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Post by grammadee on Sept 10, 2023 3:15:26 GMT
Years ago there was a winter pp with skaking polar bears on it and I hoarded and fussy cut and used every last one of the ones that ended up in my possession. I had been looking for something similar ever since. This morning a Christmas card popped up on Pinterest with a similar bear and I got excited! My Favorite Things (MFT) was listed as the manufacturer of the stamp and die set.
Googling took me to Amazon.ca which could not give me more than add to wish list. Then I found the MFT site and happily they had both in stock, so I clicked Add to Cart and then went through to checkout. Total was just over $40 US. Hadn't ordered anything in the past month and I really wanted those bears, so I clicked Checkout. I usually go straight to PayPal so don't fill my address in when ordering. Went through the different steps, but when the final page popped up the shipping to Canada was $90US! For two flat packages that would fit into a 5x7 envelope. I quickly shuffled out of there!
Decided I could live without polar bears. But later went searching for the set by name, adding Canada to the search window. Up popped a Canadian store with both sets in stock. Scrap n Stamp offered them for a total of just under $60Ca, with a flat shipping rate of $18. So these little bears are comin' home to Grammadee...
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,688
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Sept 10, 2023 4:01:27 GMT
I expect that I'm going to have to pay for shipping, but US$90 is insane, and I also would have noped right back out. I'm glad you found the set a little closer to home, they're super cute.
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Shakti
Pearl Clutcher
Troubled, complicated, and constant
Posts: 3,254
Oct 30, 2022 23:42:30 GMT
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Post by Shakti on Sept 10, 2023 9:39:48 GMT
Thank goodness you found an e-tailer with more bearable shipping fees
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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 10, 2023 11:32:14 GMT
$90?!?! That is insane! I'm glad you found them for a more reasonable shipping price.
They are sooooooo cute!
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lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,306
Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
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Post by lindas on Sept 10, 2023 13:34:41 GMT
MFT must have a thing about the number 9, their domestic rate is a flat $9 for orders under $85. I won’t order directly from them, I’m not paying $9 to ship a stamp set.
Glad you found those cute bears at a more reasonable rate, enjoy!
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Post by hoopsfn on Sept 10, 2023 13:57:10 GMT
I'm glad that you found your little bears grammadee. They really are the cutest! $90 shipping is crazy unless it's for a piece of furniture.
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jediannie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,096
Jun 30, 2014 3:19:06 GMT
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Post by jediannie on Sept 10, 2023 15:49:15 GMT
I guess they were going to hand deliver it to you for $90? Sheesh! Glad you were able to find it for a semi-reasonable shipping amount!
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,626
Jun 28, 2014 21:14:36 GMT
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Post by kitbop on Sept 10, 2023 20:59:37 GMT
It is aggravating to see unreasonable shipping charges like that. If I really want a product, I am HAPPY to pay ACTUAL shipping. But when sites use "estimators" that come out high like this I just leave because I don't trust them to adjust it to the real price. I have occasionally contacted them about an adjustment to ACTUAL shipping if I checkout, and they have agreed (this happened on Etsy recently) but generally I just roll my eyes and they lose my business.
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Post by artisticscrapper on Sept 10, 2023 21:33:28 GMT
Those bears are adorable. Glad you found them at an affordable shipping cost. Although that still seems high.
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Post by grammadee on Sept 10, 2023 22:19:45 GMT
Those bears are adorable. Glad you found them at an affordable shipping cost. Although that still seems high. The $18 CAD is not beyond what I would expect shipping within Canada. That store has free shipping if you order over a certain limit, but I am trying not to buy stuff just to meet one of those limits.
kitbop, the $90 didn't pop up until PayPal asked me to finalize my payment. I don't know if MFT would have adjusted it later? I just assume that when PayPal gets the go ahead to pay an amount then that is the amount they will pay. And no idea whether Canada Customs would have chimed in when the package crossed the border. I have ordered from Scrap & Stamp a couple of times before and they seem to have good service, so I am happy.
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Post by melanieg on Sept 10, 2023 22:33:47 GMT
I ordered from MFT once. It was $34 shipping but it was FedEx so I had it in a couple of days and no duty or taxes.
I have ordered from Scrap n Stamp as well. They were great. Glad you were able to find them closer to home.
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Post by dewryce on Sept 10, 2023 22:59:05 GMT
Those bears are adorable. Glad you found them at an affordable shipping cost. Although that still seems high. The $18 CAD is not beyond what I would expect shipping within Canada. That store has free shipping if you order over a certain limit, but I am trying not to buy stuff just to meet one of those limits.
Didn’t anyone tell you? Neutral card stock, adhesive, page protectors, pockets, blades and the like don’t count! I’m glad you were able to order your goodies! What’s the legality in someone in the states purchasing something for y’all and shipping it to you? And how would shipping costs compare?
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PaperAngel
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,012
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 10, 2023 23:13:12 GMT
Yikes! Hope you enjoy the adorable polar bears stamp/die set.
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Post by grammadee on Sept 11, 2023 0:00:13 GMT
dewryce, I have never mailed anything to Canada from the US. Have never checked out the legality of having someone buy it for me. Would probably go with buying an item myself and shipping it to me in care of that someone, then reimbursing for their postage?
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Post by joblackford on Sept 11, 2023 1:43:09 GMT
Good gravy, that’s a lot for shipping! I would be inclined to email the company and let them know because there’s no way that’s the actual estimated cost. I used a calculator on the usps site, assumed it would be a large envelope weighing 2 pounds to be generous, and the costs were $23-30ish depending on what kind of envelope and speed. Even saying it was goods with a $40 value and choosing one of their flat rate envelopes it was $30. Not cheap, but not $90. Either they have a glitch in the way they calculate it or they’re sending it by some ridiculous courier service. But I’d let them know they lost a sale. Glad you found those cuties for a normal price! And thank goodness you checked your total at MFT before you hit buy!
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Post by dewryce on Sept 11, 2023 1:56:51 GMT
dewryce , I have never mailed anything to Canada from the US. Have never checked out the legality of having someone buy it for me. Would probably go with buying an item myself and shipping it to me in care of that someone, then reimbursing for their postage? Can any peas clarify? I think it’s ridiculous some companies try and make bank off of shipping and if it’s legal I’d be happy to help out. Yes grammadee that’s along the lines of what I was thinking would work well.
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Post by lg on Sept 11, 2023 4:25:47 GMT
I used to have a lovely lady in the USA that allowed me to ship items to her so I could take advantage of any free shipping in USA states offers from scrapbook companies (always had my name, c/- her name in the postage details.) She would corral the items and then send to me in the one box so I only paid postage once (would send me the total, I would pay, she would post). I would LOvE to have the opportunity to do something like that again, as an Aussie pea I’m lucky if postage is only $30 per order so I have to look to sites like scrapbook.com etc to try and get items there where postage is more reasonable especially for big orders including albums. Being an international pea sucks, esp when your lss shuts!
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Post by wallyagain on Sept 11, 2023 14:16:15 GMT
We know we will pay shipping, but that is ridiculous.
It can be a struggle to get what we want here in Canada. We know it’s out there but we can’t get it here. Le sigh. Even something as simple as paper. I may only want a few pieces of the collection but getting single sheets is not as easy as it sounds.
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Post by babylou on Sept 11, 2023 19:45:44 GMT
I went to MFT quick just to see what it would be for me in Iowa. The stamps and dies, tax and shipping came to $55 US. I assume I could mail them to you for just a few dollars in a padded envelope, although I don't know that for sure. But, that's a really BIG difference compared to the $130 they would have charged you.
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Post by joblackford on Sept 11, 2023 20:39:41 GMT
I think legally you'd mark them as goods rather than a gift for customs purposes, but then again I don't think anyone is buying enough scrappy things to really feel bad about marking it as a gift. I'm not sure how much you end up paying if customs adds a charge. If you had someone willing to be your mail go-between it would be nice.
Don't some people who live near the border have a post box on the US side? They're not doing anything illegal if they go to pick up their things, are they? I assume they're asked about what they bought at the border crossing but are they having to pay import duties? Seems like not much difference to me.
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Post by dewryce on Sept 12, 2023 2:39:20 GMT
Any other peas have any knowledge on this? lg I’d be happy to help you out, just need details having never mailed anything internationally before. I’m in Texas, will pea mail you the postage code so you can check out shipping costs if you’d like.
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Post by grammadee on Sept 12, 2023 3:20:28 GMT
I went to MFT quick just to see what it would be for me in Iowa. The stamps and dies, tax and shipping came to $55 US. I assume I could mail them to you for just a few dollars in a padded envelope, although I don't know that for sure. But, that's a really BIG difference compared to the $130 they would have charged you. Thankyou but it's okay. I have the two sets on their way from a Canadian on line store. My total cost in Canadian dollars is not much more than your cost would be to order from MFT. And I feel good giving the LSS's some business. Don't some people who live near the border have a post box on the US side? They're not doing anything illegal if they go to pick up their things, are they? I assume they're asked about what they bought at the border crossing but are they having to pay import duties? Seems like not much difference to me. There are limits to how much you can bring back duty free across the border based on how long you have been in the US. A day trip to a mail box would not be very much. As far as mail goes, parcels coming in from the US are spot checked. By that, I mean that several parcels may come in with no customs due, and then another time every parcel seems to have customs owing. It depends on what the seller puts on the label. Paper Wishes pkg hardly ever have charges. They claim the wholesale value of the merchandise on the label. Other companies tend to put the retail value, which ups the amount due.
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Post by KikiPea on Sept 16, 2023 22:54:22 GMT
The $18 CAD is not beyond what I would expect shipping within Canada. That store has free shipping if you order over a certain limit, but I am trying not to buy stuff just to meet one of those limits.
Didn’t anyone tell you? Neutral card stock, adhesive, page protectors, pockets, blades and the like don’t count! I’m glad you were able to order your goodies! What’s the legality in someone in the states purchasing something for y’all and shipping it to you? And how would shipping costs compare? I ordered a tshirt to ship to Vicki Boutin. The cost for shipping was $25. It’s nuts!
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Post by rymeswithpurple on Sept 16, 2023 23:25:03 GMT
Don't some people who live near the border have a post box on the US side? They're not doing anything illegal if they go to pick up their things, are they? I assume they're asked about what they bought at the border crossing but are they having to pay import duties? Seems like not much difference to me. There's a YouTuber my husband watches who does this. He's near Vancouver, so he pops over to the US from time to time to pick up his goodies. (Pardon the formatting of the quick quote attempt... 🤦🏻♀️)
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