Canadian Desis are bargain hunters, just like most other Canadians. Wonder if others have tips on cross border travel for shopping?
http://www.garamchai.com/canada/shopUS.htm
How about shopping online, receiving delivery in US and then getting such stuff back while drving from the States?

Not just Desis or Canadians but everyone runs after bargain - why not?

I saw this http://www.dealsofamerica.com/ on some American Channel & not Desi.

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Mumbai Maazi Ladki ...

Beprepare to face this when you enter Canada after cross border shopping. This article published in the Toronto Star on Nov.13, 2007. This is another example that our elected Government work for businesses not for the common public. Why can they install credit card terminal at every check point so you can pay taxes and duty while sitting in your car.

Shoppers get chilly reception at border
Tax and duty collection make for long lineups

Nov 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter

LEWISTON, N.Y.–Coming from a customs officer, it was an ominous, if odd, question: Do you have a winter coat?

"Then I saw the line," recalls 19-year-old Maddie Moran. "We had just waited two hours on the bridge. It was an awful moment."

For the past two hours she'd been counting the cars in front of her as that line dwindled. When the officer spoke, she realized she still had a long night ahead of her. This time, lined up outside with hundreds of others in the cold.

"Luckily, my coat was in the back."

Endless lineups are common at border crossings these days as retail groups, stung by the surging loonie, pressure the government to diligently collect taxes and duties.

After a full day of discount shopping in the U.S. with her friend, Jessica McCulloch, stocking up on designer jeans, Moran hit the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge lineup around 11 p.m. Moran and her friend had spent a combined $200.

After two hours waiting in her car, Moran then joined the tax and duty line. A handful of the 250 other angry day shoppers huddled outside the customs building were cloaked in old blankets typically stored in car trunks in case of an emergency. Two agents assessed duty and tax and while another two collected the cash, most people paying about $20 to $30. That led to a roughly hour and a half wait time.

"Making us stand in line like this – it's an absolute disgrace and an embarrassment to our country. It's freezing. I had to get this (blanket) from customs," said Anjela Coretti, who was at least 50 people from the door after being in line for an hour, after spending $250 on clothing. "I think the government is upset that we're shopping in the States and they're trying to punish us."

Yesterday the loonie closed at 103.09 cents U.S., down from Friday's close of 106.7 cents. But its recent climb has been luring shoppers south in numbers border officials haven't seen since the 1980s.

Neither Canadian nor U.S. customs will release actual numbers of people crossing, but American customs officers report a 10 per cent increase in traffic since January.

Canadian border officials say they're overwhelmed and are scrambling to deal with the surge.

This past weekend, they were forced to open the refugee processing unit at the Peace Bridge to relieve some of the strain.

The commercial operations were being used to process buses and staff is being called in on the weekend to help push shoppers through.

"We're completely overwhelmed," said customs spokesperson Jean D'Amelio-Swyer.

"Last Sunday we had 49 shopping buses come through between 4 and 8 p.m. Forty-nine. If every bus had even 50 people on board, do the math, that's another 2,500 people."

Border officials have seen a steady increase, but "these incredible surges" only began in the last few weeks, she said.

Peak time used to be 4-10 p.m.

"Now it's more like 2 p.m. until ...," D'Amelio-Swyer paused.

The middle of the night?

"Pretty much. The facilities just can't handle the volume."

Part of the issue is that retail groups have put customs under intense pressure not to just wave shoppers through.

The Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce have called on the federal government to ensure appropriate taxes are being collected on U.S. purchases. The Retail Council of Canada has sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day on the issue as well. The chamber issued a release last week saying the Canada Border Services Agency may not be acting as diligently as it should be in collecting taxes.

Last weekend, few were passing by without being searched, whether they declared goods or not.

Bob Hamilton, 64, and his wife, Marg, went to Long Island for the day to visit friends.

They left their Hamilton area home around 4 a.m. to make the long drive, and were trying to cross back around 11 p.m.

"I bought absolutely nothing," Hamilton said, as he watched two customs agents comb through his SUV. "Obviously, they thought we were hiding something."

After 20 minutes of searching, Hamilton was told he could leave.

"It's just ridiculous. Just look at this line of people. It's tying up people's time. They're being way too stringent," he said.

Not 10 minutes later, a piercing wail startled everyone in line. Yellow lights started flashing. A van had tried to sneak through after the driver had been told to wait in line.

"That's at least a $1,000 fine," said one customs agent.

By this time, Coretti had made it to the front of the line.

"The worst is we were all honest. We were happy to declare our purchase. I'm happy to pay my taxes. But this is ridiculous. We're talking about $120 worth of stuff," she said, referring to her friend's purchases.

With a receipt in hand, Coretti headed towards her car a little after 1 a.m. But the line was just as long as when she first arrived.

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Dont help others because others have helped you,,,,help others because its the right thing to do!!!

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