Glad to hear it went OK. My agent was worried I was bringing something across that was not allowed.
Have fun playing with it!
Thanks, I will 
Thanks for this thread. I’m seriously considering this now as I can drive down to Niagara Falls in 2 hours - or wait 3 months for it to ship (if it’s not delayed again). My main concern is if I could be stopped trying to bring it across the border as an item that isn’t allowed.
The other issue is the air filter, which I would have to go down for again when it becomes available.
Either way you’re most likely paying taxes on the item - I suppose in shipping there is a slim chance it could sneak through - border taxes work in mysterious ways, I didn’t pay a dime for my Snapmaker crossing the border and it came from Asia.
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I’ve found in the past that UPS would charge me the taxes AND a brokerage fee. And that brokerage fee is sometimes pretty high. And it’s not clear ahead of time how much that fee will be.
The main reason I did it was that the shipping cost to the states was much lower than the shipping cost to Canada (like several 100s). I was always planning on having it delivered to the US and picking it up. Getting it earlier was a bonus.
I had no problems getting it across the border. I had my paperwork, and they just let me in without too many questions.
Yes… I hate UPS for this - they charge a ridiculous amount for the privilege of using them to take an item across the border.
I’ve sent an E-mail to Glowforge about changing my address and the shipping times related.
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If you ordered a Pro, they seem to have extras in stock at the moment so it will probably be right away. Still some wait on the Basic.
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Several folks have done the cross-border trip. The risk (with your paperwork in order) bringing it over isn’t an issue. What you may find is if there’s an issue you’ll have to repeat the trek for the warranty service. I think @SunnyStarbucks had to do it.
I wouldn’t worry about the filter - you can change your address back to Canada and have it shipped to your house.
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Why would you have to go back to the US for warranty service? Could it not still be posted back from Canada if need be? @SunnyStarbucks what was the issue you had?
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@BluBot Yes - I had to drive it back to the UPS by the Border (On the US side where my mailbox company is) for warranty because I took US delivery and brought it over to Canada. I think the issue was wiring? Basically the top camera saw half of the bed and it was curved.
It can be posted back from Canada but you would have to pay for shipping but the other reason is when you bring back the new one - CBSA might charge you 2 times for Taxes since you don’t have the copy of the “Post Back” postage from the same location. Hope that makes sense?
It really wasn’t a problem for me since I live close to the Border, and Glowforge even sent the replacement before I returned the old one! They rock!
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Oh wow. That’s awesome. So you were able to pick up and ship out in one trip! I would have thought they would have fixed your specific machine rather than send a new one.
I also didn’t realize warranty shipping was free in the US (wasn’t something I ever paid attention to being in Canada) I’m 2-2.5 hours from Niagara Falls so it’s the better part of a day for me to make the trip, but it’s still a lot better than 3 months.
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Yes - I was able to do the pick up and ship out in one trip 
Oh yeah - Glowforge made it super easy for the replacement. With emails and great instructions. I basically showed the CBSA all my paper work and email thread to show that the new one I’m bringing back is a replacement. CBSA just asked why I had to return the first one - I said - “Because it was broken.” CBSA just waved me through!
In case you wanted to know the Tax - I paid $380 (I’m in BC), No duty thanks to NAFTA (Which may change anytime now…)
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Thanks for the answers - I was willing to wait until March, Even April, but late June is too long, and realistically, that’s probably at the earliest too, probably will get delayed beyond that as well. I’m going to just pick it up in Niagara Falls and bring it back with me.
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I highly recommend it!
Few things to keep in mind:
- Open the package(s) and make sure nothing is visibly broken
- Bring all necessary paperwork (Receipt from Glowforge, email, screen shot of stuff, the manual, your credit card statement - the more info you have the better)
- If you ordered a filter - it’s not coming the same time, keep the Taxes receipt from CBSA because they tax the overall amount. You will need the receipt to show you’ve paid for the filter when you go pick it up later.
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So I put through all the steps to have it shipped to Niagara Falls. Took a couple of days to get it set up, but it’s arriving next Tuesday the 27th… instead of Shipping late June (or later if delayed again). As an added bonus I got back $500+ CAD in shipping costs - which should pay for most of the duty costs for bringing it back across the border.
I’ll open the box before I take it anywhere, should I try and see if they will let me plug it in at the UPS store? Or is that pretty much pointless without a wireless connection or anything for it to connect to.
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I think just from reading the problems and support category, I wouldn’t worry as much about plugging it in if you have to go out of your way.
The DOA units are either very obvious (smashed), or not apparent at all (something like it refuses to create the adHoc network [which has been fixed, I’m pretty sure]).
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you’re probably ok not plugging it in, but if you can, i would do it just to be safe. otherwise you have to drive back to the US to return ship if there’s a problem. if you want to, you can even set up a hotspot with your phone to connect.
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I did end up getting it across - went through Lewistown NY. Took about an hour to process it and I had to get my my business number changed to an importer number to bring it into the country, but otherwise no problems - took about an hour. Saying it was just for hobby use would have been a lot easier, but I thought they might be suspicious that I’m buying a $4500 USD machine for a hobby. The border guards just asked what it was and what it was used for - I kept it simple and just said for engraving and plastics and metals and making signs.
I didn’t have to unpack it or anything and ended up paying less in duties than I expected - plus no Brokerage fees from UPS!
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I’m glad it worked for you as well!
i wouldn’t think it was that crazy to spend $4500 on a hobby machine.
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