Shipping to Canada

[thechrisdotcom]

How long does it take to send something to Canada using USPS?

I sent something out like 2 weeks ago and the package I sent still hasn't made it to the other person's end. I've never sent anything to Canada before using USPS, just curious how long it should actually take. Their site said 6-10 business days, but I don't know if Customs holds packages longer or what.

[DMK]

First question is, where in Canada?
I ask because if it is to a major metropolitan area, I would say 10 to 14 days subtracting the weekend because our system grinds to a halt....
If it is going to a 'out of the way' part of the frozen north.... well lets just say longer....
Secondly, what was the declaration? If 'tobacco' in any way shape or form was mentioned.... it will be held up by Customs. They can and do take their own sweet time....

[thechrisdotcom]

Originally Posted by DMK

First question is, where in Canada?
I ask because if it is to a major metropolitan area, I would say 10 to 14 days subtracting the weekend because our system grinds to a halt....
If it is going to a 'out of the way' part of the frozen north.... well lets just say longer....
Secondly, what was the declaration? If 'tobacco' in any way shape or form was mentioned.... it will be held up by Customs. They can and do take their own sweet time....

It wasn't cigars. It's just going to one of the major provinces.

I've never shipped to CA before this time. It was a bit strange. Asks you all these questions and bla bla bla. I think it said you're safe to send cigars, had a list of rules and stuff. I can't remember. I think I remember it saying you can just as long as you follow the guidelines or something.

[mithrilG60]

They won't stop cigars coming in, but they will assess duties on them. Most items shipped to me (Vancouver) from pretty much anywhere in the US via First Class International or Priority International tend to take between 10 - 12 business days. Like DMK said though, depends on where in Canada you shipped to. A major city like Vancouver or Toronto will be much faster than a smaller town like Kelowna or Barry simply because the major centres are mail distribution hubs and don't require additional day(s) of driving to get mail into.

[Skywalker]

I've sent Priority and made it in less than a week!

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

I've sent Priority and made it in less than a week!

Same here. I ship beads to Canada all the time.

[mithrilG60]

I've had stuff arrive in 2 - 3 days, and other stuff take 2 to 3 weeks. As I recall the beads I ordered from you took about 5 days, but we're not that far apart geographically. Orders from Taboo in Texas would typically take 10 business days.

[Old Sailor]

Normal is around 10-14 days, business days that is.....also we had a holiday Monday and that will add some time. Plus we don't get weekend delivery here.

[Old Sailor]

Originally Posted by mithrilG60

They won't stop cigars coming in, but they will assess duties on them. Most items shipped to me (Vancouver) from pretty much anywhere in the US via First Class International or Priority International tend to take between 10 - 12 business days. Like DMK said though, depends on where in Canada you shipped to. A major city like Vancouver or Toronto will be much faster than a smaller town like Kelowna or Barry simply because the major centres are mail distribution hubs and don't require additional day(s) of driving to get mail into.

if the pkg contains said cigars and is labeled something else, customs decides to open it and it's not what is labeled, kiss the pkg goodbye....this is the new norm for customs now.

[thechrisdotcom]

Originally Posted by Old Sailor

if the pkg contains said cigars and is labeled something else, customs decides to open it and it's not what is labeled, kiss the pkg goodbye....this is the new norm for customs now.

So if you just label it cigars, are you safe?

When I shipped my package, I just said what it was and then it's value. I didn't ship cigars though, so I don't see a problem.

[mithrilG60]

Labelling cigars as such will just mean the receiver may need to pay taxes and/or duty on the value. With commercial shipments that'd be easy to determine as they usually have invoices. With private sales or gifts I expect they just base it off the declared value unless it's obviously mis-declared.

[mash]

The fact that a package is labeled as cigars does not necessarily mean it will be opened and assessed. Customs doesn't read the label on every package that comes through.