A few people have asked me about NAVL and how I use them for shipping, so I thought I'd post the details. With the dollar where its at, there are great deals to be had down there right now.

  I use them to ship pretty much everything I buy from the States. They are a little expensive up front, but if you can get 2 machines from the same seller or even the same state( extra $50 pick-up charge) you get 2 shipped for the price of 1. That helps SIGNIFICANTLY in making shipping costs easier to swallow. Its also the easiest company for a seller to deal with...they don't have to prepare the machine at all...NAVL picks it up in one piece with the legs on, wraps it, and then straps it to the inside of their trucks. Being a moving company, they do take care in their shipping. I've only had 2 issues in all the machines I've had shipped with them, and I had a suspicion that the condition of the machines themselves likely contributed to the trouble. In both cases they refunded me my purchase price and the shipping costs anyway.
  One issue is that you will have to have a broker before they will ship from the States to you....they don't do customs clearing. Thats not hard to get...I know A and A customs brokers deals with individuals as do many others. You'll pay the clearing costs ( about $50 average) and the taxes to the broker...NAVL will bill you for shipping only, and they do take credit cards!! Almost everybody I'm sure has seen the name Michelle Bianchi from NAVL on lots of EBAY listings..she is great and has been awesome to deal with.

   I use a local NAVL agent, Devines Transfer, when I use NAVL for outbound shipping, including within Canada. The 2 for 1 doesn't always apply within Canada, so check first before you assume you'll get it when buying or selling.

   If you are going to buy from the States, DEFINITELY avoid the seller FUN on EBAY...his machines are garbage...KAweaver is hit and miss...the machines are 100% reimports that are nicely cleaned up, but they usually have a few kinks to iron out. DEFINITELY POSITIVELY avoid allaspects amusements. They're the ones I bought the LOTR from in March...still no machine and now I have the police involved as well as the local govt..other than these 3 guys I've had pretty good luck.

   Hope this helps out anyone thinking about buying from the U.S.....

If I order a standard sized pinball machine from the 48 states, in the end, how much can I expect to pay for shipping (including brokerage fees, etc)?

  It really varies from state to state..expect around $300-$350 from NY/NJ/PA for example, and up to $750 from California. Keep in mind though that you could get 2 shipped for the same price to make it easier to swallow. Theses prices are to Ottawa . Brokerage and taxes would be additional.

I thought I'd add a note also. I had two machines shipped from Texas to NY (a friends) thru NAVL and it cost $460 US. I chose to go to NY as I could then drive them across myself and clear them thru customs at my declared value .

A different game with a great seller I had shipped thru Forwardair from Atlanta to Ottawa and it was $200 total. The seller has to be willing to wrap +/- crate and strap to a pallet and take to the depot which is usually their airport. I picked it up at Ottawa at the Forwardair depot, walked 50 ft to the customs office to pay taxes and was out the door total in 15 minutes.

If I ever do a US game again shipped to me I'd go for Forwardair direct to Ottawa as long as the seller is willing to do legwork on their end, For me for an occasional machine the whole brokerage/broker thing was too much hassle.

My 0.02 opinion and experiences
ME

I recently shipped up two games for 160 cdn each. I used forward air for one and eagle logistics for the other. No problems with either companies.

Quoted from mark

I recently shipped up two games for 160 cdn each. I used forward air for one and eagle logistics for the other. No problems with either companies.

Did you ship within Canada or to the US?

I've used the air too and its definitely cheaper. Some of the bigger sellers will do the legwork and palleting for you, but I find most of the guys I've dealt with want nothing to do with it. Thats I guess the security of working with NAVL...you can bid on anything and know that shipping won't be an issue. Plus they deliver right to your door!!   Man they should be paying me for this!! No doubt the best way ( and the most fun!!) is to drive and get them. The Maine trip I did for the JP,IJ, and all the vids and jukes was a blast!  Works out WAY cheaper even when you add in a nights hotel!!