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How long did it take to get to your neck of the woods?
By Lapsus
#118465
Forgive me if I should have posted in the other Canada thread, but it's been dormant for over a month.

Anyways, It turns out that FedEx International Priority shipping is so fast that it beat Sparkfun's shipping notification email by a good two hours!

Also, don't be like me and forget about customs charges until the package arrives at your door!
By dirigible
#118830
Aw, crap. How much is customs? Should've gone USPS.
By Lapsus
#120581
Unfortunately, you're going to get hit with customs no matter what, unless you somehow convince sparkfun to declare a value of zero and/or mark the package as engineering samples or somesuch, but that's rather unlikely, and probably borderline, if not outright illegal.

The customs charges were very nearly more than the cost of shipping in the first places, so my free-day order ended up costing a bit over $50 in the end, so be prepared for 30% customs fees, and you should have more than enough. Also, FedEx guys get really surly if you make them wait while you scramble around to find someone with money, so don't be like me.
By nineball
#120590
That's not entirely accurate. I get items shipped here all the time from the US. USPS will end up crossing the border via Canada Post/Purolator depending on the service. They should charge $8 brokerage plus taxes (13%) with no duty on orders valued over $20 CDN but just as often let it go if it's not a heavy or large package. Under $20 CDN should never have any charges. FedEx and UPS end up charging a lot more between their higher brokerage and additional fees plus taxes. UPS has a pretty clear listing (search for brokerage schedule on their site) and FedEx can be much harder to determine. I'm not familiar with other services such as DHL.

They may also be able to leave the package with you even if you do not have the money on you. You should then get a bill from whichever courier that you can pay online. FedEx has done this for me before. CanadaPost/Purolator always comes when I'm not home so I usually pay customs charges when I pick up the package from my local post office.

[Edit] I should also point out that there are ways to arrange brokerage before your item crosses the border that should make it cost a lot less but I've never attempted it. All courier services do have numbers you can call for info on it though. Also, order more than once from SparkFun if you need to to keep it under $100 for the USPS option if you want the least hassle. Assuming you order is multiple light items you would be looking at a much cheaper/easier alternative to 1 large order with FedEx and customs charges.