I live in Canada and have purchased stuff from US Audiogon members. I always ask for UPS shipping. Yes they charge a lot for brokerage fees, but as the buyer I am the payer and their handling is great - none of the packages I have received have even been opened for inspection and everything has arrived in good condition. The key is to honestly declare what is inside and what it is worth. A large and heavy package declared as a gift is a red flag for customs. My experience has been that the biggest chance of damage comes from customs handling, and not shippers. I always ask the shipper to send via UPS and I pay the usurious fees brokerage fees. These are fees that they charge to steer the thing through customs. Basically UPS does a pre-screening and if it looks legit, they will bulk the stuff through. As others have pointed out, there is always a 15% Canadian government goudge (8% provincial/7% federal) at the border, which the buyer also always pays. The way I look at it, I am saving enough by using audiogon to make the additional costs justifiable. The provincial goudge varies by province. Ontario is 8%, Alberta has no sales tax and charges nothing. If I am buying from a fellow Canadian, the tax goudge will probably be worked into the price somehow since they had to pay it when buying new. Bottom line is be honest, and things will work out better.
