Duty-free gift for a student in Montreal?

My niece, whose birthday is January 21, is a grad student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. After Christmas I sent her packing back to school with several pounds of Millstone coffee which she prefers because she’s a vegan and it’s animal-friendly, or something like that. Whatever. Anyway, I wanted to send her more for her birthday but my sister told me to be careful because anything sent to her from us here in the States means that she’ll get hit with paying duty.

Millstone will ship coffee in a little gift package but I don’t know if they’ll do it from within Canada to avoid paying duty, although I remember my niece said Millstone was available in Quebec so maybe I should email them and ask.

Nevertheless, that was just one idea. What else could I sent to a 23 year old grad student who is a vegan that she might appreciate – that she won’t have to pay a duty tax upon delivery? I’m open to all kinds of suggestions. Uh…suggestions of thirty bucks or less, I should add.

Can you order something from a Canadian company online and have them ship it to her?

Or why don’t you get in touch with Le Frigo Vert and find out if you can buy a gift membership/gift certificates over the phone. Or likewise for Rachelle-Bery.

Hey! Those look like great places to start, thank you!

If you physically buy the item and ship it yourself via USPS, nobody will have to pay duty as long as you clearly identify it as a gift.

All bets are off when it comes to buying and shipping online.