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Do we have a trading/selling "board" here?

I recall something being proposed a while ago about a database for us fragheads to list decants and samples we have for swap. Did that ever materialize? If yes, can someone please point me in the right direction or set me straight. Apologies to anyone who has already told me about it in the past... I have a frighteningly poor memory for someone who hasn't even reached middle age. It would be nice to able to just "blame it on the '60s" but I wasn't even born until the next decade.
 
Marc, I'm just down the province from you and always open and excited to trade. Went to school in Thunder Bay and loved it up there. Let's see what's up with this trading database first and then maybe go from there if we don't have any other viable options. In the past I've always bought decants from Archerfire here at B&B, various individuals at Crystal Flacon and Scent Splits from all over the U.S., The Perfumed Court, and tiny samples from Lucky Scent. Never had a problem with importing any of it. Never paid tax, duty or whatever, not even once. Only been turned down by one person who thought it best (or illegal?) not to ship from U.S. to Canada. Anyway, money is tight these days so buying decants isn't the best idea for me. I'd like to see what came come from some trades. Talk soon.
 
Marc, I'm just down the province from you and always open and excited to trade. Went to school in Thunder Bay and loved it up there. Let's see what's up with this trading database first and then maybe go from there if we don't have any other viable options. In the past I've always bought decants from Archerfire here at B&B, various individuals at Crystal Flacon and Scent Splits from all over the U.S., The Perfumed Court, and tiny samples from Lucky Scent. Never had a problem with importing any of it. Never paid tax, duty or whatever, not even once. Only been turned down by one person who thought it best (or illegal?) not to ship from U.S. to Canada. Anyway, money is tight these days so buying decants isn't the best idea for me. I'd like to see what came come from some trades. Talk soon.

Okey dokey.
Thanks for the heads up.
I've ordered from Lucky Scent and not had a problem.
I'm more worried about shipping into the USA.
 
its open to all. shipping may be cost prohibitive though.

When I have individuals from the U.S. shipping to me in Canada average size bubble envelopes with a handful of decants in them, it costs no more than a couple dollars extra compared to shipping within the U.S. Those who say it costs a lot more than that simply are not choosing the right shipping method/options. Rearviewmirror, I know you were just speculating, trying to be helpful, etc. This isn't directed at you specifically, even though I quoted you. It's just that shipping to Canada being expensive or a time consuming PITA (or even illegal!?!) is a very common misconception that I find myself talking people out of frequently in order to get the stuff I want. USPS is a Canadian fraghead's best friend.

Okey dokey.
Thanks for the heads up.
I've ordered from Lucky Scent and not had a problem.
I'm more worried about shipping into the USA.

Why, what have you heard about shipping fragrances from Canada to U.S.? They usually go from U.S. to Canada, and smoothly at that, so I don't know much about regulations going the other way.
 
Why, what have you heard about shipping fragrances from Canada to U.S.? They usually go from U.S. to Canada, and smoothly at that, so I don't know much about regulations going the other way.

When I went to Canada Post to mail a package one day (not fragrances, something else) I asked them how to mail colognes.
They told me that they could not be shipped in Canada or the USA.
I asked them how people do it then. They said: "you don't".

Not a shining moment for Canada Post customer service.
so I've always just thought that we couldn't ship outside Canada (because of customs) and we could take the risk inside Canada.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what they told me.
 
I just had a look at the Canada Post website and found that perfumes are considered Dangerous Goods (Class 3).
I suppose that means that some precautions need to be taken when shipping.

Eh, I don't know it doesn't make any sense to me.
http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGnonmail-e.asp link if you want to have a look. Section 6.

I can't see shipping samples as being a problem. You're talking about such a small amount.
 
On USPS one time I read about shipping samples being okay. Which, to me was odd. I mean, just ship an entire box full of samples. It didn't put a limit on it. Commercial samples may have been the correct wording.

I ordered from a Canadian vendor here recently and they shipped me fragrances into the US. Every time I order from Montale, it's been shipped via Air Mail. From France.
 
Shipping perfumes period is illegal in the US. Period. Doesn't matter if I'm sending it to a house 1 mile down the road, to another state, from coast to coast, or across borders. The alcohol in it is flammable and considered dangerous for shipping. Does that stop people from doing it? No, it certainly doesn't. Businesses that sell it can get an exemption, because it is their business, of course, and because they are obviously not considered terrorists. Folks that do ship inside their own country can easily get away with it and I'm certain that the USPS pretty much looks the other way when they know. It's perfume, for crying out loud. However sending it across borders requires a customs declaration form on which the shipper must declare what's inside. I've heard of folks using descriptions like "vintage vanity products," "used cosmetics," and so on, which offer some truth although they are not entirely accurate.

That said, when shipping across borders, make sure you are under the priority weight limit or it DOES get expensive and quickly, too. Shipping first class packages from the US to Canada and vice versa is comparable to shipping in the US - that is true - but shipping priority is not always the same.

I'll say this, though. For some reason, shipping to Canada is the slowest! It often takes longer to send something to Canada than it does to send something to the UK.
 
I shipped a brush from Seattle to the Italian Barber outside of Toronto that took, I kid you not, 59 days. Things coming to me from Canada arrive much faster. I was told by a Canadian that Canadian customs is a big source of the delay. I don't know whether that's true or not.
 
Another Canadian that would be interested in doing some swapping. It doesn't take me long to determine whether I like a sample or not, so I have built up a small collection of fairly full samples that have already served their purpose.

Yes, Canadian customs has a reputation for being both thorough and slow. Trade offs. Stinks when you're a consumer just waiting for your stuff. It's kind of like living on the outer edges of the Empire waiting for a decent shipment of wine to arrive from Rome.

I'll try to post a summary of the shipping regs for each of our countries tonight, perhaps as a fresh thread.
 
Seems like there's at least a few Canadians hanging around this thread who are interested in sample/decant swaps. We should all do our best (CANADIANS and AMERICANS ALIKE) to list our available stuff, post-haste, in the Google Doc being sent out by rearviewmirror. There is only a handful of members who have listed their wares so far. Might I also suggest somehow indicating in the doc beside your name that you are in Canada.
 
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