Fifty Plus (50+) - Ordering from Mec.ca to ship to the U.S.?

Anybody order stuff from Mec.ca to be shipped to the US? I am a little concerned about Customs. On their website it states they have no idea what the Customs charge will be, that will be a separate bill. Anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to get shocked after the delivery.

I live in Canada and i'm a pretty regular customer of MEC, they carry good stuff. Can't help you with the Customs charges but i'm pretty sure that REI carries a lot of the same stuff as MEC, have you looked there?

As long as they MAIL it instead of using one of the shipping companies like Fedex or UPS. Canada Post and USPS are bonded by customs so they do not charge a brokerage fee. However the others are not and the brokerage fee to clear customs typically starts at around $25 and goes up quickly from there. At least it works that way for stuff coming into Canada from the US so I don't imagine it would be different going the other way.

Email them and see if you can request that it be mailed via normal post. If they can do that then you'll need to pay for state taxes when it arrives I'd imagine along with perhaps some small duty amount. However at least for coming into Canada bicycle stuff has no duty on it. It should be the same going south.

REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated if I recall) has much of the same stuff and is US based. Check it out..... www.rei.com (http://www.rei.com) .

EDIT.... Peter above beat me to it by a couple of hours. I missed the total content of your post as I scanned down.

I thought he was getting something shipped from Iraq.

Mecca is in Saudi Arabia

Mecca is in Saudi Arabia

I wondered about that. Living in the middle west I don't know so much about the middle east.

I wondered about that. Living in the middle west I don't know so much about the middle east.

that's called the Tidewater area...

and i don't think i'd ever order anything from mecca except for some chicken machboos and cardamom coffee

I ordered a pair of Serratus panniers from MEC about five years ago and encountered no additional charges upon delivery. Great panniers btw.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a great company to deal with. As you can see from the name, however, it is a co-op and you have to be a member to buy from them. A lifetime membership is only $5.00 though.
Another big advantage in buying from MEC right now for Americans ia the the Canadian dollar is back down to about $ .81 against the USD. It is slowly climbing back up, however. It has been at about par for the last year and only dipped back down several weeks ago when all this Shxxxt hit the fan, Right now you should see about a 15% plus on your USD :) Don't wait too long, however.

Doug