Shipping from the US to Canada - Best service

The amount of used equipment in Canada is surprisingly limited and the prices often inflated due to limited supply. I have bought many things off E-Bay from the U.S. but mainly small and not quite as fragile as audio equipment. Ebay also offers cross-border services to make life easier for shippers.

I am looking at 3 different methods:

- Ship directly (UPS, etc.)

- Ship to a location in the US near the border and driving to pick up (there are many services)

- Use a 3rd party cross-border service. Item gets shipped to them,  and then they get it into Canada and the final destination. I was surprised this could be much cheaper than UPS or FEDEX direct.

My question is for sellers:
- I assume it is much easier for you to ship within the U.S.?  Would this influence your desire to sell an item as opposed to someone in Canada?

- Would you be uncomfortable shipping to a 3rd party forwarder and prefer to ship to a pickup location (these are staffed and monitored)