The Ultimate Toronto Thread

[KWang94]

Anyone ever used a forward shipping/proxy service, ie Shipito? Any recommendations?

 

[mebiuspower]

I use shipito. It's pretty straight forward and easy to use.

 

[siddeh]

I use shipito. It's pretty straight forward and easy to use.

Never used a proxy service, so I'm curious; once I get it shipped from the US address to Canada, am I the one who is responsible for declaring value for customs (i.e., I can put in whatever declaration value to minimize taxes/duties)?

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

I use ZenMarket and Buyee for my purchases from Japan. Very handy to have since most places won't ship to you. EMS being down has been a bummer though - I've avoided proxying from Japan for the time being as a result.

I've used Cross Border Pickups as well, but being unable to declare the value on items kills a good chunk of your savings IME. I try to only use them if I'm buying smaller items below the $20 threshold.

Does Shipito allow you to declare the value on your own items?

 

[mebiuspower]

Yes, you do the custom declaration yourself. You can get them to remove the invoice, price tag at extra charge.

 

[Ziqianzhu]

Never used a proxy service, so I'm curious; once I get it shipped from the US address to Canada, am I the one who is responsible for declaring value for customs (i.e., I can put in whatever declaration value to minimize taxes/duties)?

I have been using usgobuy and I declare the value myself.

 

[suitforcourt]

I use ZenMarket and Buyee for my purchases from Japan. Very handy to have since most places won't ship to you. EMS being down has been a bummer though - I've avoided proxying from Japan for the time being as a result.

I've used Cross Border Pickups as well, but being unable to declare the value on items kills a good chunk of your savings IME. I try to only use them if I'm buying smaller items below the $20 threshold.

Does Shipito allow you to declare the value on your own items?

It's been a few months, but I've always declared my own values for CBP. I normally ask the seller to include the invoice in the box, in the event my declaration is challenged.

 

[Omega Man]

What happened to Japan's EMS? I bought something from Japan and the seller is telling me Canada Post don't / can't accept EMS for the time being.

 

[Wrenkin]

It’s not Canada Post. EMS normally travels via the cargo holds of passenger planes, but there aren’t any flights due to Covid.

 

[Sym]

Any good and affordable cobblers for topys in or outside the GTA? I emailed a few places and quoted $40-$50 for women's heels/boots which is out of the range I would like to spend as there are 6 pairs.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

Any good and affordable cobblers for topys in or outside the GTA? I emailed a few places and quoted $40-$50 for women's heels/boots which is out of the range I would like to spend as there are 6 pairs.

Not able to answer your question as posed, but I do want to caution that you take care with this. I've been to a few more 'affordable' cobblers in Toronto that made a complete mess of my shoes before. Luckily they weren't pairs I cared about very much, but you definitely get what you pay for sometimes.

If anyone else has more helpful info, I'd appreciate it myself. The last time I had repairs was in NYC.

 

[suitforcourt]

Any good and affordable cobblers for topys in or outside the GTA? I emailed a few places and quoted $40-$50 for women's heels/boots which is out of the range I would like to spend as there are 6 pairs.

Not able to answer your question as posed, but I do want to caution that you take care with this. I've been to a few more 'affordable' cobblers in Toronto that made a complete mess of my shoes before. Luckily they weren't pairs I cared about very much, but you definitely get what you pay for sometimes.

If anyone else has more helpful info, I'd appreciate it myself. The last time I had repairs was in NYC.

I have personally used the following cobblers in proximity to Toronto, and I endorse them:

In Guelph - Dimar shoe repair.

Barrie - Fix em up shoe repair.

London - Coakleys.

I've also used cobblers in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Vancouver, and Saskatoon. You can check out the threads I created for each.

If you're not in a rush, I am mailing some stuff to Dimar in Guelph, Heels n Soles in Sudbury, and Quick Cobbler in Vancouver. We can meet up, and you can throw your stuff into my shipping box. No charge.

You will have to pay for the return postage, but in my experience, if it's a big job, the cobbler will cover return postage to you.

Sadly, there are no decent cobblers in Toronto proper. None that I am willing to use. Even for topy work.

 

[induere_to]

So, what's up? Are we supporting local/small businesses or are we lining up for hours at Winners/Homesense trying to save a buck? I'm torn.

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

So, what's up? Are we supporting local/small businesses or are we lining up for hours at Winners/Homesense trying to save a buck? I'm torn.

A little bit of both, depending on what it is.

I've written about this before, but I've made a conscious decision to curb back on clothes spending to bolster my finances. I've gone down a pant size thanks to weight loss over the course of 13 months, so I needed to buy new pants and modify existing ones.

So far on the clothing front, my money has only gone towards small businesses. I've only purchased four clothing/footwear items this yea: a pair of Nike Air Max 90s from Capsule in January that I've since sold because I didn't see myself wearing them anytime soon, and three pairs of pants (Fujito, Monitaly, Kaptain Sunshine) from No Man Walks Alone last month, with my sister contributing to some of my order as a belated birthday present.

I may make a purchase from Lost & Found or Uncle Otis at some point in the next one or two months, if budget allows. No money has gone towards CM-esque stuff because my current lifestyle doesn't warrant it, despite having a couple of Harry Rosen gift cards that I'm itching to use.

I have been throwing a bit of money into a couple of my other hobbies. Some money has gone to independent bookstores, while some of it went to Chapters/Indigo during the appropriate sale.

Otherwise, I've been patronizing smaller Asian supermarkets for roughly 75% of my groceries, with the rest of it reluctantly going towards the Westons in one capacity or another.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

So, what's up? Are we supporting local/small businesses or are we lining up for hours at Winners/Homesense trying to save a buck? I'm torn.

I haven't actually stepped foot in a Winners in years, and that was only because I was dragged into one reluctantly.

Basically every store I've been to so far has been surrounded by lines... for the big stores next door. I've never had to wait long.