Clearly I misunderstood and was misunderstood…
SUCCESS! Everything went surprisingly smoothly though could have gone off the rails at a number of places. To recap:
- Amazon Canada MCF not only hit their promised delivery date, they beat it by one day.
- The people at the Staybridge Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake were great, putting my product in a back room until I got there.
- Crossing border into Canada was a piece of cake.
- Crossing border back into U.S. almost wasn’t.
I got to the border about 5 AM, early enough to avoid any rush hour traffic. When I crossed into Canada, GPS took me through the commercial/non-commercial entry point, so I assumed it would on the way out. Nope, I ended up at the non-commercial entry point (Bridge of Peace, I believe). Only two cars ahead of me with only one lane open, so not at all busy. I pulled up with my windows down, told the border agent that I had product with me that I had shipped to Canada via a broker and that I was now taking it back.
“Oh, you should have gone to the commercial entry point so you could present all of your paperwork.” Paperwork?
I told him this was my first time doing this and asked what he wanted me to do.
“Hold on while I check [makes call] Just follow those two guys and park where they tell you.” Uh, oh.
Supervisor asked me questions about what I was doing and why. I had brought with me paperwork related to my company: articles of incorporation, registered alias, etc. and he read through it. He asked me the value of what I had with me. He then thought for a bit and said, “The items you have are your property and they are valued under $10,000, so you’re good to go. Have a safe trip!”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
Total cost was two days of time, $200 in gas, and a $150 (Canadian) hotel room to retrieve about $4,000 worth of inventory. While I guess the border crossing could have gone worse with a different supervisor, I’d probably do it again if the need arose.
What an incredible hassle, but I am happy to hear you are pleased with the outcome.
Thank you for keeping all of us who are interested in touch with your progress.
Crazy story. Thanks for sharing the journey
Thanks for the follow-up. I’m glad it all worked out. I think you came up with a creative solution to your stranded inventory dilemma.
Thanks! Felt odd to drive to Niagara Falls and not see a single tourist site.