Shipping from the US to Canada - Best service

Greetings,

 I have had positive results using DHL Express when receiving and shipping items to Canada.

Joe Nies

Least expensive way is via USPS which you shouldn't have to pay Import Duties. May take some extra time but usually a very reliable way to ship.

I have used USPS both to and from Canada and not had any issues.

I used UPS and it worked fine. The price was about double of what it would have been on this side of the border, e.g. Seattle vs Vancouver. ($35 vs $70)

If you don't live within 30 minutes of the border I'd say it's not worth the trouble, just ship directly.

Thank you grisleybutter, that is exactly the information I am looking for (and for others on UPS). I don't normally consider the post office for shipping anything I care about. I expect the USPS is better than our Canadian service.

FedEx has been good for me , no service is cheap anymore .

A lot of good equipment can be found for sale in Canada. I have not sold but have bought a few items in Canada

All successful except one disaster (seller failed to double box-required for insurance) taught me to discuss shipping with seller, ascertain their competence prior to purchase. Even OEM boxes need to be double boxed.

Twice I used UPS ’pack and ship’. Not the least costly, but if you want it ....

You tell Canada UPS (or domestic, works the same way) the size and weight, they give you an estimate, and ’expect’ your item to be dropped off in your name.

Seller, who says ’local pickup only’ simply drops off the item unpackaged to nearby ’pack and ship’ location (not all are). UPS gives you exact price, a bit more, a bit less. UPS is responsible for safe packaging, any damage, and all transactions are in your name, seller not involved.

NOTE: If seller includes insurance, it is for your benefit, but purchased in their name, and they must handle the claim, sooo even if box looks fine, take some phone photos upon arrival, and photos while unpacking layer by layer, to document any surprise problem within. Helped me with my disaster, which took time because seller had to make the claim with my documentation of his packing failure.

In that case, the insurance claim was denied (single box), so PayPal threatened to close seller’s account, and my credit card stopped payment and notified PayPal a fraud claim was pending. Got full refund.

That’s why I always advise: Get an Invoice for Goods (not friends and family); and Fund your PayPal account with your Credit Card with best protection.

OH YEAH, seller put or Canada UPS looked, declared the Vintage TT an 'Antique', said they don't insure antiques. Took the money, but denied on that basis regardless of poor packaging.

Check with insureer when buying Vintage.

I have used UPS and FedEx for items I sold to Canadian buyers. In fact, I used UPS to ship a Benchmark HPA4 preamp to a guy in France. UPS did all the customs work and the buyer had to pay duty. Same thing occurred for Canada.

I am actually in Toronto for a few weeks and hope to check out Kennedy HiFi or some other shops.

BTW - USAudiomart for Canada has some good used prices.

I can't imagine USPS to be better than its Canadian counterpart. It's incredibly slow. But at least packages I hand over to them arrive, at some point in time

DHL is great for shipping between countries. They're able to get items through customs quickly.

Just my experience, but I received a DAC from Ontario to my door in Denver in less than 24 hrs using DHL

@grislybutter that would be the difference.  Yours arrive :-)   Our service is better the last 10 years. Technology has helped. They still treat your package like a football, but they can't throw as far any more.

@elrod I ship items for work FEDEX for next day into the United States all the time. Rarely is it late. It is expensive, and the items are not heavy or fragile.