Ship to USA only?

I too am Canadian but have had good results doing cross-border business - selling & buying. Remember, never us UPS as they will add in $40 for brokerage fees. Fedex includes this in their prices. While I agree that it can be a little more paperwork for the US seller (usually just one extra form), I think its worth it if you can seal the deal quickly. At present there is no cross-border COD so there has to be a level of trust between both parties. To date, my purchases/sales have never exceeded $700 US so the risk has been minimal (although $700 US to the average bloke like me is still a few bucks and would hurt to be lost). With the now reduced cost of long distance phone charges a few calls between the interested parties would probably minimize the fears of a deal going sour. With the high exchange rate ($1 US = $1.5 $Cdn) us Canucks have to shop carefully but its my opinion that when we decide to make the purchase we are going to do so sincerely. Just my 2 cents worth....

Even on prepaid items, shipping UPS requires that the item be accompanied by several copies of an invoice. Then canada adds PST, GST and brokerage fees. My canadian buyer was really upset after paying an extra $90 (canadian?) to canada on a US$215 deal for a used Japanese unit. Like it was my fault. Then to top it all off, my bank later clipped me with a $3 fee for processing a canadian postal money order payable in US$. It's a shame but you friendly canadians are never going to see another piece of my equipment.

Thanks for the input and advice guys. I really appreciate it.

Add the following other reasons: PAYPAL doesn't serve Canada, in other words no good way to verify the transaction. Your legal remedies, if get's to that level, are extremely limited. After almost 30 transactions on the web, my only sour one was a Canadian. Not to say Canadians are untrustworthy, but are would surely like to do something to that guy who stuffed me!

Kleetch - as for PST/GST between private parties on used gear I believe there are exceptions. I purchased a used passive preamp from the US and as the value was in excess of $200 ($US) I had to pay GST (no PST as I live in Alberta)on that amount as well as a $5 handling fee from Canada Post. Possibly had the shipment gone FedEx this may have been negated. Its a hard call to make when considering shipping - FedEx (including their built in brokerage) vs Postal Service with the chance of paying GST/PST. PS Jorge - sorry that you got stiffed - I guess we all take a chance whether or not the item has to cross the border or not.