Hey Canadians - anyone use crossborder pickups?

[veggieburger]

Really great service, from what others have reported. Anyone here use for bike bits?

https://www.crossborderpickups.ca/

[pobrien]

I have not heard of this service before now but I would have some concerns.

A friend has a US address that he has packages sent to. He goes down to the US to get packages every once in a while. He declares the value of what he has brought to the border and he usually has some tax/other to pay.

You cannot dodge the process or you might be smuggling. I would not do that.

One reason to do what he does is to save on the outrageous postage costs of having a packing sent from the US to a Canadian address.

[RonW87]

Also saves on the outrageous fees charged by FedEx, UPS, etc. to clear customs (NOT the duties themselves) as well as the increased shipping costs across the border (much of the time, shipping within US is free).

R.

[htwoopup]

I live in both countries. So, I have never had the need for this. But I also don't understand why it is necessary unless you are shopping at a place that will not ship to Canada. I have often had JensonUSA (and others) deliver directly to me at my Quebec address...yes, they collect the appropriate taxes (which are no different than the usual Quebec taxes) but the shipping on various orders has never been more than 10 USD and that includes second day UPS delivery. A frame or fork or other large part would probably be more, but it is if it is just within the US too.

[Veloo]

I've come across a number of online retailers and eBay sellers not willing to ship north of the border or shipping was just outrageous. Wife has too for her clothes.

It can get a bit tricky figuring out what friend south of the border may be willing and able to bring something back for you.

[veggieburger]

I live in both countries. So, I have never had the need for this. But I also don't understand why it is necessary unless you are shopping at a place that will not ship to Canada. I have often had JensonUSA (and others) deliver directly to me at my Quebec address...yes, they collect the appropriate taxes (which are no different than the usual Quebec taxes) but the shipping on various orders has never been more than 10 USD and that includes second day UPS delivery. A frame or fork or other large part would probably be more, but it is if it is just within the US too.


UPS is notorious for charging an inconsistent but substantial brokerage fee on US to CDN packages. Also, check services like bikeflights. Shipping to Buffalo vs Toronto can be a huge difference.

[spinarelli]

I've had bikes shipped to kinek locations. $5 - 10 fee per parcel. Paypal does not like for you to change country of delivery. I've missed out on a couple of bikes because the seller would not ship to an address that is not part of paypal.

[xnetter]

When I lived in Toronto, I used www.americanmailbox.net in Niagara Falls for the times that I bought a frameset or items I knew would cost $100+ in duties and brokerage fees. It was pretty great. I think the charge was $5 per item or so, regardless of the size and value.

Your import allowance goes up the longer you spend in the US, so I would often incorporate a visit to Buffalo or Rochester or some upstate NY cycling so I could avoid declaring whatever it was.

They also had a parcel forwarding service to mail to you in Canada, but I never used that.

KJ

[pobrien]

I do plan to get a mailbox in Point Roberts to avoid the shipping costs we are subject to. You Americans have a great system for shipping. Us, not so much!

I don't mind paying fair tax or duty.

[Black Dog]

Hey Veg,

I use CBI in Niagara Falls and they are fantastic. They will receive and hold an item of any size; notify you when it arrives and they charge a nominal fee (~$5)per parcel. I declare everything and often get waived through without paying duty. When I do pay duty is is never more than what HST would be and I don't mind. The savings in shipping and costs more than make up for it. Besides there is some great ridding in the area on both sides of the border; getting a parcel is a great excuse to go do a great ride. www.CBIUSA.com

[pdonk]

I ....,, ,,,,

[pdonk]

Oops found answers

[JACKS]

hi, i have used them before, they are not bad. near where i work. now they have a second location in Markham. process is simple, but you must declare in writing to them as they do check what is shipped to them. declaration is online through their website. pretty straight forward, so if you don't to cross the border yourself or don't want to pay overpriced shipping, they are an option.

[veggieburger]

Hey Veg,

I use CBI in Niagara Falls and they are fantastic. They will receive and hold an item of any size; notify you when it arrives and they charge a nominal fee (~$5)per parcel. I declare everything and often get waived through without paying duty. When I do pay duty is is never more than what HST would be and I don't mind. The savings in shipping and costs more than make up for it. Besides there is some great ridding in the area on both sides of the border; getting a parcel is a great excuse to go do a great ride. www.CBIUSA.com

I have heard of these folks. "US address" is a similar service just across the Q-L bridge. As much as I love visiting Mighty Taco and getting cheap gas, I would prefer a service that actually brings the parcel over the border for a reasonable fee. But ya, a good option otherwise.

[blakcloud]

Cross Border Pick Ups sounds interesting but I wish they would list some of their prices, to see if it is worth it.

Currently I use CBI in Niagara Falls, declare everything and ALWAYS get sent inside to pay taxes at the border. I envy you guys that they just wave through. Plus twice I have had my car pulled aside and searched thoroughly. Of course there was nothing in it so I wasn't worried.

I have bought two Rivendells and had them shipped there. It's not a far drive from Toronto Well worth the drive.

[Polyglot]

Cross Border Pick Ups sounds interesting but I wish they would list some of their prices, to see if it is worth it.

Currently I use CBI in Niagara Falls, declare everything and ALWAYS get sent inside to pay taxes at the border. I envy you guys that they just wave through. Plus twice I have had my car pulled aside and searched thoroughly. Of course there was nothing in it so I wasn't worried.

I have bought two Rivendells and had them shipped there. It's not a far drive from Toronto Well worth the drive.

This usually means that you have been flagged at some time in the past. I cross the border a few times per year, generally at either the 1,000 islands bridge between Ontario and New York, or the Port Angeles-Victoria ferry out west and NEVER get held up, even when I had the car chock full of music instruments and bikes (my daughter was moving up for university with her keyboards, upright bass, plus 6 other miscellaneous instruments plus two bikes)

[pdonk]

Just to bring this up again.

As I am expecting my new bike this fall, i sent a list of questions to CBP about ensuring no damage was done or accepted and who would be responsible

A summary of the response is as follows:

No inspection of goods received - will refuse an obviously and seriously damaged package. But no guarantee of what is in your box.

Only provide $500 of insurance for any damage they may cause.

Prefer a value cap of $2000 USD, will accept more, but prefer not to.

They use a custom broker and rely on them filling in the paper work properly based on your invoice. May create problems if they don't do it properly and end up trying to reclaim overpaid duty.

Based on this, looks like I'll be getting the bike shipped to my office. Its expensive - about $400(fully insured for full value of bike), but piece of mind worth it.

[summilux]

I use a UPS store for pickup. They charge $5 a package. I have bought several bikes this way as well as a whole lot of bike and car parts and tools. My local is in Ogdensberg, which is about a 45 minute drive away from my home. I have done this for over a decade without any issue.

[ultraman6970]

Last time I crossed to canada from the us, honestly the guy at the booth has no way to know if you are bringing something that needs to be taxed with you. They dont go and check your whole car and suitcases (as they do if you go from chile to argentina, or peru, bolivia or any other s/a country), you pay to get in... the guy asks you if you bring something bad... done deal...

And I did not notice that canadian vehicles were being search or anything, the other detail is that always if a guy buys a set of wheels in the UK for example and are being sent to one of those US warehouses po boxes things, just take a frame with you at the way out of canada... then put the new wheels in the bike... or just ditch the boxes of the stuff you bought and put them in a suitcase...

Im used to another type of border control so surprised us how easy the process is...

ps: just noticed that i was answering a thread that is like 6 months old...

[deechee]

ultraman6970, you're pretty lucky. I'm Canadian, and my friends and I have had our cars pulled over for random inspections. Being asked for a receipt for a 10 year old bike you have with you is ridiculous. It's not worth getting caught if you ask me, as your file gets flagged. Most agents are flexible if you go slightly over a limit as long as you tell the truth.

[ultraman6970]

R u for real?? surprise me man.... We crossed at niagara and we came back at 10000 islands... like a month ago. no problems. obviously I was not crossing with bikes and stuff but saw guys with cars with bikes on top crossing, thats why for what you are telling me they are just f... with the drivers just because... even in my country a bicycle is a personal item, you can get in with it at the airport for example w/o any problem. off course if you bring 10 of them at the same time they will get pissed off :)

[pdonk]

I've had my car tossed. Seats out all luggage opened coming home. I had nothing in car or on me that was not permitted.

I've also crossed in 2 minutes no questions asked.

I revived this thread to add some more info as asked by OP.

[alancw3]

question along this topic. so i have an interest in a five year old bike and the owner lives in mission, bc. is it my understanding from this thread that it will be a hassle for the owner the to ship the bike to me in the usa and that there will be duties on this used bike? thanks for any guidance.

[deechee]

ultraman6970 , yeah I'm for real. Like pdonk, I've also gone through with no issues, one time without even showing my passport. I should probably add the times I've been slowed is at Lacolle and Vancouver airport and I've probably crossed by car/bike at more than a few dozen times. It's no biggie - just saying the CBSA does search. Even my ex's dad who lives by the border and who crosses regularly (ie. the movie theatre in the US is closer than the one in Canada) .

alancw3, shipping from Canada to US is very different as you guys have a much higher private import limit. I think its 800$ (there are some threads here). USA-> Canada is 50$. Yeah. My experience though is as long as the shipper prepays the fees, it's usually straightforward. It's a matter of understanding the costs:

the bike
+shipping cost
+ taxes (usually necessary)
+ duties (depends where the bike is made - its important that this is specified in the shipping papers -made in usa? no problem!)
+ brokerage fees (ups (https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/zones-and-rates/us-customs-brokerage-fees.page)/DHL).

What burns & upsets people are the duties (can be like 40%) and brokerage fees which most receivers aren't aware of. For instance, when UPS sent me a warrantied bike fix, they charged me 70$ or so in brokerage (https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/zones-and-rates/us-customs-brokerage-fees.page) + taxes, even though it was a 0$ warranty job. It was so infuriating. Nothing I could do other than pay it. At this point in my life though, I don't have time to deal with picking stuff up at the border and driving back.

But if the shipper prepays, usually the brokerage fees are exempt (because you already did the "work" they're charging for) and you know the costs up front, so no surprise Cash on Delivery demands when you try to get your bike!

[pdonk]

R u for real?? surprise me man.... We crossed at niagara and we came back at 10000 islands... like a month ago. no problems. obviously I was not crossing with bikes and stuff but saw guys with cars with bikes on top crossing, thats why for what you are telling me they are just f... with the drivers just because... even in my country a bicycle is a personal item, you can get in with it at the airport for example w/o any problem. off course if you bring 10 of them at the same time they will get pissed off :)

On your note about bikes, I saw a funny thing at the Pearson Airport when coming back from San Franciso 2 years ago, the border official was grilling a guy as he was trying to claim that the 20 folding bikes he had were for personal use. I was in line to pay duty on the extra 4 bottle of wine we had with us that we declared as they were over the limit (2 each).

Returning from our recent trip to Oregon, we declared an overage of wine and the agent asked how much we had spent (we were under and had receipts for everything) and were let through with no hassle. So it really depend on the agent.

Traveling with my toddler daughter, our nexus cards and the time they save are too valuable to not declare everything in accordance with the rules.

[deechee]

Yeah, a friend of mine is a technical sales guy who travels a lot for work and he got into serious trouble when he forgot to declare something while traveling with his Nexus card. He said it took a long time to convince them to let him keep his Nexus.

[ultraman6970]

Interesting how things change from country to country, for example in canada tbh from what we noticed everything is more expensive than here, eventhought the rates help at the time you add 2 taxes to everything you are paying more than here. Dunno how you guy make it every month tbh

In chile taxes (vat) for stuff at some point was 20%... then went to 18% now i believe is 19% but prices have the tax already included so at least you know you wont get shafffed :P

In argentina is like 21%.. brazil average is like 19% but varies depending on the state...

[alancw3]

alancw3, shipping from Canada to US is very different as you guys have a much higher private import limit. I think its 800$ (there are some threads here). USA-> Canada is 50$. Yeah. My experience though is as long as the shipper prepays the fees, it's usually straightforward. It's a matter of understanding the costs:

the bike
+shipping cost
+ taxes (usually necessary)
+ duties (depends where the bike is made - its important that this is specified in the shipping papers -made in usa? no problem!)
+ brokerage fees (ups (https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/zones-and-rates/us-customs-brokerage-fees.page)/DHL).

What burns & upsets people are the duties (can be like 40%) and brokerage fees which most receivers aren't aware of. For instance, when UPS sent me a warrantied bike fix, they charged me 70$ or so in brokerage (https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/zones-and-rates/us-customs-brokerage-fees.page) + taxes, even though it was a 0$ warranty job. It was so infuriating. Nothing I could do other than pay it. At this point in my life though, I don't have time to deal with picking stuff up at the border and driving back.

But if the shipper prepays, usually the brokerage fees are exempt (because you already did the "work" they're charging for) and you know the costs up front, so no surprise Cash on Delivery demands when you try to get your bike!

i guess i now understand why sellers on pink bike (predominately canadian) say local pickup only. they don't want the hassle of shipping to usa.

[pdonk]

i guess i now understand why sellers on pink bike (predominately canadian) say local pickup only. they don't want the hassle of shipping to usa.

If you see something within 45 minute drive of Toronto, I might be able to facilitate.

The other big thing is the cost of shipping makes some things prohibitive.

[pdonk]

Just an update, I used this service to take advantage of the Competitive Cyclist sale on enve handlebars as they won't ship them to Canada.

Totally hassle free, send package to the address they give you as your drop point, they send you an email telling you how much tax and duty you owe, you approve, 2-3 days later another email saying come pick up your parcel. Only annoyance was traffic to Markham from downtown, but I could have waited and gone today at lunch from my office.

Fee for this service on an enve and Thomson bar - $10.

Savings on enve bar about $300 CAD, the Thomson bar was nearly "free".

[jet sanchez]

Very interesting, thanks for the update.

I used CBI in Niagara Falls, NY for pickups but I just don't have the time anymore to go down there.

[spinarelli]

they send you an email telling you how much tax and duty you owe, you approve,

curious how much the tax and duty was, just hst and the $10 fee or was there a brokerage fee?

[fellowsun]

I've used a similar service in Vancouver called ChitChats: https://chitchats.com/

Additionally I have a drop box in Point Roberts. Sometimes shipping to Canada is $100 but to the US it's free.

You get $200 daily to bring across the border, so I just declare whatever I pick up as $200 and it's fine. People do it all the time, so the border people are pretty relaxed.

[pdonk]

curious how much the tax and duty was, just hst and the $10 fee or was there a brokerage fee?

Tax and duty was about $120 on the order - broken down into HST and duty.

No brokerage fee just a flat $10 + hst + a 4% fee if you use a credit card to pay.

Goods ready for pick up about 8 days after placing order.

Funniest thing, the person in front of me had a huge Target order they were picking up.

[zzy]

If you guys spend 48 hours in the US you're tax exempt up to $800, and $200 for 24+ hours. Plus cheap beer/booze/smokes. I always had fun in downtown Buffalo..

[Veloo]

I used them for the first time earlier this year for a Steep & Cheap order. Shipping to Canada would've been about $40 USD for two short sleeve tops. Shipping within the US was under $10.
For that reason I decided to give them a try.
They were very good to deal with and replied to emails pretty quickly.

I'd recommend them for retailers that won't ship north of the border or charge a ridiculous amount. Otherwise you can play the odds with getting dinged for taxes with Canada Post.

It's more the crappy exchange rate that ruins deals for us more than anything else.

[Black Dog]

I've used a similar service in Vancouver called ChitChats: https://chitchats.com/

Additionally I have a drop box in Point Roberts. Sometimes shipping to Canada is $100 but to the US it's free.

You get $200 daily to bring across the border, so I just declare whatever I pick up as $200 and it's fine. People do it all the time, so the border people are pretty relaxed.

That $200 amount is based on a 24 hour stay in the USA. Less than 24 there is no exemption amount. It is at the discretion of the officer at customs.

[fellowsun]

That $200 amount is based on a 24 hour stay in the USA. Less than 24 there is no exemption amount. It is at the discretion of the officer at customs.

Hmm. Considering I've travelled across the border with a Nexus pass multiple times to retrieve goods and never once been told otherwise.