How To Get Physical Items From the US to Canada

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Have you noticed more and more lately as the Canadian dollar has become more valuable then the US greenback that online merchants are refusing to ship product to Canada?

Or are the outrageous shipping prices holding you back from pulling the trigger on the great deals that are available online from US online stores?

Once again, Canadians are getting the raw end of the deal as can be seen at almost every retailer in Canada. Just look at this picture of a price tag from a pair of flip-flops being sold at an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Canada. Wow…

The Canadian dollar has been worth more then the US dollar in 2011 and hasn’t been worth $0.73 US (the exchange rate shown on the A&F price tag) since June of 2004! (Click here to see chart) Why are Canadians still paying outrageous prices compared to our neighbors south of the boarder?!? Enough is enough! It’s time to take advantage of the strong Canadian dollar and seek out some great deals online.

The great news is that the team here at HowToGetItInCanada.com has figured out the best way to take advantage of the strong Canadian dollar and score amazing deals from those websites that are blocked in Canada and around the world! Please note, that the mail forwarding method described below also helps you save money on sites that will ship to Canada and around the world!

The great news is that most sites like amazon.comand eBay.comwill let you brows their selections from anywhere in the world. Other sites like Banana Republic make it harder as they automatically redirect you to their .ca site (with much higher prices by the way). For the sites that you can browse and shop on from Canada or anywhere around the world you can simple skip to step 4.

If you’re on a site that won’t let you order or even browse their items since you’re in Canada or around the world you will need to follow these three easy step to trick those sites into thinking that you reside in the USA. Don’t worry, it’s really as easy as 1-2-3.

Step #1: Set Up Your HMA Account

HMA, despite it’s immature name, is by far our favorite Pro VPN and we have been personal user for close to two years now (at the time of writing). If VPN means nothing to you, don’t worry. It technical talk meaning Virtual Private Network. In terms that you and I can understand it’s a tool that sets up a private connection between your computer and their server and it route your internet connection through their server first. The beautiful thing about this is by doing so the sites that you are accessing on the internet think that you are located wherever that server is located. See what’s happening here? You’re going to pick one of the 17,000+ IP addresses on the 139 servers that HMA has located in the United States. By doing so, you have virtually packed up and moved to the USA and are now seen to be residing in the States. You can now access any site in the USA that would normally block you for simply being from Canada or around the world. (Side note: this works for Pandora, Hulu, US Netflix and so much more!).

There are so many benefits to HMA I’d be an old man before I could get done listing them all here… but one that I do want to point out as I personally have a “mixed-breed office” meaning that I have both a Mac and a PC. GASP! I know, right?!? Who does that? Well, it’s true. I have a PC for my office and a MacBook for the fun stuff like pictures and videos. Okay, getting back on point… you can use HMA on your PC, your Mac, iPhone, Android, most other smart phones, some routers and even linux.

Step #2: Download The Command Center

After you have picked up your HMA account you will need to log in and download the software. After logging in look to the top left and click “Download software”:

After downloading the software launch it and then let it know which server you want to connect it to. The best way to set this up, in our humble opinion, is to select the “Random 10 closest servers based on geographical location”. What this means is that HMA will check to see where you are and then randomly select one of the 10 closest servers. This is idea as the shorter the distance between you and the server you are connecting to the better. The final step before you can use HMA to access all otherwise blocked content in the USA is click “Connect to VPN“.

Step #3: Shop ‘Till You Drop!

Now that you are using your newly found super stealth ninja skills to virtually residing in the United States you can simply visit the online retailer you’re trying to get a great deal from and place your order! [Super user tip: become an insider to see a list of smocking deals that you can buy today in the USA! Just enter your email address in the top right of this page.]

Step 4: The Fun Part! Mail Forwarding From the US

Most of the sites we’ve found that don’t let you access their stores from Canada, and around the world, definitely won’t ship an item to Canada! You’re probably wondering what exactly you’re going to do with HMA when you can’t get the item shipped to you. Never fear! HowToGetItInCanada.com has figured out a great solution to that too! You can very easily set up and use a US mail forwarding service to receive your shipments, combined them into one package and then send it to you in Canada, or wherever you’re located on the planet.

Don’t worry, you can actually save money using a mail forwarding service like MyUS.com. Basically, MyUS.com give you a real US street address to use when shopping online (also works when you’re signing up for a US iTunes account and the US version of Netflix), they’ll take delivery of your packages, if you so desire they’ll even bundle them up and forward them to you anywhere in the world. You can save up to 80% on the cost of shipping! Here is their process displayed as easily as 1-2-3:

(Click here for more info)

The Bottom Line: Save Money By Shopping in the USA!

HMA isn’t free, but it’s very inexpensive. It literally costs less per month then sending 14 pictures messages with Rogers (don’t even get me started) and gives you access to amazing deals and US online retailers!

Gone are the days of paying too much for the exact same item in Canada or around the world! By using MyUS.com you’ll be able to have you very own US street address (not a PO box) to use when shopping online, setting up your US iTunes or US Netflix accounts and you’ll even be able to save up to 80% off the cost of shipping!

As we hope you know by now, the people behind How To Get It In Canada are always looking out for you. That is why we want to make sure that when you do go over to HMA you think about singing up for the year so you can save 43% on a one year subscription!

We would hate for you to miss out on yet another great deal. We also want to point out that HMA has a 30-day money back guarantee meaning that you don’t even need to decided today if HMA is right for you. Just give it a try and take the 30 days to decided. We’re going to place a huge bet on the “you’re going to love HMA” side of things but if you realize it’s not for you simply ask them for your money back and they will oblige!

If you’re still not convinced check out there other great guides to maximize your HMA experience:

• Hey Canada, Quit Getting Ripped Off!
• Case Study – How To Save 35% at Banana Republic!
• How to Get Pandora Radio in Canada
• How to Get the US Version of Netflix in Canada

If you found this guide to be educational and helpful please this with all of your friends on Facebook with the button on the left. Thanks!