Questions about shipping to Canada

[supraazn]

Hi, I'm about to ship a package to a friend from Canada for the first time.
So ... naturally i have some questions about things i should know beforehand.
And I know CAGs here could help me out.
So i'm shipping five 6inch anime figurines, 4 mangas, a magazine, a novel book, a plush doll, and a couple small small misc items.
Its going to be about 6lbs ... average size box... maybe 17x7x12 (a rough estimate)

The total value is about 110-120$.
And i'm going to use USPS.
I know there will be forms to be signed and such.

What do i put the value of? ... should i go lower or state it as it really is.
Does the cost of shipment for me increase if the value is higher?


What are the chances that customs will pop it open and inspect it?
Will the receiver have to pay any extra fees and such. Like if i declare the value as a higher amount say 120$, will they have to pay more of a fee?

At this point i think i'm just worried that the recipient will have to pay some BS fees.
Also anything else that you think i should know about to avoid any hassles.


Thank you Cags for the help, really appreciate any input.

 

[Macheezmo]

[quote name='supraazn']Hi, I'm about to ship a package to a friend from Canada for the first time.
So ... naturally i have some questions about things i should know beforehand.
And I know CAGs here could help me out.
So i'm shipping five 6inch anime figurines, 4 mangas, a magazine, a novel book, a plush doll, and a couple small small misc items.
Its going to be about 6lbs ... average size box... maybe 17x7x12 (a rough estimate)

The total value is about 110-120$.
And i'm going to use USPS.
I know there will be forms to be signed and such.

What do i put the value of? ... should i go lower or state it as it really is.
Does the cost of shipment for me increase if the value is higher?


What are the chances that customs will pop it open and inspect it?
Will the receiver have to pay any extra fees and such. Like if i declare the value as a higher amount say 120$, will they have to pay more of a fee?

At this point i think i'm just worried that the recipient will have to pay some BS fees.
Also anything else that you think i should know about to avoid any hassles.


Thank you Cags for the help, really appreciate any input.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've shipped several things to Canada that I've sold on eBay via USPS, and other than the customs paperwork, and it being just a little more expensive than domestic shipping, it's no different. I'm quite certain that there are no fees the recipient has to pay, and I doubt customs stops many things that go to Canada.

 

[supraazn]

Alright, thanks for the reply. Makes me feel a little better, because i really don't want the recipient in my case to have to go through any hassle.

I did a little search beforehand and saw some horror stories about brokerage and/or GST fees and customs ripping apart boxes, damaging the items. But i guess there are horror stories for everything. Just wanted to know how common it really is.