So long Eastwood.com...

[grannyknot]

I use these guys for USA orders, https://www.crossborderpickups.ca/

They say they ship across Canada but I don't know the costs, I have my orders shipped to their border address and they bring it across the border and up to Toronto for $10 plus taxes on the item. I pick it up at their warehouse on the way home from work,  saved hundreds dollars so far.

Edited March 13, 2019 by grannyknot

[ConVerTT]

Agreed.  So I usually just use Montana Shipping Company for everything that is free shipping in US or just wont ship to Canada and just drive down and get it every 3 to 6 months.  Saves plenty over time.  

[240260280]

[wheee!]

Unfortunately, border pickup is not an easy process for those of us 6 hours north of the border. And the fees are close to the shipping rates, especially if you factor in your fuel cost for driving there and back to get it!

[wheee!]

18 hours ago, Zed Head said:

You guys should just call them directly and tell them that their new policy doesn't work for you.  Often these decisions are made by people who don't understand the consequences.  And, somehow, these days, we've all been (re)trained to do everything by computer.  

I actually just called the local post office by phone and talked to a real person, about my new delivery guy delivering the wrong mail to my address.  It was weird.  He said that he would talk to the new guy and get it straightened out.  It was like a time warp, talking to a person and solving a problem.

Just saying...the old ways still work sometimes.

https://www.eastwood.com/paints.html

I have tried this. The phone managers say it is a corporate decision to streamline their shipping process and eliminate the time it takes for them to process the international shipping documents (five minutes...) etc. Bottom line is saves them a few dollars in wages and time, and offloads those and more costs onto the purchaser.

On large purchases, this makes sense. You are going to get a brokerage fee and manifest paperwork charges anyways, so no big deal. Duty will be assessed at the border. The main problem here are the brokerage companies that find a way to charge for "brokerage" plus a "document prep fee" on your package. No matter the size of the item, if it is expensive their charges reflect a portion of that cost. Almost like real estate commission. An example was my coil overs. $850 US for the coil overs. $125 US for shipping, $75 Cdn tax at the border, $200 Cdn brokerage and document fees! But yet somehow I manage to get 100 lbs of metal poles (wedding backdrop) shipped from China for $25 Cdn.... no brokerage, no fees, not even stopped for tax assessment.

I ordered a crimping tool for the EZ Clip A/C system. $49 US for the tool. $26 US for the shipping. I asked them why so much for shipping and they said it was because they don't want to bother with USPS shipping when they can offload to UPS or FEDEX. The result is a small letter sized package that would have cost $12 US to mail, cost me $35 Cdn to receive.

As much as I try and  support my favourite vendors, it is increasingly more difficult to justify the expense. I order from Canadian companies whenever I can, and overseas for others that offer huge savings on shipping costs. I don't order Chinese junk, obviously, but sometimes it is the exact same product just shipping from the manufacturer in China versus from the states with their markups on top.

In the end, I am disappointed that the costs are seen as trivial to the US vendors. If Americans had to pay the costs we do for their parts, no one would be restoring their vehicles the way they do now. Ask @EuroDat and other Europeans how they feel about importing parts! And their Euro is worth more than the US Dollar!

Edited March 14, 2019 by wheee!

[Zed Head]

2 hours ago, wheee! said:

I have tried this. The phone managers say it is a corporate decision to streamline their shipping process and eliminate the time it takes for them to process the international shipping documents (five minutes...) etc. Bottom line is saves them a few dollars in wages and time, and offloads those and more costs onto the purchaser.

The main problem here are the brokerage companies that find a way to charge for "brokerage" plus a "document prep fee" on your package. No matter the size of the item, if it is expensive their charges reflect a portion of that cost. Almost like real estate commission. An example was my coil overs. $850 US for the coil overs. $125 US for shipping, $75 Cdn tax at the border, $200 Cdn brokerage and document fees! But yet somehow I manage to get 100 lbs of metal poles (wedding backdrop) shipped from China for $25 Cdn.... no brokerage, no fees, not even stopped for tax assessment.

If Americans had to pay the costs we do for their parts, no one would be restoring their vehicles the way they do now. Ask @EuroDat and other Europeans how they feel about importing parts! And their Euro is worth more than the US Dollar!

Didn't realize that it was that bad.  Can you buy their products through Amazon?  Amazon is bigger than any country so they can control their own shipping costs.  Just asking, you might be surprised.  Down here we are slowly, actually rapidly, turning in to one giant commercial entity.  USA LLC.  Everything is for sale, even people.

[wheee!]

3 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

Didn't realize that it was that bad.  Can you buy their products through Amazon?  Amazon is bigger than any country so they can control their own shipping costs.  Just asking, you might be surprised.  Down here we are slowly, actually rapidly, turning in to one giant commercial entity.  USA LLC.  Everything is for sale, even people.

Amazon is the same for items not part of the Amazon Prime free shipping deal. Again, that "deal" is pretty skinny here in Canada. The annual fee gets you two day or next day shipping, but none of the Amazon Prime TV or other bonuses offered to Americans.

Items outside of the free shipping system generally are priced the same as other vendors int he US. UPS or FEDEX packages charging three times more than the cost of the product...

... and don't forget, we get Amazon.ca here... not the same as Amazon.com. A lot of vendors don't sell on .ca or refuse to ship to Canada.

Edited March 14, 2019 by wheee!

[EuroDat]

I remember buying an air dam for $190 and shipping was $285, because it was oversize. I received an e-mail stating the air dam was in the ciuntry and I had to pay €14.95 administration costs before they would process it, which I paid. They then sent me an e-mail saying the taxation office wanted 21% tax for the air dam, shipping and admin charges. Back then the Euro would buy $1.31 so I had to pay something around €78 in taxes.

That air dam ended up costing me a little under $600. I think at least 40% of my restoration costs go to shipping alone.