Other great classified add sources,even Canada?


This site is a great find.
I've waiting 18 months for a dealer to provide a Wadia 830 then 831 now 301. What a joke!
I have been very spectacle about internet buying but recently bought a satellite TV system privately from an ebay contact. Best move I have made for a while. I did the research and found a great deal of support out there.
There is no turning back. (Thank our times for high speed)
Now I'm going to upgrade my stereo system ASAP.
I've talked to a few sellers of Wadia 830s and it is just matter of time.
One problem appears to be buying and selling from Canada.
There is no problem shipping to Canada via the postal
system. Customs fee is $5. Payment can easily be made in US or CND funds. Canada Customs has told me there are no duty fees on US made goods shipped to Canada but there is 15% tax up here on the declared purchase price. You can insure the shipment for any amount but declare the parcel value for less. This was actually explained to me by a Canada Customs info service person. This requires a note attached to the box.
Free trade is here but sometimes it is not straightforward.
Maybe that is why most of the Audiogon classifieds list
Ship to: US only. Live and learn I guess but it would be nice to have a level playing field. Another "outside the main stream" dissadvantage is all it amounts to.

Anyway I'm just starting into this and looking for more good used hi end audio listings. Hopefully I can avoid surprises and extra fees. Any advice others may have would save everyone involved time and money.
Thanks for listening.
seeker999
I've bought tubes from thetubestore.com that is in Hamilton, Ontario with fine results. Didn't even realize they were outside the US until I wanted to return some tubes. Then I was told that they have to pay import fees on anything returned that is declared to be more than $5. Makes a lot of sense, an import fee on returned murchandise.
I'm here in the States and found that buying Canadian isn't a problem. In fact, transactions from both sides have been identical for me. No customs fee, no UPS fees, nothing. Not sure why as I hear horror stories sometimes about the difficulties in transportation from Canada to the U.S.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason, but in buying multiple items from Canada, I've gotten charged a customs/brokerage fee ($19) once. Other than the sometimes slow pace of Canada Post, they've all been smooth.
Swampwalker - while I will agree that all postal services can be less than speedy I think that recent postal scares and everything since Sept 11th has things moving slower than normal. From my home in western Canada, on Nov 8th, I sent two money orders Canada Express post "guaranteed" to be in NYC and California in 4 business days that left Canada on the 12th (a weekend in the middle and according to the Canada Post website) which finally arrived at their respective destinations on the 19th & 21st! So it would appear that the delay was on the US side of the border. I think we have to have patience which may be a tough thing to attain for those of us who swap,sell and buy on this site...
I've bought used equipment twice from Canada for shipment to USA. Both times UPS sent me a bill a couple of weeks later for customs. It was about $20 as I recall.