Someone mentioned they had a location like a Mail Boxes Etc that they ship parts up to near Prescott (but in the US) to save brokerage etc. Any details?

I have no idea who that is/was- but I've thought of this as well- my question is: What do they do with all the boxes that won't fit in your mail slot/box? Hold them for 3 days and then return to sender? Or will they "warehouse" them for you for a couple of weeks?

If you have an item shipped in the catagory just above the cheapest method, there is no brokerage. Or have the sender declare the item valued around $20 or so will keep those brokarage scammers off your back.

Don't know much about the PO box thing. Heard of folks doing it but never done it myself.

Another option is have a item delivered to someone you trust south of the border and then resend it to you with a low declared value. Only need to do that in times where the sender refuses to delcare the value low like most companies do not want to do.

A service like Mail Boxes Etc. will accept packages on your behalf sent by any means, not just postal mail, and hold them for pickup.

There are also a number of smaller brokerages who operate small parcel services to accept shipment on the US side of the border and then bring them across for delivery.

The advantage to either of these methods isn't just avoiding the brokerage charges, but many suppliers offer free shipping within the contiguous 48 states. Since the destination address of your package is within the US, you'll qualify for the free shipping to that point.

Declaring a low value isn't always a good idea. You're asking your friends within the US to falisify customs documents, and when crossing the border customs can charge you taxes and duty on the "fair-market value" of your goods, if the declared value is significantly less.

Right on the box "demo model- no value" and see what happens

I'd rather take a chance and let them figure it out in that case. They're clueless most of the time.

What about shipping the stuff to a bonded warehouse in Ontario and picking it up - should be no brokerage and all you'd pay would be duty if applicable, and taxes etc.

A couple of problems with these suggestions:

Mis-declaring a value on a shipment may- or may-not be caught. However, if the shipment is damaged or lost- guess what is the replacement value- right, the "declared" amount- so if it gets lost you're totally screwed. Also- if you get "caught" and customs re-adjusts the value of your shipment significantly, you may be "listed" and all your future packages held-up and inspected to make sure you're not trying to fool them again.

A bonded warehouse is just that- a warehouse in bond- someone still has to fill out the customs paperwork so Canada Customs and Revenue gets their cut. I'm sure you could do it yourself- but you'll need to know a few details (some of which can be fudged)- like the Country of Origin (as in final assembly/manfacture) for each piece in the box and what industrial classification number applies to each item/type of item. When a broker/service does this sort of thing- they tend to "generalize" things a bit and if they need more info then they bother you. If an item is sent to Canada from the U.S. using the United States Postal Service- the "brokerage" fee is $5.00 CDN from Canada Post and they get to do all the work based on what they read on the declaration tag and what they see in the box if they choose to open it. $5.00 is a deal no matter how you look at it- the only problem of course is that the post office probably isn't the best way to get a set of heads from Texas.

Also- one of the totally duty-free items is "antique car parts"- so as long as what's coming across could be construed that way- who's going to argue? The shipper has to state that for you, however.

I used a company in Ogdensburg called Roethel Parcel Service when I had my hood shipped up. They charged me $20 to receive and hold the hood. I paid the taxes when I crossed the border and no duty because it was made in the USA. They were very easy to deal with, but I don't think they are open on weekends - M-F, 9-4:30. Their address is 1801 Ford Street, Ogdensburd, NY, 13669, phone #315-393-4770, I talked to Bonnie.

Great, thanks!