It’s there a site or resource where, as a Canadian, I can pay an American to buy something for me and ship it to me? I know there are lots of international shipping resources, but the item I want isn’t sold online, so I would need someone to physically purchase it before shipping it to me. Sorry if this is a stupid question!

  • kylua@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Please edit post title, it’s kind of unspecific for this specific question. Got misled by it

    • aturtlesdream@lemmy.worldOP
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      11 months ago

      Sorry, I tried to think of a better one but could figure out how to phrase it without sounding stupid or rambling

      • NightAuthor@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Doesn’t have to be super specific, something as simple as “Question about international purchases”. I get that its not always easy to be succinct with every question, but a title should convey something about the post.

  • Kalcifer@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    Maybe something like taskrabbit? Could pay them to pick it up, then send it through a courier.

  • NightAuthor@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Does what exist anywhere?

    I’m sorry, but these kinds of titles irritate the fuck out of me. It’s like clickbait, but without the bait. Just… “Want to know wtf I’m talking about? Then why don’t you read the post, its not like titles serve any purpose”

    • QuinceDaPence@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      Yep. The title should get at least a very rough idea of what you’re looking for.

      It’s asklemmy so we already know you’re asking a question. So you can typically get away with just doing like an email subject level of description.

      “US to Canada buy and reship services?”

      “Options for Canadians to get items sold in US?”

      “How can a Canadian get something from the US that isn’t sold online?”

      All of these would work and attract people who might know or have dealt with similar issues, as well as those who dealt with totally different issues that may share the solution, getting you better answers to your question instead of the shotgun approach and hoping the right people are curious enough to click on your post.

  • bluGill@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    This will be hard to find legally.

    As an American i’m required to not ship anything to Canada that would then be shipped onto Cuba. As a.Canadian if I ask you if you will reship this to Cuba you are required to answer no, no matter what (that is if you would ship to Cuba you must lie)… these two make is really tricky so such a business to exist as I can’t put in enough protection to ensure things don’t get shipped onto Cuba to satisfy American laws.

    There are similar laws around shipping things to Israel, Russia ,Iran (to name counties in the news), mostly US and Canada are aligned on them, but specific details can be different and they matter.

    Note, laws like the above change all the time. My facts are ten years out of date since I don’t keep up.

    • TheMurphy@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Semi unrelated question.

      If you travel to Cuba as a US citizen, are you not allowed to bring anything home? Or bring anything on the plane?

        • Jakdracula@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Wha? As a citizen of the USA,I’ve been to Cuba and purchased and brought back to the USA many things.

          • So, to be clear, were talking about US nationals.

            https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1541

            Section 695, end of pp 2

            Travel for tourist activities is not permitted.

            Section 717 goes into some detail, and says authorized (non-tourist) travellers may purchase and import goods for their own personal use, as long as it isn’t tobacco or alcohol, or purchased from any of of a long list of government-related organizations.

            I remember now that I looked this stuff up in the early 2000’s when I was in Paris and wondering whether I could bring back Cuban cigars purchased in Paris – it was no then, and still no now, but laws about spending in Cuba have loosened. OTOH it’s more strict in travel; previously (IIRC) you could go to Cuba as long as you got yourself there on a private boat, or flew from another country. Now, it looks as if all tourist (for pleasure) travel is prohibited - you have to have some charitable, authorized reason to go.

            So, you visit as part of an educational or religious group?

        • 3migo@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I’m an American who visited Cuba (legally) a few years back. I paid for goods and was allowed to bring things back into the US. There were just monetary limits for goods on what you were allowed to bring back in. I believe products like rum, cigars, and coffee were limited to $100-200, but I wasn’t asked to show any receipts or anything.

          • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            I too am an American who visited Cuba legally a few years back. My understanding is that the restrictions in question were loosened at the time, and have since been tightened again.

  • fylkenny@feddit.de
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    11 months ago

    I think my coworker once bought coffee from South America and could only ship it to the us. He found a warehouse where he could ship it to and that relayed it to Europe. I’m gonna ask him at work later.

      • cabbagee@sopuli.xyz
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        11 months ago

        I don’t think reshipping in itself is illegal. If you’re buying something illegal in the final country, sure, but there’s a lot of stores that only ship to some countries even though there’s no restrictions on the actual goods.

  • xploit@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    There’s also the option of “collection/storagr places” by the border - businesses that provide you with US shipping address and hold your parcel, usually at least for few days up to a month or two for free…of course the downside is that you have to live near the border and whatever you want to order and collect has to be worth the hassle for you to go across the border

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      For something like 70% of Canadians that would work. They mostly live within 250 miles of the border, and they’re almost as car-centric as the US is.