We recently received a reader email asking about a travel crib Emily mentioned when detailing the cost of travelling with a baby. Our wonderful reader, a fellow Torontonian, noticed the aforementioned travel crib is available for $198 on Amazon.com; however, a hop over to Amazon.ca lists the same crib for $327.30. My bad.
It’s no secret that buying stuff is cheaper in the US than it is in Canada. US consumers have access to a better selection of products, many of which are not available in our home and native land. To add insult to injury, many retailers do not ship to Canada due to the complexity of international shipping regulations.
Such is the case with the travel crib. We wanted to buy the same product over a year ago. At the time, it was a fairly new product. It wasn’t offered in any Canadian stores nor was it available to be shipped from the US. How did we end up buying an item not available in Canada?
I’ll let you in on a little secret: we used CBI USA.
What is CBI USA?
Consolidated Business International (CBI) (http://www.cbiusa.com/) is a holding warehouse that provides a US shipping address to where your American purchases can be shipped. The packages are stored at their warehouse, for a small fee of approximately $6 per package, until picked up. The warehouses are conveniently located across the border literally less than 10 minutes from the Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls, New York. CBI is not limited to receiving only small packages; virtually anything can be shipped to CBI USA including tires, skids, cars and boats.
How does it CBI USA work?
It only takes a few minutes and 4 easy steps to get started with using CBI as your own address and you don’t need to notify CBI before shipping packages to their warehouse.
Step 1: Register for an Account
The registration process is quick and painless; all you need to provide is a valid email and physical address. Once you’ve registered for an account, you will be assigned a PMB# to meet compliance requirements set by the United States Postal Service (USPS). This is all that you need to start shipping online purchases to CBI.
Step 2: Buy things online
This is the fun part. Make as many purchases as you like online and use CBI’s US shipping address as your own. The address is as follows:
Address
[Your Name Here]
1711 Cudaback Ave., PMB# [5555]
Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Step 3: Pick up your package(s) and Pay
Pick up your packages any time at your convenience after the shipment has been received by the warehouse. You can confirm the delivery of your packages by entering the tracking number of your packages on their website.
Storage of your packages is free for all customers as they don’t charge any holding fees for parcels and oversized packages (excluding skids, etc.). Their unlimited storage policy means that you can consolidate purchases and pick them up together without being charged for the time your goods are stored at their warehouse.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the policy, CBI kindly requests that customers try to limit their package storage time to less than 90 days. They are working to accommodate the growing demand. If storage is required for more than 90 days, send them an email and they will move the items to a secure long term storage facility at no extra charge.
CBI USA is open from 9AM-5PM on Monday-Wednesday, Friday; 9AM-7PM on Thursdays and 8AM-3PM on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays. Consult their website for a full list of holiday closures.
First Time Users
For first time users, fill out USPS Form 1583 listed on CBI’s website and to bring it with you on your first visit to pick up your packages. The form, along with two pieces of ID, are required to for first time package pick-ups at the CBI warehouse.
How much does it cost to use CBI USA?
There are two payment options.
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Pay As You Go: each package you pick up will cost $5.95 USD.
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Annual Membership: $108 USD with an unlimited $1.80 USD per package for 12 months. This membership level includes a mail slot to receive US mail as well as a dedicated account login to track packages.
If a package is over 70 pounds and/or 84 inches, an oversize fee of $5.50 USD will apply. Some other fees apply to larger items; the details can be found on the website.
Is it safe to use CBI USA?
Packages delivered to CBI are fully insured and the warehouse is under video surveillance around the clock. As CBI describes it, “Your shipment is insured by carrier (UPS, Fedex, etc) until it arrives at CBI warehouse and signed for by CBI. Carrier will not leave items until signed for. Once CBI signs for shipment, CBI’s insurance policy covers your purchases until they are signed for by you at pick-up. CBI’s insurance covers FULL replacement costs.” For that extra peace of mind, they offer a full replacement guarantee and will cover 100% of the item value if an item is missing or damaged.
Extra Costs to Consider
There many benefits to buying items in the US and shipping them to the border for pick up. Canadian consumers can take advantage of US prices and sales and hunt for the lowest prices on a wide variety of products. We can take advantage of free shipping from Amazon.com and entertain bids from sites like eBay without worrying about the shipping implications. The cost benefits, however, can be quickly overrun by additional charges if you don’t take them into consideration; additional costs can include the following:
Gas: The first thing to take into account is cost of gas it will take to get to the CBI warehouse. A round trip can consist of a couple hundred kilometers from the Toronto area.
Duties: All purchases picked up in the US will also be subject to duties when returning across the border as there are no exemptions from Customs for being in the US for less than 24 hours.
Time at the border: It is not uncommon to have to wait an hour to cross the Rainbow bridge to get to the US. The return trip to Canada can also add more delays.
Time in long lines: There can be long lines outside of the CBI warehouse depending on the time of year.
Despite these additional costs, cumulative savings on multiple packages can exceed the cost of the trip if you time it right and pick them up on the same trip. It’s can also be worth it if the item is not available in Canada.
My Experience with CBI USA
I’ve used CBI on several occasions. I have never encountered any issues and highly recommend their services.
Each trip we make generally follows a similar itinerary. We time our pickups with a bi-annual trip to the outlets in Buffalo. The day trip is always a fun getaway and we try to leave early to avoid the line at the border.
Once across the bridge, we swing by CBI to pick up our coveted packages. I’ve traditionally emailed CBI ahead of time with the date of our visit and a list of all the items we’ve ordered so they can pull them from inventory. By the time I arrive at the counter, they usually have our items put aside ready for pickup. I pay for our packages and we head on for a day full of outlet shopping. We always claim the purchases we’ve made when returning to Canada and since it’s often only a couple hundred dollars, we usually get a customary “welcome home” before getting waived through.
One More Thing…
If you ever find yourself in a pinch needing to buy an item and have it shipped quickly (like our reader heading to Buffalo for the weekend), sign up for the Amazon Prime trial membership for free two day shipping. If you don’t need Amazon Prime services, be sure to cancel within 30 days.
Can you think of anything you would ship to the border for pickup?
If only they would forward that stuff over to another address. I’m not sold on having to drive to get my packages.
I know someone who held a P.O. box across the border and would get everything shipped there, and pick it up a few times a year. Something similar to CBI…
Yeah, I’ve looked into getting a P.O. box and using a forwarding service. I figure that this is the best option since some retailers won’t ship to P.O. boxes and I’d get hit with extra costs and duties shipping multiple packages rather than picking up in bulk.
Wow, that’s slick, Daniel!!! What a great service! We are in the US so wouldn’t use it, but really glad it’s available for blogging friends like you guys so you don’t have to pay those high Canadian prices.
It sure is Laurie! We found out about them through word of mouth and haven’t looked back since. They’ve saved us a pretty penny that’s for sure.
I think there is something similar in Ogdensburg, NY for Eastern Ontario residers. Be careful order baby products that might not be certified by CSA for example car seats. I don’t know what the penalties/risks are, I only know that my daughter and SIL would not buy their car seat that way, even though they buy stuff from US all the time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were dozens of places like these spread out along the entire border! They’re super convenient to use. You are right; prospective buyers should perform their due diligence when it comes to products such as car seats. We bought our car seat in Canada for the same reason but there’s no rules on strollers, mattresses or cribs!
Exactly, they bought their stroller from the US. I always thought cribs had some safety concerns though, but I would expect the standards would be the same in the US for cribs… even for car seats for that matter!
Daniel, Great post, didn’t know this was out there. Sounds like a great service!
It really is Kris! Give it a try and I’m sure it won’t disappoint.
Yes its been a excellent service to me, Ive been with CBI for decades it seems, my PBM # is less than 180, I met the owner who ran CBU initially and still does on occassion and is a excellent person to deal with, His brother now runs the Main office and ive had nothing but praise and service they provide. Ive never had any claims or lost goods. what foresight the owner had in setting up this service, Becareful of copy cat sites that claim their prices are cheaper, read between the lines. Im loyal to CBI and will always be. If you plan to buy and ship more than 20 packages a year, your better off buying the yearly membership and paying 1.80 a package, oversize. skid etc costs still apply..
Kerry