Harbor Freight and Shippsy | GTAMotorcycle.com

Harbor Freight and Shippsy

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ReSTored

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I usually stop in at HF a few times a year to do a bit of shopping. A lot of what they have can be purchased at CT or PA, but HF can offer great value on certain items, in particular if you have discount coupons.

Based on a google search HF used to offer international shipping, but they don't seem to do this anymore. I tried to set up an order to ship to a US address, but their billing address format will not accept a postal code and you can't enter a province. A call to their customer service confirms that a Canadian billing address cannot be entered. It seems that if you have a HF gift card already in hand you might be able to place on order, but you can't purchase one online because of the billing address issue as above.

So question is ...........has anyone found an effective work around to the billing address issue, Second HF question; has anyone used a gift card to place an order to bypass the billing address issue?

Last question, has anyone used Shippsy to receive a US order and were you satisfied with their service? Rates seem decent. Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more. - Cross border shopping made simple.
 
ReSTored said:
I usually stop in at HF a few times a year to do a bit of shopping. A lot of what they have can be purchased at CT or PA, but HF can offer great value on certain items, in particular if you have discount coupons.

Based on a google search HF used to offer international shipping, but they don't seem to do this anymore. I tried to set up an order to ship to a US address, but their billing address format will not accept a postal code and you can't enter a province. A call to their customer service confirms that a Canadian billing address cannot be entered. It seems that if you have a HF gift card already in hand you might be able to place on order, but you can't purchase one online because of the billing address issue as above.

So question is ...........has anyone found an effective work around to the billing address issue, Second HF question; has anyone used a gift card to place an order to bypass the billing address issue?

Last question, has anyone used Shippsy to receive a US order and were you satisfied with their service? Rates seem decent. Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more. - Cross border shopping made simple.
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Credit cards can be a billing address verified by merchants, it’s a common fraud control.

Many online merchants can take your credit card over the phone, just call them when your cart is full and ready for checkout. They can manually charge the card, this bypasses address verification.
 
I get my parents to run stuff through their US credit card if places are address locked and then pay them back. Pool test kit I like to use is $75 US or many times that amount in Canada due to an exclusive rights distribution contract. I tried shipping to US address but they are on to that game and require a US credit card to place the order.
 
ReSTored said:
I usually stop in at HF a few times a year to do a bit of shopping. A lot of what they have can be purchased at CT or PA, but HF can offer great value on certain items, in particular if you have discount coupons.

Based on a google search HF used to offer international shipping, but they don't seem to do this anymore. I tried to set up an order to ship to a US address, but their billing address format will not accept a postal code and you can't enter a province. A call to their customer service confirms that a Canadian billing address cannot be entered. It seems that if you have a HF gift card already in hand you might be able to place on order, but you can't purchase one online because of the billing address issue as above.

So question is ...........has anyone found an effective work around to the billing address issue, Second HF question; has anyone used a gift card to place an order to bypass the billing address issue?

Last question, has anyone used Shippsy to receive a US order and were you satisfied with their service? Rates seem decent. Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more. - Cross border shopping made simple.
Click to expand...
Just ask your bank to add a US address to your credit card (you can use your US forwarding address). At the time my bank would only allow 1 address to be active even if you have multiple address's on file, so the flip side doing shopping in Canada can sometimes be a issue. Not really a big problem if you have multiple credit cards.

Oh and thanks for the info on Shippsy, might solve my problem with CrossBoarderPickups, had some aweful customer service with them, so I have been on the look out for another provider!
 
Shippsy - ship to our U.S address, pick up in the GTA

Until now, I thought I had to travel across the border pick too pick up the item!
 
So I had the bank add the US shipping address to the account as a billing address. This took 2 calls and about 90 minutes on the phone in total. I placed an order, HF accepted it and sent a confirmation email. Shipping is 5 - 7 days, so in < 2 weeks I'll be expecting an email from Shippsy advising goods have arrived. Once this is all done I'll post cost details as an FYI.
 
So, picked up my HF order from Shippsy earlier today.
  • Ordered from HF 8/12, they shipped 9/12. $79.92 + $6.99 shipping + NY sales tax = $93.87 or $120.96 CAN
  • Fedex picked up 9/12 and dropped at Shippsy in NY 11/12.
  • Shippsy acknowledged receipt 11/12 and asked me to confirm contents and value and I complete this 14/12. Shippsy receives package at their Mississauga facility and invoices me 17/12. I pay their fee of $6.99 + HST + HST on the CAN value of shipment; $13.70 via credit card. The HST is payable on the actual value of the goods order translated to CAN $$, not the shipping fee or the NY sales tax. I picked up 18/12.
All in all a pretty painless process. My incremental cost vs. being in the US and stopping by a HF store would be the HF shipping fee, the Shippsy fee and the HST I paid based on the CAN $$ value of the goods as I am usually in the US long enough for the $800 CAN import limit. As my goods were <$150 CAN I paid no duty.

Shippsy has only 2 depots in the GTA; Mississauga and Markham. The Mississauga depot is just off the 401 on my way to the cottage and stopping there adds about 15 minutes to the trip, so no big deal. If you happen to live in Pickering then both depot locations are a long haul and inconvenient. Shippsy will ship to you, but obviously there would be a cost associated with this.

Shippsy is flagging their web site with Holiday notices regarding heavy volumes and to to expect delays + I took a while to respond to their declaration notice 11/12 as I had a couple of questions for them, so post holiday and now that I know the system processing times would probably be quicker.

I'll definitely be using Shippsy in the future and based on the vendor, dollar value, etc....of the order I'll determine on an order by order basis whether is makes sense to have the vendor ship to me directly via USPS or to Shippsy in single or multiple shipments to keeps orders under $150 CAN to avoid duty charges when applicable. Nice to have this option as the border is going to be closed for quite some time at this rate.
 
Inquiring minds need to know: What was it you ordered from HF that was worth the additional hassle?
 
ReSTored said:
So, picked up my HF order from Shippsy earlier today.
  • Ordered from HF 8/12, they shipped 9/12. $79.92 + $6.99 shipping + NY sales tax = $93.87 or $120.96 CAN
  • Fedex picked up 9/12 and dropped at Shippsy in NY 11/12.
  • Shippsy acknowledged receipt 11/12 and asked me to confirm contents and value and I complete this 14/12. Shippsy receives package at their Mississauga facility and invoices me 17/12. I pay their fee of $6.99 + HST + HST on the CAN value of shipment; $13.70 via credit card. The HST is payable on the actual value of the goods order translated to CAN $$, not the shipping fee or the NY sales tax. I picked up 18/12.
All in all a pretty painless process. My incremental cost vs. being in the US and stopping by a HF store would be the HF shipping fee, the Shippsy fee and the HST I paid based on the CAN $$ value of the goods as I am usually in the US long enough for the $800 CAN import limit. As my goods were <$150 CAN I paid no duty.

Shippsy has only 2 depots in the GTA; Mississauga and Markham. The Mississauga depot is just off the 401 on my way to the cottage and stopping there adds about 15 minutes to the trip, so no big deal. If you happen to live in Pickering then both depot locations are a long haul and inconvenient. Shippsy will ship to you, but obviously there would be a cost associated with this.

Shippsy is flagging their web site with Holiday notices regarding heavy volumes and to to expect delays + I took a while to respond to their declaration notice 11/12 as I had a couple of questions for them, so post holiday and now that I know the system processing times would probably be quicker.

I'll definitely be using Shippsy in the future and based on the vendor, dollar value, etc....of the order I'll determine on an order by order basis whether is makes sense to have the vendor ship to me directly via USPS or to Shippsy in single or multiple shipments to keeps orders under $150 CAN to avoid duty charges when applicable. Nice to have this option as the border is going to be closed for quite some time at this rate.
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How is shippsy for brokerage? Do they tack on a ridiculous brokerage fee like the couriers?

I just paid $80 shipping on a shoebox sized box that took almost two weeks to get from Oregon to here. Nothing to pay at the door. It may have been cheaper to do free shipping to shippsy and paid their fees. Sadly even with the shipping charge, the contents were many hundreds cheaper than anywhere I could get them in canada.
 
Thanks for the info on SHIPPSY. Was looking at the HF folding trailers to go pickup but then COVID so haven’t explored it since.
 
mimico_polak said:
Thanks for the info on SHIPPSY. Was looking at the HF folding trailers to go pickup but then COVID so haven’t explored it since.
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That one may be hard. They come with a vin in the box. If you pick it up, you throw that in the garbage and import trailer parts. I doubt shippsy will play those games. Importing a trailer is the same as a motor vehicle and costs a lot, trailer parts are much much cheaper to import.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Inquiring minds need to know: What was it you ordered from HF that was worth the additional hassle?
Click to expand...

Nothing special, just a few odds 'n ends. I was more interesting in trying out Shippsy to see how it worked. Aside from COVID issues keeping us out of the US product selection on just about everything is broader in the US, pricing almost always better and many companies offer free shipping to a US address. Caveat is that many companies do not ship to Canada and, if they do, you can get slammed with large brokerage fees. Shippsy seems to be a solution to this.

GreyGhost said:
How is shippsy for brokerage? Do they tack on a ridiculous brokerage fee like the couriers?
Click to expand...

My test shipment was <$150, so no duty, but the transaction was reviewed by their broker based on the forms I filled in. That said, their web page explicitly says the $6.99 fee includes .................

Pricing - Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more.

shippsy.com shippsy.com

So based on this I assume if your package was worth $200 CAN and the duty was 25% then you'd pay $6.99 + HST of $26 + duty of $50 + HST of $6.50 and then their 3% transaction fee of $1.70 ($56.50 * .03). I suppose you have to do your due diligence to determine if bottom line "out the door" cost is worth it. If my assumption is wrong and the 3% fee is based the full amount of $282.5 then brokerage is $8.48 vs. $1.70, not a lot compared to Fedex and UPS rates.

Unless I missed it the Shippsy help FAQ section does not include a detailed example for transaction over $150 CAN that includes the fee calculation, the closest is this............... How are duties calculated? Here's an example. - Shippsy Help Center

I went through the entire support/faq section to familiarize myself with the process. Shippsy Help Center
 
Cool. Interesting experience, I'll definitely keep it in mind as there are times I've needed something from the USA that proved problematic to get up here.
 
ReSTored said:
Nothing special, just a few odds 'n ends. I was more interesting in trying out Shippsy to see how it worked. Aside from COVID issues keeping us out of the US product selection on just about everything is broader in the US, pricing almost always better and many companies offer free shipping to a US address. Caveat is that many companies do not ship to Canada and, if they do, you can get slammed with large brokerage fees. Shippsy seems to be a solution to this.



My test shipment was <$150, so no duty, but the transaction was reviewed by their broker based on the forms I filled in. That said, their web page explicitly says the $6.99 fee includes .................

Pricing - Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more.

shippsy.com shippsy.com

So based on this I assume if your package was worth $200 CAN and the duty was 25% then you'd pay $6.99 + HST of $26 + duty of $50 + HST of $6.50 and then their 3% transaction fee of $1.70 ($56.50 * .03). I suppose you have to do your due diligence to determine if bottom line "out the door" cost is worth it. If my assumption is wrong and the 3% fee is based the full amount of $282.5 then brokerage is $8.48 vs. $1.70, not a lot compared to Fedex and UPS rates.

Unless I missed it the Shippsy help FAQ section does not include a detailed example for transaction over $150 CAN that includes the fee calculation, the closest is this............... How are duties calculated? Here's an example. - Shippsy Help Center

I went through the entire support/faq section to familiarize myself with the process. Shippsy Help Center
Click to expand...
Thanks, I dont care if I have to pay duty, what I strongly object to is the $40 charge the big couriers tack on for crossing the border. I have paid $3 duty plus $40 brokerage before on and it drove me nuts.
 
GreyGhost said:
Thanks, I dont care if I have to pay duty, what I strongly object to is the $40 charge the big couriers tack on for crossing the border. I have paid $3 duty plus $40 brokerage before on and it drove me nuts.
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Get companies to ship via USPS and the fees are drastically less, if not zero.

If a US company refuses to ship via anything other than UPS or FedEx (UPS in particular is known for their massive brokerage fee gouging) I just take my business elsewhere. I got hit with the $50 brokerage fee once about 25 years ago on a $40 item and have never once since used them again.

Hope they enjoyed their $50 as they've lost 25 years of potential business since over it.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Get companies to ship via USPS and the fees are drastically less, if not zero.

If a US company refuses to ship via anything other than UPS or FedEx (UPS in particular is known for their massive brokerage fee gouging) I just take my business elsewhere. I got hit with the $50 brokerage fee once about 25 years ago on a $40 item and have never once since used them again.

Hope they enjoyed their $50 as they've lost 25 years of potential business since over it.
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I'm the same way. USPS or it doesnt cross the border. Shippsy may be a good option though as shipping was a decent percentage of the bill of this last package. Since I didnt get hit with duty, with shippsy the math would likely be free domestic shipping and 6.99+hst on value of shipment instead of 80 to USPS.
 
GreyGhost said:
Thanks, I dont care if I have to pay duty, what I strongly object to is the $40 charge the big couriers tack on for crossing the border. I have paid $3 duty plus $40 brokerage before on and it drove me nuts.
Click to expand...
That is usually UPS, stay away from them. USPS is way better and charges nothing or very little.
(opps saw this mentioned in other posts)
 
ReSTored said:
Nothing special, just a few odds 'n ends. I was more interesting in trying out Shippsy to see how it worked. Aside from COVID issues keeping us out of the US product selection on just about everything is broader in the US, pricing almost always better and many companies offer free shipping to a US address. Caveat is that many companies do not ship to Canada and, if they do, you can get slammed with large brokerage fees. Shippsy seems to be a solution to this.



My test shipment was <$150, so no duty, but the transaction was reviewed by their broker based on the forms I filled in. That said, their web page explicitly says the $6.99 fee includes .................

Pricing - Shippsy – Shop more. Ship more. Save more.

shippsy.com shippsy.com

So based on this I assume if your package was worth $200 CAN and the duty was 25% then you'd pay $6.99 + HST of $26 + duty of $50 + HST of $6.50 and then their 3% transaction fee of $1.70 ($56.50 * .03). I suppose you have to do your due diligence to determine if bottom line "out the door" cost is worth it. If my assumption is wrong and the 3% fee is based the full amount of $282.5 then brokerage is $8.48 vs. $1.70, not a lot compared to Fedex and UPS rates.

Unless I missed it the Shippsy help FAQ section does not include a detailed example for transaction over $150 CAN that includes the fee calculation, the closest is this............... How are duties calculated? Here's an example. - Shippsy Help Center

I went through the entire support/faq section to familiarize myself with the process. Shippsy Help Center
Click to expand...
I know the US has great selection, maybe it was something you couldn't find here? But didn't you get murdered on the exchange rate was there any savings?
 
Recently ordered a Seat Concepts Seat from Indiana. $227 cad for the seat, $93 cad for shipping with UPS.
UPS charged $10 brokerage fee, taxes and duty were $33.
All in I was $350ish to my door with a group buy discount of 30% on the seat price. Best price locally was GP Bikes or Flybyu Motorosports at $550 cad all in.

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