on line shopping

I love chainlove.com and bonktown.com.   Both of those ship with UPS which is kinda like the pony express crossed with snail-shipping - but the tarriffs are covered - so there's no duty or brokerage fees.  You need to be on all the time to know what's up though....

Performance bike is FAST - within two days for my brother - and they have amazing sales on a regular basis.

I'm not sure of any others - I haven't bought a lot on line.

Stef

Some Canadian e-shops I've used include

www.labicicletta.com - in Toronto - higher-end stuff (also means higher prices, but great sales if you watch closely) specializing in roadie gear - also have an ebay store -

www.trigeeks.ca multisport store on the west coast (I think) also great prices for clearance/sale stuff - everything from nutrition to wetsuits - pretty fast shipping

I'm trying to think of others I've ordered from - I know there's more I just can't think right now.

Hannulink tri store on ebay has great prices on tri apparel - often have 25% or 40% off sales which get posted on BT - shipping at first glance appears high, but no brokerage/customs and the more you buy, the cheaper the shipping as they combine for discount. Great customer service.

I use ebay alot - many sellers, when they know it's your birthday, will ship the items as a "gift" and they slide through customs no problem.

I have bought several items from Trisport and I believe that you can get them to use UPS which avoids some duties. Actually I think that most of the US triathlon stores will ship UPS, but it is not their default choice. Submitting an order without inquiring about shipping can result in unpleasant surprises as the duties and processing fees at the border can be very high. There are also some items that they don't want to ship to Canada as they have problems with Customs, nutrition products are the obvious example. It took me a long time to track down some Gatorade Endurance as it is not sold in Canada but I wanted to train with it as it is used at all the 70.3 races and IMs in the US.

The post office box option is worth considering. When I moved from the US to Ontario I kept a box in Detroit for a few years. The main post office is right on the river half way between the bridge and the tunnel so it is fairly convenient, although it is a scary part of the city at night. It can be a pain when you order something that won't fit in your box, you are still responsible for taxes at Customs on the way back, and some companies refuse to ship to a post office box. It's easier to ship to a friend or colleague with an office or home in Detroit (hello Tim ).

With the Canadian dollar so weak right now I try and find things in Canada first. Also returns to the US can be a pain on apparel that does not fit. I bought my Garmin from Mountain Equipment Co-op and was really impressed with the price and service. I think Endurosport ships mail order but the last time I checked their website was not very helpful. There are a couple of other companies I have dealt with that I can't remember right now.

Probikekit in the UK.  I thought buying from the UK was a crazy idea at first, but then I checked their prices.  It costs 1/2 what I would pay retail locally, and they ship for free to Canada (I'm sure if you order something like a bike stand then this doesn't apply).

They ship via Royal Mail, so it gets delivered by Canada Post. You'll be responsible for a $5 customs charge, plus you'll have to pay our local taxes.  But I've ordered quite a few things from them now, and will be ordering new tires within the next few weeks.

I looked at ordering from the US - but it just worked out cheaper getting it from the UK (just wish the Loonie hadn't dropped so much!!).

By the way - you don't want to ship UPS from the States, you'll get killed by their brokerage fee.  I think people meant to say USPS, because then it's only the $5 custom fee again + tax.

Sorry! you already mentioned you used it and it's expensive. good to know from my end!

The exception to this rule is chainlove.com and bonktown.com.  Their shipping includes tarrifs. (Which is why the shipping is so expensive to Canada.)  I had a jersey caught in brokerage and I figured I was in for 40-50$ brokerage fee but it came through - no fees because the tarrifs had already been paid.

Thanks for the info on Probikekit.  I have been on their site several times and it's good to know that it works well for us in Can too.  Thanks!