We routinely hear of horror stories from Canadian brides who ordered those perfect wedding favours from some U.S. store, over the Internet (only they were called “favors” there, lol) and then actually dropped the order, or got into a lengthy email argument with someone, because when the package arrived it was late, it was held by customs, it was held by UPS, and finally an extra bill, more than the actual value of the order itself appeared as well.
Remember: U.S. sites may very well be considerably cheaper sometimes (or simply stock items you can not find here, in Canada) but at the end of the day you are “importing” the stuff – same as if you drove across the border and bought somethign you need to declare when crossing back into Canada.
Sometimes it is worth the effort, sometimes it is not. As a general rule, your wedding package from the U.S. will
- Need to clear customs: not just to pay “import tax”, but also because it needs to be checked! Just because it says “wedding favours” in it, doesn’t mean that’s what’s inside, yes?
- Possibly be charged “brokerage fees”: Why? Because someone has to physically be there and clear your package. Usually some UPS staff, if that’s how it was shipped. So UPS will charge you for their time,dealing with Canadian customs.
There are exceptions to these rules. “Workarounds” woudl be a better word. For example
- If you’re paying for “express” service, most times the courrier company will actually include all this in their pricey express fee. So you still pay it, but you need not deal with it again, in Canada
- Some sites build some of those charges in the shopping cart, so you can pay it upfront, when you buy the items and so know how much it will be – no surprises!
- There are specialised services in the U.S. that will “fake” a U.S. address for you. In other words, you are actually shipping to their warehouse and they bulk ship to you. Of course this costs more too, but if you’re buying from many different vendors, it may make sense to consolidate the shipments.
In the end, it may make more sense to simply stick with Canadian wedding e-stores. Keep it simple! The selections is definitely comparable and the hassles are minimal. Either way, if you have found something and you’re wondering whether you should go ahead and order or not, read this first. It is a handy little guide, explaining a lot of these things and listing some interesting options. It also has a pretty comprehensive list of wedding stores, most of them Canadian.
Cheers!
