The only Customs paperwork necessary for these small parcels (sent by Letter Post) is the green Customs Declaration sticker. On the sticker you have to describe the item, and the value. It is preferable (from this end) that you check the [X] GIFT box on the sticker and list the value at under $40 US. This keeps our Canada Customs from adding a bunch of extra taxes and fees at this end. If the GIFT box is not checked, fees are calculated as 15% of the US value (converted into CA $ first) plus $5.00. As you can see, this could add a lot to the cost of a small parcel crossing the border. So to clarify this...YES, WE ARE ASKING YOU TO FIB ON THE CUSTOMS PAPERWORK! YOU CAN GET OVER IT! Think of it like your tax return... do you really tell the IRS everything they want to know? Larger boxes sent by Parcel Post require a longer and more detailed Declaration Form.

Most of the eBay sellers I have dealt with routinely check the GIFT box on all parcels to Canada. There is a dealer in France I have bought from several times. His declaration form always says "Used Toy - $1" no matter what the value of the item in the box. I have come across a few dealers on eBay who say they are too honest to fib on the declaration form. This is your right, but if I have to pay $10, $15 or $20 more to get a parcel shipped from you, than from someone else, you can be absolutely certain that I will never buy from you a second time. I have been dinged for the 15% tax plus $5 fee on many occasions where the seller didn't/wouldn't check the [X] GIFT box on the declaration form.

I can say without hesitation that I have never had a single question or comment from either Canada Customs or Canada Post about all the "GIFT" parcels I receive from all over the world. I have also never heard of anyone in the U.S. getting into trouble with the USPS or Customs for declaring a parcel as a gift. You are not deceiving your government or Post Office in any way, you are just helping me pay less taxes to my government . There are probably tens of thousands of eBay parcels in the postal system between the U.S. and Canada every day, with most of them being marked as gifts. Apparently, the American people are extremely generous towards their Canadian neighbours.