General Cycling Discussion - Cheap shipping to Canada?

Hi, I just bought a bike from a guy in Missouri who originally thought the shipping was going to be around $44 to get it to Canada, now he says that UPS wants four times that amount! I can't afford that kind of expense, is there any way to get a bike to Canada for cheap? Thanks!

Peter

Take vacation and make a road trip out of it. You can stop in Branson or Memphis.

Have the seller check out the US Postal Service (don't know if they do bikes): UPS is supposed to be a real rip-off to Canada due to their customs brokerage fees, while USPS is much better in this regard. Don't know about FedEx ground....maybe that is another possibility.

I live close to the border and I have established a U.S address at Mailbox International . I have all my U.S. purchases shipped there and drive down and pick it up. Much cheaper than having goods shipped to Canada and I have never been bothered by Canadian Customs. I simply pay the duty and move on

There is aboslutely no way it is $160 to ship a bike from u.s to canada. That's massive b.s

The seller is thinking about boxing it in seperate boxes and having it sent USPS. Is there always duty on bikes even if I buy it second hand from a private seller? Couldn't he declare it as a gift to me hence avoiding the charges? Thanks!

I should have mentioned that the original quote that was given to me was for USPS but they won't take a full sized bike box, hence the dual boxes. Having a mailbox would be great, but I don't have a car anyway so taking a road trip and crossing the border would be difficult from where I am. Any other tricks out there?

Avoid. UPS. Like. The. Plague. HORRIBLE for cross-border shipments. You WILL experience: delays. "Hidden fees." Bad attitude.

The US Postal Service has been fantastic by comparison. Sometimes you get unlucky with them but not like UPS.

BTW: if you do go with a courier or get stuck with UPS, do the brokerage yourself. UPS will try to charge you something like $30-$60 "to act as your broker." They will then attempt to convince you that you can't possibly do it yourself. BULL. It's a single form that you have signed at a local Revenue Canada office and fax off to whoever's holding your package. Slightly less convenient but no fee.

<rant off>

Yes, if the seller is willing to mark the box "gift" it's likely tax/duty free. Get the package insured unless you don't care what happens to it.

there is no duty on bike *parts* imported into canada.
there is technically a 13% duty on some complete bicycles though.

you will have to pay at least GST on the declared value. maybe PST as well, but that depends on your province.

I agree, stay away from UPS ground if you're shipping cross border, unless you live close enough to the entry point, that you can clear customs yourself. It shouldn't cost anywhere near $150 to ship it UPS though. $70 max.

USPS brokerage will be $5, through canada post.

I live close to the border and I have established a U.S address at Mailbox International . I have all my U.S. purchases shipped there and drive down and pick it up. Much cheaper than having goods shipped to Canada and I have never been bothered by Canadian Customs. I simply pay the duty and move on

How do you go about getting one of these mailboxe addresses? I wouldnt mind trying that myself,

USPS will not handle bikes they are to big. It is going to be an expensive shipping cost no mater who you go with.

Thanks everyone, decided to cancel buying from the guy in the States, there are loads of bikes up in Canada!

Good plan Doug. The cost of shipping cross-border can sometimes equal or exceed the price of a bike (used, mid-range bikes). Let us know what you find up here.

I shipped a item to someone in Canada. It was 1.5 lbs and the cost came out to be around $45 (US) to ship it. I was using the UPS worldship program, and noticed the program defaulted to "worldwide express" for priority. Changed that to ground and the shipping came out to $10. About 1/4, maybe thats the problem?

I found a beautiful Cannondale T800 for a steal of a price that I am buying, looks like I made the right choice! Thanks again for all the info.