For Canadians shopping across the Border

I had no problems and great service from Timberline Tools when I ordered from them about a year ago – http://www.timberlinetools.com/default.asp

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

I’ve had success with Woodcraft Supply for years but the cost of shipping and currency exchange make cross-border shopping expensive these days. For example, run the numbers on Timberline’s Porter Cable 690 that they have on for $89.99 and compare to your cost by buying at home.

-- Phil in British Columbia

I’ve always had good luck with Woodpeckers.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Bob, I think your list will be pretty short. I just go to a site’s shipping info and have a look. If they charge substantially more to ship to Canada them I just ignore them. If they regularly ship to Canada they are required to collect and remit GST otherwise there are no extra costs to have us as customers. They can ship any way they want and it’s up to us to deal with customs etc etc. I prefer USPS for shipments from the US but many retailers refuse to do this. I just move on.

What you need to understand is that a retailer purposely makes it difficult for us Canadians for a reason, he doesn’t want to be bothered. Frankly, if he can’t be bothered then who am I to force my money down his throat. Life’s to short!

I’m not too sure about the “collect and remit the GST”

As far as I know that is collected at the border by Canada Customs and generally billed to the customer.

They do have to fill in a declaration form and form for commodity code info but that’s about it.
The peeve for me is that often there are deals struck for ”North America” exclusives that preclude shipments to Canada at the discretion of the U.S. vendor.
That means we get stubbed out completely and for no apparent reason.
Right now for me it was Denali 12” saw blades . Last year it was Sears automatic power switches and the list goes on.
I don’t wish to send $ to folks that don’t want it but I don’t wish to do without either.

Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Bob
I’ve bought from several US vendors and usually I don’t get any surprises with the extra charges, however I was told recently if the order is below $40 they don’t nail you with the duties coming in, have anyone ever heard of that? Also if the product is made in the US there isn’t suppose to be cross border taxes (isn’t that our free trade agreement?) It is amazing how different mfgs charge different rates, especially stuff off Ebay. I placed a $300.00 order of pen supplies from HUT in California and I wasn’t charged any duty and only $9.95 shipping – go figure. I look forward to your compiled list.

-- Canadian Wood Chuck (Bruce)

Bruce, like everything else in North America the free trade deals are buggered up with the bureaucratic pygmies that almost deliberately misinterpret every word on an invoice.
I am no longer in search of a deal but try to focus on the cartels that deny Canadians access to tools and supplies by virture of their ” exclusive arrangements” for North America. ( read US only here)
They have nothing against us it’s just that they are inherently lazy and times have been too good for them.

Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

For me the deal-breaker is the US vendor who insists on shipping via UPS. The Brownies have their own brokerage which ALWAYS charges a horrendous “Brokerage Fee” which is just more money in their pocket. most recently, I purchased extruded aluminum pieces for a precision table-saw fence, and specified USPS as the carrier. I’m certain my $98 order would be shipped without penalty by the US postal service. Imagine my anger when a UPS driver had his hand out when I opened the door… $38.00!!! I wrote to the company, and after not getting a response for 30 days, I gave them a big Negative on their eBay account for not following instructions. I’ve had no problems with other aluminum sellers who can follow simple instructions.
In a related bit of info, many US sellers won’t ship to Canadians simply because many Canadian customers slam the front door in the face of those money-grabbing UPS people. The seller eats the freight.

-- If Stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

I hear you Poopiekat. I deal with customs and the carriers everyday for a living.
The largest problem I have is with the lack of training (understanding) that American clerical staff have with both reading and understanding my requirements.
I don’t know what to say about that other than to say I deal around the world and the American shipping departmants are woefully lacking the expertise of their offshore competitors. Next is the carrier service that is dominated by a handfull of carriers with UPS being the dominant one here in Canada. They are not the best suited for a small size order and we generally use them for orders in excess of $1000.00 where there is a time sensitivity. A $100.00 order with kill you with their brokerage and extra fees.
The smaller stuff comes to us by Global express and clears for a nominal fee of $5.00 plus taxes where applicable.
If a US vendor squaks about using this service for us we endeavour to replace them.

Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Bob#2 what makes you think that they can read ?

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

I ship to my folk’s in Ohio, then they Fedex it to me as a “gift” so no duty

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

Is there anything we yanks can do to help our Canuck woodworking buddies? Maybe use our adresses as a postal drop then we can forward to you kind of like Matter is doing?

-- Don, Pittsburgh

I finaly got a good look at Woodcraft and they have done an excellent job of overcomming the border issues.
Some folks are meant to succeed and others – not so much. ;-)

http://www.woodcraft.com/custserv.aspx

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner