how to ship items - Ontario to Florida

[dburnt 59]

I have more to move than will fit in my car to drive to the US. some questions if anyone has advice:

1. is there a cheaper method than UPS/courier? I have probably half a dozen boxes, up to 30 pounds each. I don't live in a large city, so can't seem to find many options...I've seen posts about train (out west) but little around here.

2. how do I ship items...the form (3299?) requires entry information, and I need to arrange the shipment before leaving, so can't complete the form? Will UPS hold the items until i can send the form to them? I can't ask anyone else to deliver to UPS for me, as they wouldn't be able to cover the cost.

My car is a Civic, and since there has to be enough room for 2 people in it, that doesn't leave a lot of room for bigger items (I have some artwork that I don't want to risk shipping, etc.).

[mrs thb 331]

there is a lot of discussions on this already. have you researched them?

an low cost solution might be is to get a friend to help transport them stateside then rent a very small trailer from uhaul. does your honda have a trailer hitch? this might be cheaper than ups.

or....

get the packages stateside and ship them via CBI in niagara falls, ny. http://www.cbiusa.com/ 2 minutes from rainbow bridge. i have used them multiple times to receive packages from the usa. I believe there is another place that ships and is like 30 seconds from the lower bridge, nf.....if you have nexus. but from what i understand is you must poe with or before your packages. best you research this if you plan on having someone ship them after you poe.

Edited July 30, 2014 by mrs thb

[dburnt 59]

Thanks. Yes, I went through all the threads, and couldn't find my exact situation.

No, my Honda doesn't have a trailer hitch, and installing one will cost $300 plus (assuming I drive an hour to find a U-haul (other quotes I had were closer to $500)), then another $300 to rent the smallest trailer. I figure that I could ship almost a dozen boxes by UPS for the same price, and I have fewer than that.

As you say, the challenge for me is the fact that you must POE prior to the boxes hitting the border, and this is what I do not know how to do. How have others managed to ship their boxes if they haven't POE'd? How are they getting their boxes through customs? (just FYI, I did try sending 3 boxes a number of months ago, even with a nil value (it was clothing), and customs refused them entry without the form...they came back to me 2 weeks later much the worse for wear).

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The only other suggestion I can think of that wouldn't be overly expensive is that your fiance rents an SUV in the US with a car trailer attached, drives across the border into Canada, you load up all your belonging in the SUV, load up the car on the car trailer, drive to Florida on a one way rental and return the SUV and trailer in Florida. It is an option we considered before I realized it would be easier for us, but not cheaper, just to rent a moving company to move my things. The US rental allows you to do a one-way rental return for an additional fee. I am not sure if this is feasible or not but it is worth investigating.

You could contact a moving company for a quote with just those boxes. Sometimes they don't have full loads and do multi-loads. You would fax them back the activated K-1 visa and your I-94 as proof that you have crossed the border and your belongings are authorized to follow. It may turn out cheaper than you think.

Good luck.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Kathryn41

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

Just as a reminder, if you plan to keep the car in the us you have to import your car, which requires paperwork and manufacturer letters before you leave Canada.

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

Just as a reminder, if you plan to keep the car in the us you have to import your car, which requires paperwork and manufacturer letters before you leave Canada.