It may not have been under your control, but I have heard more than a few stories about problems when the items are declared as 'samples'. There are specific definitions on both sides of the border & if it 's interpreted to not meet ALL of the criteria so a monkey could make that determination, into Limbo she goes. This used to a common mode for people to ship things to fly under the radar, now it almost begging for a 'look at me'. My friend went through this with legitimate electronic sample parts. As soon as he got them to put an invoice for $5 the same items flowed nicely, but not all vendors are amenable because now they have to show $5 of revenue somewhere & GST# and yada-yada. And to add insult, I had a friend who lived in Regina & would get things from USA no problem yet the EXACT thing would get hung up coming to Calgary. One would think the same customs rules but apparently not.
To export samples without customs delays, penalties or service issues, you need to understand the three Ds: Documentation, Description and Dollars.
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Same goes for 'gift'. Avoid that classification unless you are thoroughly familiar with definitions.
