Have you ever tried to order something online only to find out that the company ships exclusively to the US? Or maybe you’ve started exploring the US credit card market to up your travel game.
Perhaps you’re like so many of us, and you’ve ordered something from the US and then been shocked by the cost of the shipping fees, brokerage fees, and taxes and duties, which practically double the price of some items.
If any of these situations sound familiar, then you’d likely benefit from having a US mailing address, and luckily setting one up is incredibly straightforward.
In this article, we’ll explore the hows and whys of getting your US mailing address set up so that you can enjoy the related opportunities and benefits.
Which Services Offer US Addresses for Canadians?
If you don’t have any friends or family in the US that are able to accept packages on your behalf, you can use a professional mail service that will help you set up your own unique US mailing address, accept your deliveries, and arrange to get your purchases to you.
Companies like Shippsy, 24/7 Parcel, myusaddress.ca, In Out Parcel, and many more, are designed to make the whole process as streamlined as possible.
While some of these companies exclusively offer pick-up at their location(s) in the US and cater primarily to people who drive down from Canada to gather packages and do some US shopping, a handful of the companies provide additional services like forward-shipping to addresses in Canada and further abroad, and they help with mail sorting and facilitating returns processing.
When choosing which company to use for your US mailing address, you’ll want to research their reputation, the services they offer, and their prices and payment requirements.
If you’re looking for a relatively full-service option, Shippsy may be the best choice for you. This company lets you easily set up a free, unique US mailing address so that you can start having items shipped there the same day.
To get your item from your US Shippsy address into your hands, you can choose from a couple options. You can either pick the item up at one of their locations in Ontario, British Columbia, or Québec, or you can pay an extra fee to have it shipped directly to your Canadian address.
The fee for Shippsy’s pick-up services is $7.99/package in Ontario and $8.99/package in British Columbia and Québec. This fee covers both the shipping cost to Shippsy’s locations and the brokerage costs associated with getting the item across the border. Shippsy will then add any taxes and/or duties that were charged at the border to the total fee that must be paid before you pick up your items.
If you’d like to have your items shipped to your home address, you can easily calculate the shipping fee using Shippsy’s online calculator.
Additionally, Shippsy can help you return unwanted items if you’re able to drop them off at one of their branches, making this a really solid all-around service.
Other popular US mailing address services (just to name a few) include 24/7 Parcel, Myusaddress.ca, and In Out Parcel, which all offer free US mailing addresses and related services and support.
Some services like 24/7 Parcel and In Out Parcel have set up their pick-up facilities with package lockers so that you can access your items whenever is most convenient for you.
Depending on where you’re based or where you travel to often in the US, there’s loads of smaller mailing services available for Canadians who are interested in driving down to pick-up their packages.
Why Should You Get a US Address?
From our perspective, one of the main reasons to get a US address is so that you can gain access to the US credit card market and all its points-earning potential. US credit cards frequently offer incredible welcome bonuses and features that aren’t available with their Canadian counterparts, making them valuable additions for any Miles & Points enthusiast.
We’ve written multiple guides on getting US credit cards as Canadians, so if you’re interested in exploring the credit card opportunities to the south, you should definitely check these out.
Another incredibly popular reason (probably the most popular reason) to get a US mailing address is to access more and better online shopping. With a US address, you can take advantage of special US-only deals and promotions, and you can shop at online retailers that don’t ship to Canada.
Additionally, by having a US address, you can potentially save a ton of money on shipping fees, brokerage fees, and taxes and duties (within a limit).
With these opportunities in mind, let’s take a deeper look at why you should get a US address.
1. Get US Credit Cards
As we mentioned, credit cards in the US frequently offer welcome bonuses that are notably higher than their Canadian counterparts, plus these cards often come with valuable perks and benefits.
Unfortunately for Canadians, to take advantage of all that US credit cards have to offer, you do need a US address, among other things (see our guide on how to start in the US credit card game).
If your goal is to start applying for US credit cards using your new US address, the most important thing at the beginning is to do your research to ensure that the mailing service you choose will in fact accept credit cards, and if it’s your intention, will forward them to your Canadian address.
To help you figure out which companies will let you ship credit cards, you can check out their websites since most include an exclusion list to let you know the myriad of things that you’re not allowed to ship via their services.
You can also usually find anecdotal evidence on which services will receive, hold, and forward credit cards on forums like our Facebook group, Prince of Travel Elites, or on Reddit’s credit card subs.
2. Take Advantage of US-Exclusive Shipping and Promotions/Deals
Far and away the most common reason people get a US mailing address is so that they can order items from merchants that don’t ship to Canada, or so that they can take advantage of better deals and promotions on the US-version of a company’s website.
Since Canada is a relatively small market compared to the US, there’s often loads of products that are only available to be shipped domestically in the US. Plus, for many diverse reasons, the US-version of some websites offer shoppers considerably better prices and promotions (notably Amazon US).
By signing up for a US address, your online shopping options will grow considerably; just make sure to consider the exchange rate and delivery fees when deciding if something is a good price since these costs can cause a great deal to turn into a just-okay deal quickly.
Another important thing to keep in mind when purchasing on a US website is that you’ll be charged in US dollars.
Given this, you’ll also want to consider using a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, like the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card or the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card, since this 2.5% charge can significantly cut into your savings.†
3. Save on Fees
Another solid reason to get a US address is to save on the shipping fees and brokerage fees that are charged when shipping across a border. If you’ve ever ordered something from the US or further abroad, you’re probably familiar with just how crazy these fees can be!
In case you’re not familiar with the term, brokerage fees are charged by the delivery company (DHL, UPS, Fedex, etc.) for facilitating the customs and duties part of your cross-border delivery.
This means that in addition to paying the initial shipping fee and the import taxes and duties, you’ll also be paying a fee for someone to fill in the related forms and act as your proxy at the border.
With services like Shippsy, 24/7 Parcels, In Out Parcels, and others, you can avoid the brokerage fee, and you’ll often pay considerably less in terms of shipping. Additionally, depending on whether you pick-up your packages or have them forwarded, you could potentially save a bit on the import taxes and duties as well.
4. Save on Taxes and Duty
If you’re someone who travels to the US often then having a US mailing address can be a great way to order items, pick them at a later date, and then bring them back to Canada yourself, potentially saving on taxes and duties.
As a Canadian travelling to the US, you’re eligible to bring back a certain dollar-value of goods that will be exempted from import taxes and duties based on the amount of time that you’ve been out of the country.
If you’ve been out of Canada for between 24 and 48 hours, you can bring back goods worth up to $200 (CAD) without paying any duties or taxes. If you’ve been out of Canada for more than 48 hours, this exemption amount goes up to $800 (CAD).
Keep in mind that there’s no exemption for same-day trips, so if you just cross the border to pick up packages and have lunch, you’ll still be required to pay all assessed taxes and duties on the newly acquired items you’re bringing into Canada.
However, since a stay as short as 24 hours can get you some exemptions, this might be a good excuse to plan a nice weekend trip to the US that lines up with picking up your items from your US mailing service.
5. Keep Your Clothing Hauls Organized
For Canadian shoppers who are looking for the latest fashion trends, it’s common practice to order a haul of clothing to their US mailing address, then go down, pick up all the packages at once, and try it all on immediately.
This way you can use the free return options that most clothing companies provide to send back whatever you don’t want to keep, and you don’t have to make a second trip to the US to process the returns. Many of the US mailing services will even help you process your returns, making the whole experience relatively painless.
In fact, in service of this popular shopping strategy, some of the US mailing services have even added on-site change rooms so you can try things on without having to take over the bathroom stall at the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts.
This is also a great way to avoid having to make multiple trips to the US to return items, or possibly incurring taxes and duty when you take your clothing haul back across the border to Canada.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many compelling reasons to get a US mailing address. Plus, given that signing up for an address is super easy and generally free, it’s hard to come up with a reason not to.
Whether you’re looking to buy an item that only ships to the US, save on some shipping and brokerage fees, or start your US credit card journey, having a US mailing address is a must.
† See Card Provider’s website and Card Application for complete card details, terms and current offers. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accuracy of information.