With the Canadian border being closed my trips to the US to purchase “completely non-essential but I must have it” tack has been cut off. Does anyone have recommendations for online tack shops that ship to Canada and have reasonable shipping rates? It gets disappointing constantly being quoted $60+ to ship something like a fly mask! Please help me window shop for things I don’t need.
well that $60+ is not all in shipping… The CBSA collects duty and taxes on imported items (including all online shopping), on behalf of the Government of Canada. Duties and taxes apply to all international goods imported by mail that exceed the $20 exemption.
I checked UPS International, to ship 2 pounds to Canada is $19.71 …estimated 7 to 11 days transit
We just opened a leather goods company and ship to Canada at cost. I can throw a fly mask in your order if you need one!
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@clanter. I am not sure about that in practice. I often order from Amazon.com vs. -.ca because when you do the overall calculation it is cheaper for some products even taking into consideration the exchange rate. It is hit or miss whether I am charged duty, and if I am I pay separately for that at the post office…not in shipping. To the OP’s question, US online tack shops often have horrendous shipping fees to Canada which is prohibitive to Canadian shoppers. Dover’s is a prime example. This is problematic when the US shop carries things that you need but cannot get in Canada. I had a situation with a certain type of saddle gullet.
OP. I have no recommendations as to US tack shops with realistic shipping costs as it really depends on what you are buying. Many of us just ship to a US mailbox close to the border or pick the product up at a depot that is close to the border. Declare the item when you cross. Which is great when you live close to the border and when the border is open…which is it is not right now.
I have also had products shipped to a friend or relative in the US and they have shipped to me at much more reasonable rate than the tack shop. Of course the amount is declared and it is up to the govt to decide whether it wants to charge me. Again, as in the Amazon case…hit or miss.
Hopefully someone can weigh in with some other ideas.
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So… not American tack shops but I’ve noticed a few European ones that have reasonable shipping. I cannot think off the top of my head (I’ve been doing a LOT of browsing lately) and some had reasonable shipping (~$20 is what I would call reasonable) and others were outlandish ($100+). I ordered a big box of brushes etc a couple of weeks back and shipping was $30 for 10 or so items. It also arrived sooner than a halter I ordered earlier from the US (still waiting for that…) that I also paid $30 shipping on.
I’m also contacting Canadian tack shops and asking them if they can/will carry certain items for me and have found them very helpful.
This of course doesn’t help for house-brands of US shops.
I used to do what Dee-Vee suggested - ship to a mail drop in the US and then cross the border to pick up. Obviously that’s not an option.
I recently found out that the mail drop I use is offering a service to bring packages over the border for a small fee - a great idea on their part as many of their customers are Canadian. I had my item shipped (free) to the mail drop, then paid $10US to have the service drive it over. They make trips a couple times a week.
I did also have to pay HST, but didn’t end up paying duty (although it was a possibility - for whatever reason, the border didn’t charge any on my parcel even though it was not made in a NAFTA country).
I then picked up my parcel at one of three locations to choose from on this side of the border.
OP - where are you located? If you’re in Ontario, in the GTA or Hamilton area, I can give you the info for the places I used. It was relatively easy but not sure I’d bother unless it was for something I really needed and couldn’t get up here. I’m already looking into alternatives for some supplements that I usually get in the US - any of the cost savings from buying in the US are eaten up by shipping and taxes now.
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The shipping fees charged by American retailers do not include Canadian taxes or duty. That is on the recipient to pay, and most of the time the Canadian side does not collect these things on small purchases.
If the shipping fees included taxes and duty, the shipping fees charged would vary a lot between different shipments and I’m sure the vendor would provide a breakdown on the reciept. Also my guess is no American vendor would ship anything to Canada if they had to remit an amount to Canadian border services before they shipped the thing!
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Why are you shopping at US sites for a fly mask if you are Canadian?
There are many, many Canadian tack shops that you can order from.
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Country and Stable has a flat $20 shipping fee to Canada. Mary’s Tack was $25 last time I bought there, but that was about 18 mos ago.
