How long to ship a Flute fron US to Canada?

Irish Flute
1

I mailed a Flute from NC via the US Mail to Toronto Canada friday before last (March 26th)
They have not gotten the Flute yet and I’m getting nervous…in your experience how long does it take on the average? Is there a customs snag with a Flute coming into Canada maybe?
Ben Shaffer

2

The last flute I shipped to Canada (by Priority Mail) took 12 days and that seems to be about average. Keep in mind that Good Friday and Easter Monday are Postal holidays in Canada so that will add to the time. Also it will take longer if you used parcel post rather than priority.

Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio

3

Hi Ben,
In my experience, timelines vary widely when you send a flute into Canada. I’ve received a flute from Malaysia in two days, flutes from England in three days…flutes from the U.S. in a week up to three weeks. The problem is not with the USPS or Canada Post, it’s with Canada Customs - a notorious institution hated by Irish flute players all across Canada. Sometimes a package will clear customs quickly, sometimes it will sit for a week +/- in limbo.
If your tracking indicates that the flute has left the U.S but there is no record of it arriving in Canada (yet) then it’s with Canada Customs. Don’t panic (yet). :smiley:
Dave makes a good point about the long, holiday weekend too.
regards,
Paul

4

Thanks Guys… good insights :slight_smile:

5

Customs can take as long as it pleases. If a parcel gets flagged for inspection, a couple of weeks isn’t out of the question.

6

I sent a whistle to a buyer in Ontario several months back. After a bit over three weeks we concluded that the mail gods must have swallowed it whole and I refunded her money. The next day she received a “Final Notice” to pick it up at the local Post Office. She never received any previous notices. It had been languishing there for two weeks. It might be worth having your buyer check at their local P.O.

7

This story may be a propos or apocryphal. Some years ago, I got drunk with some ‘RedCaps’ when I was in Canada and asked why it sometimes took so long for packages to get from the US to Canada, and vice versa. Their story was that it had to do with a long standing labor dispute. Canada Post and the Canadian Postal Union have a contract which specifies work rules and is generally honored. However, at the border, Canadian Customs employs Canadian Postal workers to do some of the processing. The rub appears to be that Canadian Customs is not party to the Contract, and does not honor it, and in consequence the Postal Employees have no recourse except to ‘work to the rule’. There never seems to be any opportunity to resolve the labor conflict. What a mess.
For what it’s worth
Bob