i still got super lucky,

took the back to the future pin across the border @ sarnia, all i had was a note from the seller with the name address and phone number,
when i asked him why he didn't put down a price he said "none of their damn business"

when i got to the border, i said hey i paid $1000 for this, (which is what i paid) explained how i have always wanted it blah blah, and ebem though there
was no monatary value on the receipt he said "alright, have a nice day sir"

So i got lucky and didn't even have to pay any duty.

to be honest, it seems like it's the same mess with canada post, somedays you get SLAMMED for something crappy coming from the USA, but other days you can have something worth alot
come over you were expecting to pay alot of duty on and it comes in free (my huge order from pinballlife.com came in with no charges) terry at pinball life said i am the only canadian so far
that he knows of that hasn't gotten charged.

so i think they just pull it out of a hat, or it's totally random.

Eric

Where in Michigan were you at?  What city?

Although I believe the average joe is honest, many do try to sneak by without declaring anything or everything and appearance means nothing.  So sometimes the custom officer needs to test for reaction.  Don't take it personal, it's a tough job and if you think about it, you came out pretty quickly, and without a need to see a proctologist!

My bet is you have a note on your record from your previous incident at the border hense the 3rd degree.