Electronic devices and borders - Re: Possible road trip....Illnois, Canada, Maine and back

[Todd Goodman]

* Steven Hirsch <snhirsch at gmail.com> [150905 09:59]:
> On Fri, 4 Sep 2015, william degnan wrote:
> 
> > I had fun taking 20 IBM pc's from Montreal to the usa.  I ended up 
> > setting up a broker account to ship items in a rented van.  It was do 
> > this or the items would be impounded.  I had to be escorted by flashing 
> > lights custims police bacj into canada.  You can't simply drive through 
> > customs without correct paperwork.  Stuck at border and customs for 6 
> > hours.
> 
> When did this become so difficult?  Joe Thiemann gave me a literal car 
> load of classic gear before he moved to Germany.  My wife and I made a day 
> trip to Montreal and had absolutely no problems at the border coming back 
> in.  I think the ICE agent found it amusing.  They took a brief look at 
> the back seat, then asked what was in the trunk.  I said "..more of the 
> same".  After a brief grimace, he waved me through.

I think there's a difference between one or two (or more) items in the
back seat and a u-haul full of stuff too.

Though I've been hassled coming back into the US (never going into
Canada about computer stuff, they hassle me more about other things)
with just my personal computers I took on vacation...

Todd