Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
This might seem like a strange question, but it is Monday and I was up half the night. I live in Canada, but I have a friend who has a postal box in the US and has said that I can us it to have orders shipped there so that I can save on the huge shipping cost to Canada. My main question is if you use a credit card or PayPal do they ask question about the difference in billing address and shipping address? If you do this, what online stores do you order through that don't have a problem with it? I would appreciate any help that I can get on this as I need to place several big orders in the next couple of weeks and to have these things shipped to Canada would cost me over $300 in shipping charges alone, not to mention the taxes on top of that.
Mod's if I have placed this in the wrong place please move it to where it needs to be. Thanks
It's my understanding that companies will not deliver to Post Office box numbers. I have often seen on forms where it it states that a street address is required and not a P.O. Box number.
I have a postal box number here in Canada and all of the companies that I have ordered from have delivered to the box number. I can always add my friends street address as secondary address on the forms and the box number as primary.
Oh how I love my PO box! I get shipments from a ton of different places...right off the top of my head...Papertrey, Ellen's store and Eclectic Paperie are a few of my favorite shop spots. At Christmas time I used my PO box a ton for Lego and Amazon!
If a company doesn't ship via USPS then I get it shipped to a place like "package express" or "ship happens"...saves a lot in the long run and you don't have to wait as long!
Oh how I love my PO box! I get shipments from a ton of different places...right off the top of my head...Papertrey, Ellen's store and Eclectic Paperie are a few of my favorite shop spots. At Christmas time I used my PO box a ton for Lego and Amazon!
If a company doesn't ship via USPS then I get it shipped to a place like "package express" or "ship happens"...saves a lot in the long run and you don't have to wait as long!
Thanks for letting me know. Do you use a credit card to place the order and if so do you need to give them instructions that it is being billed to one place and shipped to a different place? PTI is the big one that I need to order from. I need to order $250 worth of cardstock before shipping and the shipping to Canada is over $140, the other place that I need to order from is The Tape Depot and I know that right now they do not ship to Canada and I do not feel like paying $5 for one roll of tape at the couple of places that I have found in Canada, not when I have to make over 2000 cards.
How do you get your items from the US PO Box to Canada? Do you have to cross the border to pick it up? Was just curious how that worked.
I live only 45 minutes from the border so I would go across and pick it up and from what I understand there is not suppose to be duty/taxes on paper products. It would also give a good excuse to do a shopping trip in Minot.
I have not had a problem yet ordering online with my PO Box. I also have a street address but never use it- because they always want your billing address from the card you are using and so everything has to be done thru our PO Box. I Live in the US, and alot of people liike myself who live in Rural USA have no choice but use the PO Box they pay for because we don't have a choice, no USPS or FedEx is delivering to where we live.
I order most of my stuff from the US, using a Canadian credit card and shipping to a US address. The companies I have ordered from successfully are:
Gina K Designs,
Crafty secrets
Addicted to Rubber Stamps
Amazon
Rubber Romance
Two that have not accepted my orders are:
Scrapbookalley.com
Stampin' Up
I forgot to add that yes, you do have to provide the billing address for the credit card, and indicate that it is to be shipped to a different location.
Last edited by suesol; 01-11-2010 at 09:54 AM..
Reason: to add last sentence
Usually there is no problem if there is a different shipping address than billing address - you could be sending it as a gift or you are just going to be visiting someone at that particular address in the U.S. and want your package shipped there. I have made many purchases with different billing and shipping addresses and have only had one scrapbooking company call me to ask why they were different. Once I explained why, she shipped the order.
The problem arises if your billing address doesn't match up to the address on your credit card information, then the system may reject it. Some companies won't accept Canadian credit cards (HSN is one), then your order will not be processed. If you pay with paypal the seller does not know that your billng and shipping address are different, however, some large sellers won't accept paypal.
I live in Canada and have my Papertrey orders shipped to a package receiving company (Hagens of Blaine). They charge me a service fee of $2 per package and it is a regular address not a post office box. I then pick up the package and drive through the border crossing back to Canada.
With respect to custom charges, I was told that there is no duty on craft supplies but of course you would have to pay GST and PST for an order that size. If I keep my orders to approximately $125 U.S., the CBSA officers have let me through the vehicle border without paying anything even though I've only been in the U.S. for as little as 30 mins. They do not charge you PST or GST on shipping costs.
The official amount you can bring back for that length of stay in the U.S. is $10, but informally the Inspectors let a much higher dollar value through without paying duty/GST/PST. I have been told that the Inspectors are advised of a different informal amount every day so citizen never really know how much they will be able to take through.
We have a PO box too and it is great. A few things..........
1. Many companies will not ship to a different address than the billing address on the CC esp. if it's a CDN card. I have never dealt with PTI though. I get stuff from many companies but we have a CC with the same address as the PO box, so it's no problem. Perhaps you could pay your friend cash in advance and use her CC?
2. There is no duty on paper but there will be tax and GST if it's $200 as you say. We always keep our amount under $100 and have the receipts to prove it and they just wave us on. I don't know what would happen if it were over $100. As you know, if you're down 48 hours you can bring back $400 per person. Good excuse for a holiday weekend.:mrgreen:
Our PO box charges a handling fee for UPS parcels but not for USPS parcels.
Last edited by stamp luvr; 01-11-2010 at 10:10 AM..
nibs, that's very informative. We have never heard that about the varying threshold. I am always amazed that they let us through without paying. Only once have we been asked why we were not in the Nexus lane and DH said because there is no discretion there. You have to pay duty, tax etc even if you only have $15 worth of goods. That is interesting about your handling company. We pay $85/yr for our box plus any fees we are charged for things that come via UPS. Crafty Secrets uses the same company.
Thanks for letting me know everyone. I am so glad that I can order from PTI using my credit card but using a US Postal Box. I did contact Clearbags (envelopes) and they said that it would not be a problem for me to use my credit card and ship to US box. I just need to make sure that it will be fine with The Tape Depot and I will be set, for now anyway LOL. We have been thinking of going down to Minot for a weekend so maybe we can time it for when the orders should be in, this way we can get the $400 limit. I have no problem paying the small amount for the taxes, it is still way less than the shipping cost. I understand why most companies have to charge a high amount for shipping, but it really sucks when you are not able to get free or discounted shipping.
I have not had a problem yet ordering online with my PO Box. I also have a street address but never use it- because they always want your billing address from the card you are using and so everything has to be done thru our PO Box. I Live in the US, and alot of people liike myself who live in Rural USA have no choice but use the PO Box they pay for because we don't have a choice, no USPS or FedEx is delivering to where we live.
Sheena
Ditto for me. We actually live on a rural route, and have community boxes in the front of our development, so I have no choice but to use a rural route box. Whenever I don't have an option but to use UPS or Fed Ex, there is always a problem with my package, it arrives late, it goes to the wrong house, etc. etc. Usually if they call I tell them to leave it at the administrative offices of our community where I know I can pick it up later.
I use a place in Point Roberts WA - they are similar to Hagen's in Blaine in that they charge a very small handling fee per package, and it is a 'regular' address instead of a PO box. I have never had a problem shipping there, using either PayPal or credit card. I've ordered from PTI, amazon.com, Stamper's Dream, and scrapbookingalley (which I wouldn't do again - nothing to do with shipping) to name a few.
Also - there is a clearbags.ca that carries envelopes - is this the same company? I've only placed 1 small order but their customer service was excellent.
And - I don't know if you're ordering ATG tape from the Tape Depot, but there are a couple places in Canada that I know of - paperworksco and nhsmedia.
I use a place in Point Roberts WA - they are similar to Hagen's in Blaine in that they charge a very small handling fee per package, and it is a 'regular' address instead of a PO box. I have never had a problem shipping there, using either PayPal or credit card. I've ordered from PTI, amazon.com, Stamper's Dream, and scrapbookingalley (which I wouldn't do again - nothing to do with shipping) to name a few.
Also - there is a clearbags.ca that carries envelopes - is this the same company? I've only placed 1 small order but their customer service was excellent.
And - I don't know if you're ordering ATG tape from the Tape Depot, but there are a couple places in Canada that I know of - paperworksco and nhsmedia.
Cheers!
nina
I have ordered tape from the Canadian sights but the prices at The Tape Depot is a lot more reasonable and I need to order at least 60 rolls of tape. I have also been on the Canadian Clearbags site and there again the prices are better with the US site. Don't get me wrong I do like buying from Canadian online site, it is just that I need to make 2000 cards by the end of May and I need to order large quantitys of supplies and I am trying to save in every way that I can.
I live on the US border and have a US PO box and love it. If anyone lives in my area (Sarnia/Port Huron), I can give you an address to pick up parcels at a full street address (some companies won't ship to PO boxes). This business was a cell phone co., who allowed deliveries to their address for a $5 pick up fee. Their business grew to 7000 customers so they were able to let the cell phone co. go, but kept their postal address customers. PM me for details if you are in the area.
This might seem like a strange question, but it is Monday and I was up half the night. I live in Canada, but I have a friend who has a postal box in the US and has said that I can us it to have orders shipped there so that I can save on the huge shipping cost to Canada. My main question is if you use a credit card or PayPal do they ask question about the difference in billing address and shipping address? If you do this, what online stores do you order through that don't have a problem with it? I would appreciate any help that I can get on this as I need to place several big orders in the next couple of weeks and to have these things shipped to Canada would cost me over $300 in shipping charges alone, not to mention the taxes on top of that.
Mod's if I have placed this in the wrong place please move it to where it needs to be. Thanks
Jackie
I can only speak for Gina K. Designs but if you live in Canada and have a US postal box, we can ship to the US postal box for US rates. It's not a problem at all. You would put your Canadian address in the billing spot and your US address in the shipping spot. Easy as can be!
__________________ Be polite to those who are rude to you. Not because they are nice, but because you are.
Owner- Gina K. Designs
I can only speak for Gina K. Designs but if you live in Canada and have a US postal box, we can ship to the US postal box for US rates. It's not a problem at all. You would put your Canadian address in the billing spot and your US address in the shipping spot. Easy as can be!
Thanks Gina. Yours is the one site that I have no problem ordering from and having it shipped to Canada because you have a flat shipping rate of $5.95 which is peanuts compared to some of the other companies that I have tried ordering from.
Thanks Gina. Yours is the one site that I have no problem ordering from and having it shipped to Canada because you have a flat shipping rate of $5.95 which is peanuts compared to some of the other companies that I have tried ordering from.
Aw, that's great! Shipping is free for the USA over $50.00 so if you are planning to run to your PO box anyway, it's a way to save even more.
__________________ Be polite to those who are rude to you. Not because they are nice, but because you are.
Owner- Gina K. Designs
I have ordered tape from the Canadian sights but the prices at The Tape Depot is a lot more reasonable and I need to order at least 60 rolls of tape. I have also been on the Canadian Clearbags site and there again the prices are better with the US site. Don't get me wrong I do like buying from Canadian online site, it is just that I need to make 2000 cards by the end of May and I need to order large quantitys of supplies and I am trying to save in every way that I can.
Whoo! That's a whole lot of cards! Definitely I can understand that when you're buying in quantity those few dollars or cents really do add up. It's so frustrating to us Canadians when prices in the US are generally so much cheaper...
It's nice to see a few Canadian shops now with reasonable prices. Hope that continues!
Whoo! That's a whole lot of cards! Definitely I can understand that when you're buying in quantity those few dollars or cents really do add up. It's so frustrating to us Canadians when prices in the US are generally so much cheaper...
It's nice to see a few Canadian shops now with reasonable prices. Hope that continues!
nina
There are a couple of Canadian sites that I have found that have reasonable prices, but it is the ones that sell Canadian made stamps for way more than what I can get them for from the US and that is counting in the exchange, shipping and duty/taxes. I just wish that we were able to get PTI and Tape Depot products from Canadian sites so that the shipping cost were not so high, I love both these products and I do usually have them shipped to me here in Canada, but when I have to order such a large amount of product it saves me more money to drive to and from the US to pick it up.
Canadians using US Postal boxes
