AndyMark shipping to Canada

[mlepard]

Hi,

We're in our second year as a Canadian team...and I'd like to query fellow Canuck teams about their experience shipping from AndyMark.

We were told by our mentor team that shipping internationally from AndyMark can be a pain (take a long time, get stuck at the border etc...). So last year we used a UPS box in a nearby US border town. However, that can lead to scheduling problems picking it up...

Outside of the additional cost for shipping to Canada, has anyone had any recent negative (or positive I suppose) experiences using AndyMarks shipping?

Was the package delayed significantly? Did you have to pay extra brokerage?

Looking at the FirstChoice shipping info, it seems that AndyMark should have everything sorted out for a smooth trip through the border...but I'd like to know if this is fact or fiction...

Thanks for sharing your experiences...

[mman1506]

We've never had an issue with andyMark shipping although we usually use Fedex so it is fairly expensive 25-50$ (one of our mentors payed 100$ to ship a pool noodle ). I've never seen a brokerage charge on our order but that isn't up to AM and may be affected by the public school board we are attached to. It usually takes 2-3 days after AM releases it for it to arrive at our school in Toronto.

[tuyauxtu]

I've done most of the ordering for 781 to Kincardine, Ontario and have to say that since AndyMark switched to FEDEX, shipping to Canada has worked really well. You pay, of course, but included in the shipping price are customs/duty, HST (and presumably the appropriate provincial and federal sales taxes for your location).
Any time after the order is placed during build is too long, but we normally get our stuff within 4-5 business days, and we are at the last turnoff miles after you pass the sticks. Pardon the rural team joke.
Past delays were normally caused since the shipper Used Previously Sat on the packages until you contacted them to select them as your broker and provide a credit card number for brokerage and customs/tax payment.
Pat

[Kernaghan]

During build season last year we ordered parts from Andymark, they took just over a week to come in, and it cost around $40 in shipping. We had ordered parts from VEX at the exact same time and they showed up in couple days with minimal shipping costs. Andymark is in no way bad, however if you're located in Canada like us I would recommend buying as many parts from VEX as you can if time is an issue. There are some things you cannot buy from VEX that Andymark offers such as most kitbot related components, in this case I would just recommend ordering the parts from Andymark well in advanced.