[Tomchu]

I want to buy an old Pismo off a friend in New York, and I live in Vancouver. Fedex has quoted me a price of about $110 for the shipping, which is ridiculous as I'm paying my friend $350 for the whole thing.

Regular parcel service would be do-able, but I'm concerned about Canada Customs and brokerage fees. The last time I bought a $40 processor off eBay, UPS demanded $45 in brokerage fees when they came to my door.

What can you guys tell me/recommend, if anything? What are you experiences with shipping used computer parts over the border?

PS: If I Fedex is really my best bet, does anyone here live in the Seattle/Bellingham area who would be willing to accept the package for me? I would drive down probably on the weekend and pick it up myself.

Thanks.

[Spliffdaddy]

Can't you simply have him ship USPS and mark the customs form as "gift" with a declared value of $20 ?

I ship to Canada quite often and nobody ever complained about having to pay a high brokerage fee. Maybe it's a FedEx/UPS thing?

[Tomchu]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

Can't you simply have him ship USPS and mark the customs form as "gift" with a declared value of $20 ?

I ship to Canada quite often and nobody ever complained about having to pay a high brokerage fee. Maybe it's a FedEx/UPS thing?

What's the risk of losing the shipment/getting it seized by Customs?