of back and forth with JMT in California at the time and it was pretty much 5 business days every time. I even got a package from New York in 2 days. I guess maybe I was just lucky because it's sure not like that anymore.

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minya Why are Canadian customs agents such duty-nazis?

Free trade does not mean you parcels get in for free. Ship stuff through the mail that's over the limit and you get whacked with duties, ship in drugs and we'll confiscate them, it's just part of our job.

Quote:

Why are delays so rampant? Canada and the USA aren't Pakistan and India. It boggles the mind, frankly.

Because the system is ****ed. Besides the fact that worthless workers can't be fired because of the union, we also go without contracts for up to a year at a time and they often delay & screw up our paychecks. This does not provide an incentive to work hard and get your parcels through.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius Free trade does not mean you parcels get in for free. Ship stuff through the mail that's over the limit and you get whacked with duties, ship in drugs and we'll confiscate them, it's just part of our job.

THERE ARE NO DUTIES ANY MORE! Sorry for the yelling but this is a major pet peeve of mine when I ship stuff to Canada. I don't understand why Canadians are so misinformed. There are zero duties on goods coming from the US. What Canada Customs is assessing people are GST and PST. That's it. No duties. I don't understand why people who work at Canada Customs persist in talking about duties and how things get "whacked with duties." Either they're just misinformed (I'm not taking about you Aerius, just customs staff in general) or trying to justify their jobs in a world where frankly they're not needed as much as they were ten years ago. It's a racket, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for Canadians who put up with the phony "duty" talk. There are no duties and thus anyone who claims it should take time to assess them is not being truthful or honest.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy THERE ARE NO DUTIESI don't understand why Canadians are so misinformed. There are zero duties on goods coming from the US. What Canada Customs is assessing people are GST and PST. That's it. No duties.

Your statements are somewhat misinformed themselves. There is no duty on most items manufactured in the US and Mexico so an item imported into Canada from the US which is manufactured outside the US may still be subject to duties.