What would happen if you said the item didn’t meet your expectations and shipped it back? Would all the taxes and fees be refunded to you?
If you did that, then the person you bought it from could re-send it via USPS.
Otherwise, find someone in a U.S. border town (like Niagara Fall, NY - isn’t there someone on the board from there?) to drive it over the border and mail it from Niagara Falls, Ontario. I normally don’t advocate doing anything illegal, but if it’s to circumvent the criminal acts of our governments, I’ll make an exception.
On 2002-12-20 19:55, jim_mc wrote:
Otherwise, find someone in a U.S. border town (like Niagara Fall, NY - isn’t there someone on the board from there?) to drive it over the border and mail it from Niagara Falls, Ontario. I normally don’t advocate doing anything illegal…
On 2002-12-20 16:45, avanutria wrote:
What would happen if you refused it at customs? Would they return to sender and the sender could then try a different shipping method?
I had thought of doing this and what would happen, as Jim said, is that it would be returned to the sender. Jeff would then have to pay for the shipment back to him via UPS and then he could send it via USPS. When he originally got a quote for this from USPS it was something like $49 which I thought was ridiculous. If he was going to have to pay this and also the return shipment charges then that was fairly close to the amount ($117) Canadian that I paid in taxes. I believe that I would stil have to pay the $60 Brokers fee (I may be wrong here) but in any event I felt it was not worth the hassle.
Ava, I’m talking about taking the whistle across the border to its new home without declaring it.
Usually at the border they ask you something like, “anything to declare?”
If you say no and you are bringing something over with no intention of bringing it back with you, then I would assume you’re breaking the law. If you told them that you were bringing a whistle to a friend, I don’t know how much (or even if) they would charge you.
I bought a jacket in Ottowa many years ago, and on the way back over (into Ogdensburg, NY) I told them I bought the jacket I was wearing. They just waved me through. Another time I told them I had nothing to declare and they made me get out of the car so they could search me and the car very thoroughly (it was the '70’s and I was a longhair). Then there was the time we went across at Niagara Falls and bought 10 cases of Molson Brador. On the way back we told them we had 10 cases of beer in the trunk and they just laughed and let us go without paying duty.
The point is that I think enforcement at the border is pretty arbitrary, though that might have changed in the last 15 months.
I’d take my chances with a whistle, but not with anything that might be considered contraband.