[charley phogg]

A friend and I are going to be shipping a pair of headphones, amd and dac from the USA to anohter friend in Canada for her to give them a listen. He;s on the east coast, I'm in the mid-west, she's in BC.

What would be the best,safest way to insure no, or little custon fee's or taxes?Nothing is being sold or traded. She's just going to give them a liten and then ship them back.

would it be best to send everyting in one shipment, or would it be best to send them seperate?

Any help is gratley appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[CountChoculaBot]

Understate the value (nobody knows how much this stuff goes for, since it's a niche hobby), and mark as gift.

 

[etiolate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountChoculaBot /img/forum/go_quote.gif Understate the value (nobody knows how much this stuff goes for, since it's a niche hobby), and mark as gift.

watch, he'll get the one dude who's a head-fier at UPS.

 

[charley phogg]

Thanks

 

[acidbasement]

Shipping with the postal service will be cheaper for the recipient. Courier companies often charge outrageous brokerage fees upon receipt after crossing the border.

 

[freakydrew]

USPS is great, but it is very important to list as a Gift or the recipient will get stuck with huge import duties and Canada Customs may hold the package for several days...
so much for free trade!

 

[pne]

agreed, use USPS only, mark as gift, and most importantly, declare the country of origin as USA (if they indeed were made in the usa). Underdeclaring the value is something you can do at your own risk, but keep in mind you can insure a different value than you declare on customs forms.

here is a handy site that will estimate the costs to her door:
TheFinalCost.com - Canadian total shipping fees calculator (brokerage, duty, customs)

 

[Seamaster]

Try send to he, you will have more issues.

If you ship alot things that heavy, try to use USPS flat rate box.

 

[charley phogg]

Thank you all for the replies. This is simply a loan program, nothing is exchanging hands or being traded. She;s simply going to listen to them and then ship them back to us. I'm trying to minimize customs fees and if any taxes.

I'll be shipping my hd-580's to someone in the states and then he is going to ship his Carrie dac/amp and my hd-580's to her in Canada.

 

[Johnstone]

Avoid UPS, use USPS. Gift it and understate the value. The recipient will probably be charged a flat brokerage fee of $5 from USPS, but that's much better than UPS, which wanted me to pay $139 for a non-gifted amp declared at $420.