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[norm_2]

I am looking at a reel on Ebay from the USA.  What are the normal costs?   How much is shipping ?  How much is duty?  Are there any other costs?  How long does the post office take?  Any other advice you would offer?

I have not purchased on Ebay before.  How important is the seller ratings?  What seller characteristics do you think is important?  Any other advice you would offer?

Thanks,

[Jewelz]

Buy from a US seller that has a rating of 98% or higher and offers free shipping. Ship to this place www.thelettercarrier.com. Pick up from there and you don't usually have to pay duty or taxes when coming back into Canada.

[Suther]

Buy from a US seller that has a rating of 98% or higher and offers free shipping. Ship to this place www.thelettercarrier.com. Pick up from there and you don't usually have to pay duty or taxes when coming back into Canada.

There are similar pick-up locations available in Blaine and elsewhere too, if Point Roberts is too far.

[fishing4salmon]

I have bought more than7++ reels from eBay USA, Japan and UK so far. There are price ranging from 30~ 340.   It usually delivered within 1.5week, but some May take upto 2.5 weeks if hold up at the custom. Only got charged duty once where the seller state "new" and actual price, but it is still a little bit cheaper and reasonable.
Sometimes, I will ship it to Washington and pick up over there to save some shipping cost and have a reason to fill up cheap gas, but it all depend on where you live

Most shipping cost from USA are between $15~25 to canada. And Free~15 within USA
I usually look for buyer that have feedback rating between 99~100. Anywhere below that, I just don't feel confident dealing with

eBay will only charge seller fee and not buyer. However, if the currency is in US, u might want to consider the exchange rate they are using

If I were to buy a reel from eBay, I would first know what price they are selling locally. If only get 10~15 cheaper, than I just buy local

[Jewelz]

If I were to buy a reel from eBay, I would first know what price they are selling locally. If only get 10~15 cheaper, than I just buy local

Totally agree.

[norm_2]

Great information everybody.  I am very impressed with the quality of the responses.

I assume Paypal is how you pay?  It certainly looks like it will protect buyer and seller.

By the way, I agree with buying locally but for used reels, I just drool looking at those older reel photos.

Thanks,

[Stratocaster]

Ah, the world of on-line shopping.  Before anyone chimes in with "support your local tackle shop", I have in the past and I still do.  But when you see the great deals down south allowing you to buy gear that you would never be able to afford otherwise, its hard argue with anyone looking to buy in the states.

First of all, having almost anything shipped from the US to Canada may not be worth it.  The PST, GST, possible duties and worst of all outrageous brokerage fees will have you paying more than if you bought it here.  For all goods purchased in the US, you need to send it to US Address where you can pick it up.

As another poster has mentioned, find a mail forwarding company in Blaine or Pt Roberts.  (Simple google search will get what you need).  You will normally pay a yearly membership fee of about $10.  You are entered into their system and they will notify you by email when your package arrives.  It will cost you a couple of bucks per package upon pick up.

When you cross back into Canada, they may or may not send you in depending on how many people you have in your car and the value of your goods.  MAKE SURE you declare everything.  Do not try smuggling it back.  You will be blacklisted for a very long time and they will make it difficult for you to cross the border again.

I rarely get sent in because most of my stuff is under a couple of hundred dollars.  Most recently, I picked up a Simms Paclite gortex wading jacket that I bought for $140.00 (no taxes).  I went by myself, filled up on gas as well and brought it back without having to pay anything.  Even if you get sent in, chances are you will only be paying taxes as they rarely charge duties.  Even though CBSA has established $ limits as to how much you can bring back, they don't always adhere to them.  They would rather not be burdened with paperwork if the amount isn't worthwhile to them.

[RalphH]

to avoid brokerage and duty make sure the seller ships via USPS - not UPS or Fedex etc. Duty is assessable on any product not made in the US such as Korea or China ...where most reels are made. You are also liable to pay PST GST etc even if you pick it up in Blaine. It depends if the CBSA folks who process your return think it's worth their while.

[Suther]

technically, there is no amount of goods you can bring back duty free until you are down for 24 hours.

That said, because of understaffed and under-funded borders, they will usually let you by without paying duty on a small amount. There is simply not enough man power to make every single person pay duties on $20 worth of groceries. My boss who crosses almost weekly to pick up stuff for the store was telling me one time a border guard told him they have an unspoken rule now adays, anything under $150 and they dont give a damn.

I also buy all my textbooks from school online, and typically pick them up across the border. Never once paid duty or taxes, and I've picked up books at least 9 times. Also gotten some used truck parts from people on a different forum, again never paid a damn thing at the border.

[ShaunO]

Point Roberts "unofficial" threshold for duty/tax is $300 for anything under 24 hrs.  I have been picking up packages there for over a decade and with the rise in popularity of using mail services there, the old threshold of $75 created massive waits.

DO NOT USE THE LETTER CARRIER!!!!

I was a loyal (read 10 year loyal) customer until Christmas 2012.  Without notice, they started refusing deliveries for customers due to lack of storage space.  This caused a number of people to face restocking charges, and delayed shipments, all without letting customers know.  There were a number of options available to them but they opted for this one instead.  I was lucky because I was there picking up a package when this started and was able to call sellers and carriers to hold packages at their depots in Bellingham.  Many others were not so lucky.

Use Point 2 Point instead.  Much better building, nicer staff, MUCH bigger warehouse and never a problem.

My 2 cents

[canso]

to avoid brokerage and duty make sure the seller ships via USPS - not UPS or Fedex etc.

^^^^ x2
I ship to my house regularly, not worth the hassle to cross the boarder. Maybe 1 out of 10 parcels will be charged fees. USPS will pass it to Canada post for delivery.

[htdub]

247parcel.com in blaine, pretty much a game changer for border parcel receiving, use to be TSB and hagens customer. Everyone I know who uses blaine or sumas has switched.

Many US sellers will not ship to canada, plain lazy, so check before hitting the bid or buy it now button.

[rustybee]

247parcel.com in blaine, pretty much a game changer for border parcel receiving, use to be TSB and hagens customer. Everyone I know who uses blaine or sumas has switched.

Sweet service! Thanks for Intel!

[rustybee]

Point Roberts "unofficial" threshold for duty/tax is $300 for anything under 24 hrs.  I have been picking up packages there for over a decade and with the rise in popularity of using mail services there, the old threshold of $75 created massive waits.

DO NOT USE THE LETTER CARRIER!!!!

I was a loyal (read 10 year loyal) customer until Christmas 2012.  Without notice, they started refusing deliveries for customers due to lack of storage space.  This caused a number of people to face restocking charges, and delayed shipments, all without letting customers know.  There were a number of options available to them but they opted for this one instead.  I was lucky because I was there picking up a package when this started and was able to call sellers and carriers to hold packages at their depots in Bellingham.  Many others were not so lucky.

Use Point 2 Point instead.  Much better building, nicer staff, MUCH bigger warehouse and never a problem.

My 2 cents

+1 on not using The Letter Carrier. Better options out there if using Point Roberts.

[fic]

I used TLC at Pt Roberts a few times this year and didn't have too many issues. I heard about last year's debacle during Christmas season so I am avoiding all of December because of it.  They are victims of their success I suppose.  They also stopped receiving tires too, so the other options provided by others are equally good.