Tips for shipping between the US and Canada
I've been asked parts of this a few times, so I thought I'd post some tips based on my experiences. Your mileage may vary. Information and rates as of April 2011.
Shipping from the US to Canada
Use the US Postal Service
First of all, the main holdup for shipping will be at the border. The delivery guarantees do not apply once there is a border crossing.
Couriers like UPS charge brokerage fees. The more expensive UPS services include free brokerage, but on the reasonably-priced options, the recipient has to pay the brokerage fees to get the parcel, and the fees are ridiculous.
The US Postal Service does not charge brokerage fees; Canada Post does that. The Canada Post brokerage fee is minimal, and is seemingly only charged when there are taxes to collect. There are generally no taxes on shipments with a value or $20 or less.
Customs form
The customs form can be filled out at the post office (green sticker) or filled out online at https://webapps.usps.com/customsform..._recipient.jsp (gives you a pdf of the green sticker). You have to sign the printed form and take the parcel to the post office even if you do it online (I think?).
Use a small box
The main thing that seems to impact border crossing time – and the odds of the box being opened for inspection – seems to be the size of the box. Small boxes containing gifts of cigars with a declared value of $20 or less seem to pass through the quickest, typically a day or two. (Note that insurance excludes tobacco products IIRC, so the value is irrelevant.) Medium and larger boxes seem to be much more likely to be opened; and larger boxes seem to always take a week or two to clear the border.
A small box is what USPS calls a “Package (Small Packet).” The box must be within the following dimensions:
1. Maximum length: 24 inches. Length is the longest dimension.
2. Maximum length, height, and depth (thickness) combined: 36 inches.
3. Minimum size: Large enough to accommodate the postage, address, customs form, and other required elements on the address side.
Least expensive shipping
First-class small packets offer good value, but no tracking:
Code:
Weight not over
ozs. Price ozs. Price ozs. Price
1 1.23 12 4.03 44 11.87
2 1.49 16 5.01 48 12.85
3 1.75 20 5.99 52 13.83
4 2.01 24 6.97 56 14.81
5 2.27 28 7.95 60 15.79
6 2.53 32 8.93 64 16.77
7 2.79 36 9.91
8 3.05 40 10.89
A fiver in a small box is 8-10oz; fifteen cigars in ziplocks in a small box is 16oz or so; and a typical wooden box of cigars in a medium box is about 36oz.
I typically get small parcels within four to six days from the North-eastern USA, and seven to twelve days from California. It takes one or two days for a small parcel to get from the border to me.
Shipping with tracking
For shipping a couple dozen cigars or less, Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes are the best bet. Either the USPS ‘Small Box:’ 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8" or the ‘Large Video Box:’ 9-1/4" x 6-1/4" x 2" are accepted for Canada, with a maximum weight of 4 pounds. Cost paid for online click’n’ship at usps.com is $11.35. (The parcel still has to be taken to the post office; it cannot be left for pickup.)
For a box of cigars, one of the two USPS ‘Medium Boxes’ should work: 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" or 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2". The maximum weight 20 pounds and the cost online is $26.55. Note, however, that a box of cigars is about 3 pounds, and shipping three pounds in your own box is $24.95 (minimum with your own box is 1 pound at about $21).
Priority mail international typically takes 10 to 20 days to reach me, 2 or 3 of which are inside Canada.
Shipping from Canada to the US
First of all, the main holdup for shipping will be at the border. The delivery guarantees do not apply once there is a border crossing.
I have only used Canada Post to ship to the US. I have tried most of their services. I always use the Canada Post website click’n’ship to pay for postage and generate the mailing label.
The main thing that seems to impact border crossing time is the size of the box. Small boxes containing gifts with a declared value of $20 or less are, I suspect, rarely inspected. (Note that all insurance excludes tobacco products, so the value is irrelevant.)
Use a small box
There are two kinds of small boxes in Canada: ‘Small Packet’ and ‘Light Packet.’ The thing to remember is ‘light packets’ work only for cigars with less than 42 ring, as a ‘light packet’ can only be 20mm thick.
Small Packet, max. weight 1 kg (2.2 lb):
max. Length + width + height = 90 cm (35.4”)
max. Length: 60 cm (23.6”)
min. L 140 mm (5.5”) W 90 mm (3.5”) H 1 mm
Light Packet, max. weight 500 g (1.1 lb):
max. 380 mm (15”) 270 mm (10.6”) 20 mm* (3/4”)
min. L 140 mm W 90 mm H 0.18 mm
* Canada Post counters have a template that the light packet has to pass through.
Customs form
The customs form can be done at the post office, or comes up when you click’n’ship parcels and small and light packets on the Canada Post website. The customs stuff prints as part of the shipping label. You can drop the labeled parcel into any mailbox – you don’t have to go to a post office counter. Note: See 'Lost Items' at the end of this post.
Least expensive shipping
It has been my experience that these all take 10 to 20 business days. Air seems more important if the (Canadian) sender lives farther away from the mail border crossings. I get air if the recipient is far away from me. For some reason, parcels with labels made online with click-n-ship have seemed to have the least incidence of delays.
Small Packet and Light Packet Delivery Standards: (prices up to 250g/500g/1kg)
Small Packet–Air-$7.46/9.90/15.36 4 to 10 business days
Small Packet–Surface-$5.85/8.35/12.41 6 to 12 business days
Light Packet–Air only-$4.92/7.91/na 4 to 6 business days
Sending with tracking
Expedited parcel is around $18 for a 500g small package, and gets tracking and delivery confirmation and an expected 4 days. Xpresspost-USA gets you a signature at about $30 and 3-4 days. Add about $10 for a box.
I haven’t used these services much, but when I have, they took the same 10 to 20 days as the no-tracking options.
Etc.
Lost cigars
When cigars cross borders, losses can occur. Canada Customs may destroy shipments that have false declarations. If you are not willing to eat the loss under any circumstances, then negotiate first.
Passes
It is best not to risk the pass by crossing the border. For example, passes have been assessed duty and taxes when sent to Canadians. The Canadian schmuck has to pay thousand(s) of dollars to get the pass, or refuse the pass and have it returned to sender - or worse yet, have it destroyed at the border with no recompense. What works is if the Canadian does his/her puts and takes against the pass list, usually at the beginning or end of the pass, and just the puts/takes are exchanged with the pass host.
