How can i ship something to a place that is borderline Canada/USA and then pick it up in USA?

Question

I want to buy a Dell.com laptop, because there is a deal on them rather than the dell.ca laptops... but the problem is that they only ship to USA...

so since i live in Toronto, and i don't wanna pay Tax for shipping it across the border, what can i do in order to pick it up somewhere near Buffalo (since this is only like 2 hours away)? is there like a shipping recieving station or something...?

sadly, i have no friends or family near buffalo. =(

Answer 1

Hi!

Sometimes it works out that way. I live 5 minutes from the NY border and the town right across the border there is a UPS store that was purposly put there for Canadians to ship packages to. Because sometimes the shipping costs are so different its cheaper to ship there. Its actually quite crazy, you can barely move around the store due to the amount of packages in there. And its all from Canadians!

Find out if there is a UPS store near the closest town. They will allow you to deliever there. It is very convienent. They charge $5 for a boxed package and $3 for a bagged parcel.

Just make sure you calculate if its worth it by adding in the GST & PST you'll pay customs coming back and $2.75 to cross and return to Ontario.

Answer 2

You'll have to stay a while in the US to qualify for duty free allowance.

PS I wonder if Canada customs read these things and laugh...