Shipping US to Canada

[omakase]

What's the best US postage service to use to ship a pair of jeans to Canada? UPS? USPS? Also in order for the buyer to avoid customs/brokerage is it advised to mark the value down or just mark it as a gift?

[triniboy27]

ship USPS and mark the value at around $45-50.

[Kasper]

yeah, DO NOT EVER use private carrier like UPS, FEDEX, etc. they always charge some administrative fees and they are quite high. best thing is to mark down to value, declare it a gift and write that it's used clothing.

[hanaoka]

if you dont want to get screwed use USPS express mail shipping. only shipping that has tracking for intl shipping, should someone open a paypal claim against you. Depending on weight and location could cost $28+.

If you want a cheaper alternative use USPS Global priority, no tracking. about $10+ depending on weight and loaction.

to try to avoid customs fees, mark package as gift, set value lower, and make sure to remove anything that indicates price, in case your package goes through a suprise inspection.

[herpsky]

I asked this in the small questions thread, which no one seems to fucking read:

does Global Airmail Parcel Post (US to Canada) provide delivery confirmation?

[Tiranis]

to try to avoid customs fees, mark package as gift, set value lower, and make sure to remove anything that indicates price, in case your package goes through a suprise inspection.

Marking package as a gift is pretty much useless in Canada, but it's going to help assuming they don't inspect it and you've marked it less than $60 (canadian). So, in many cases it being marked as a gift will not save you.

To be honest, sometimes I find it easier to have the seller mark the real price, especially since last time I bought something I only payed 6% or 7% tax on it, nothing else. Wasn't really nearly as brutal as people make it out to be. And sometimes they just ignore the package even with full value.

[hanaoka]

not completely useless, its usually up to chance. ive done this several times and most of my buyers are able to avoid the custome fee. But never agian, seeing as you can be liable for mail fraud when you lie about the price of a package. It's not like they'll necessarily get you but they will hold your package.

@herpsky: As far as i know only EMS shipping carries tracking, that is what the PO have told me when i inquired about intl shipping w/ tracking, then agian theyre douchebags whom like to tell me different things every now and then.

[herpsky]

thanks for the reply

but delivery confirmation <> tracking.

[hanaoka]

yes tracking is the same sa delivery confirmation.

[herpsky]

Please do not feed your fellow SuFu users with wrong information

The terms "Delivery Confirmation" and "Tracking" are often used interchangeably (I confess to doing this myself), but they are NOT the same thing. When UPS or FedEx "Tracks" a package, it KNOWS WHERE IT IS AT ALL TIMES. It knows what room of what building it is in, where it came from, who has physical possession of the package, who touched it last, stuff like that.

Delivery Confirmation will usually acknowledge that the package ARRIVED at the destination zip code. It will also note if delivery was attempted but not successful. However, the details are often fuzzy after that. If "delivered", was the package left at the doorstep? Did the postal worker leave it at the neighbor's house? Delivery Confirmation often will NOT help you in those sorts of situations. It is possible to have a lost package with DC showing "delivered" at the same time.

[hanaoka]

my apologies if you think my info is wrong and yes i do use the two interchangably. maybe i was unclear about your Q.

I speak in terms of USPS since that is what i use oppose to FEDEX or UPS. As far as i know these two act as the same thing for usps. The green slip will show where the package's current location is as well as whether its been delivered or not, reguardless if its been "correctly delivered". Same works with EMS tracking, will show where the package is and confirm its delivery whether or not its the "correct" location.

if you use paypal and have tracking and it says delivery "confirmed" paypal will always side w/ tracking even if you have not gotten your package, since tracking/DC shows you have recieved the package.