Does a US seller need my full address to provide shipping quote to Canada?

[maximumblu]

I'm in Canada and I'm asking a US seller for a shipping quote. Assuming the seller will use USPS to ship, what info does he need from me to get a shipping quote? It was my understanding that its only based on weight not distance so he wouldn't need the address. He says it is needed though. The item is a VHS cassette if that matters.

Just a simple issue of privacy; if i do not buy the item the seller has my address.

[j44b]

Your postal code should be enough info for him to get a shipping cost.

[femmefan1946]

The postal code should do it, but if your seller is a tad paranoid, he may want your entire address because: paranoid.

If he can't accept your city* and postal code  as enough information he is either deeply nervous or really doesn't know what he is doing.

Oh. He may also want to screen out buyers with post office boxes. This is good for you, because it also means he is planning to ship by a courier like UPS, which cannot deliver to PO boxes. Since those couriers charge $25 or more as customs brokerage fees, you will not be happy when the man in brown demands large lumps of cash on your doorstep to hand over your purchase.

*Because the postal code really doesn't mean much to foreigners. Or even to Canadians. Do you know how to spot a rural address from its postal code?