For me, it isn't that I've had any terrible experiences, there's just a higher level of uncertainty, particularly around customs and duty issues, because there seems to be absolutely no consistency to how the regulations are enforced.
I've bought and sold several things between the U.S. and Canada, which you would think would be as straightforward as a 'foreign' transaction could be.
On the first, I was charged a 10% duty on used speakers coming into the U.S. On the second, the speakers came from Canada with no notice of any duty owed and then got a bill for 5% duty three months later. The third, a CD player, arrived from Canada with no duty ever charged. The fourth deal was killed when Canadian customs told their citizen, my buyer, that he would have to pay 15% on American gear being brought into Canada.
The shipping went fine in all three cases, except for a three week delay on the second set of speakers because the seller forgot to include a form and it had to catch up with the speakers sitting in a customs warehouse in Toronto.
None of that has scared me off. If the deal looks good I'll take the risk again, but it is a little scarier than going down to Fry Electronics and loading up the hand truck.
I've bought and sold several things between the U.S. and Canada, which you would think would be as straightforward as a 'foreign' transaction could be.
On the first, I was charged a 10% duty on used speakers coming into the U.S. On the second, the speakers came from Canada with no notice of any duty owed and then got a bill for 5% duty three months later. The third, a CD player, arrived from Canada with no duty ever charged. The fourth deal was killed when Canadian customs told their citizen, my buyer, that he would have to pay 15% on American gear being brought into Canada.
The shipping went fine in all three cases, except for a three week delay on the second set of speakers because the seller forgot to include a form and it had to catch up with the speakers sitting in a customs warehouse in Toronto.
None of that has scared me off. If the deal looks good I'll take the risk again, but it is a little scarier than going down to Fry Electronics and loading up the hand truck.