USPS trip Report

[petersburg]

Well finally took a big amount over...about 85 packed books!..Well girl at customs was young and seemed confused and ordered us to "pull over".Well into a big waiting room with what looked like a 100 people with visa problems....Well someone asked an agent how long and he said "we go in order"..yuck!...anyhow 5 minutes later we got called and was asked for $US 5...and on our way.Post office was somewhat fast and savings for Europe were very low vs CP.I sent a few 'expensive" items where I didn't want an oppurtunity for an
"
I didn't get it please refund e-mail"..it costs $.55 for a confirmation and about $4 for delivery..minimum in Canada is expedited for about $11.50....huge saving.The big delay was sealing the packages at the post office!...Does anyone take sealed packages over? any comments?....I thought it was safest to have them open in case of perusal by customs..Going again tomorrow will report back

[petersburg]

Made a mistake in post savings for Europe were very HIGH vs cp

[dreamcoll]

I do all my mailing from Michigan & was told to leave my parcels open going through customs. Thay may want to look in the parcels.

I can mail a 1 lb. parcel to B.C. cheaper from the U.S. than thru CP.

[phoebescollectables]

You should be able to bring them over sealed. Bring copies of all your invoices, tape (in case you have to open them) and have your customs form already filled out.

Michael

[rd1000]

I seal all mine. I just take a tape gun with me to seal them back up if they open them. Customs will seal them back up for you, but they use the "opened by customs" tape, so I prefer to do it myself.

Just make sure you have invoices with the contents of each package, otherwise they can make you open every package and identify the contents.

The more you go through, the more they will get to know you and you may find they use a little less vigilance after a while.

Rob

[dreamcoll]

I always have an invoice & a manifest for each parcel. I used to tape my parcels but one time I got pulled in for a random check about 2 years ago. They made me open every parcel & told me I was NOT allowed to tape them until after I had cleared customs. They were very nasty about it too. It seems the rules vary between border crossings.

[djprotractor]

I've been toying with mailing directly from the USA. What forms do you need to fill out? Are they available online?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Michael