I considered BlueDo, but the fact they use UPS scared me off. I've had nothing but troubles with UPS.

I've ordered dozens of items from the US over the past few years, and I've found that marking "gift" is usually more trouble than not.

Canada Customs doesn't just look at the sticker and go "it's a gift, pass it on through". They carefully open them, and examine them even more closely, since they know so many folks try and avoid paying taxes this way.

When they see it's a packaged item and obviously not a gift, they then charge taxes based on what they think the value of the item is. This can be huge, compared to your actual purchase price. I've bought second hand software for $2.50 that has been assessed at a new price of $100.

You then have to enter into this complicated rigamarole of applying for a tax refund, by sending receipts etc, and often waiting for 3 months or so before you get your money back.

- Steve