Any Canadians ordering wood from US?

[Bob Daniel]

Hi folks!

As a Canadian, I've found it necessary to order small or medium items from the USA from time to time, Rockler etc... and I accept that my $40 item might become $80 by the time I pay customs, broker fees, etc... and the "free shipping" deals of course are always "48 states" only....

What I'm wondering is, has anybody ordered LUMBER from the US... there seems to be a lot of really excellent hardwood dealers out there with a strong internet presence, just ready to take my online order for some fine looking hardwoods at reasonable prices.... but how reasonable are those prices by the time they arrive from Arizona to Owen Sound, Ontario?

Cheers.
Bob

[Grant Wilkinson]

Bob

The key to ordering lumber is to order lots of it at one time. That way, it will be shipped using a common carrier and not a courier. You can move a lot of weight by common carrier quite cheaply. You will need to make your own arrangements for clearance at the border, but even then, you will find that you can get a much better deal from an independent broker than you do from the in house brokers of the couriers.