Selling to Canadians

I know there are others who can speak with more authority on your questions, but here's what I know and do:

State your price and require payment in US$ - it eliminates exchange considerations for you.

State in your ad or correspondence that all import fees are the responsibility of the buyer (or negotiate a mutual agreement in advance) so there are no surprises.

Ship via US Mail if possible, it eliminates brokerage fees from coming back to you (also eliminates them entirely as I understand), and leave all duties considerations with the buyer. It's also less expensive usually. If the item is mfg'd in North America the buyer won't have to pay duties anyway. Your import form that you fill out when mailing the item will include origin of the item, and value.

If duties apply, it is a % of the price - I don't recall how much but think it's less than 10%, maybe closer to 5%?

If the item is too large/heavy, USPS won't ship it, then you need to use UPS/Fedex, etc. They use brokers to handle import processing and charge a fee for it. Make sure there's agreement with the buyer on who pays these.

I too have experience with insurance limits at the USPS. In my case I couldn't buy any insurance for a $100 accessory shipping Priority Mail to Vietnam. Also, in my experience with the USPS web site, though convenient and quick, what you find there isn't always accurate vs what happens when you go into the post office. May be user error in my case . . . but wading though all the options and international regulations is confusing.

I've never had any issues in selling to Canada. The key is to know what's involved and agree on who pays for what. Same as you would for a US deal. There's a little more effort involved sometime (is to deal with the post office forms), but that's hardly enough to decline good money from an honest trader.

I have purchased and sold quite a bit from the US. I'm Canadian and every time when it was UPS,I had to pay brokerage fees and tax at my door before they give me my package.

Now when Fedex was used they just gave me the package and then later sent me a bill in the mail for brokerage fees and tax. If I do not pay the bill, it will then have to be paid by the shipper.

interesting, and explains my one "scare" with brokerage fees. I sent a pair of speakers to a Canadian buyer using Fedex, having agreed up front that he would pay all fees. 2 months later I receive an email from Fedex saying I am being charged x$ for brokerage and duties on my item as they were unable to collect it from the receiver. I sent an email to the buyer asking him what was up, and he promptly replied he had paid the fees to Fedex 2 days previous. I never hear from Fedex again. It seems UPS's practice is a more favorable one from the US shipper's perspective . . .