Buy and Ship to Cuba: How Consolidation Cuts Your Costs

You're scrolling Amazon at 10 p.m., trying to figure out how to get sneakers, shampoo, and vitamins to your mom in Havana. You don't have a US address. You don't want to ship three separate boxes. And you definitely don't want your mom paying anything at the door. This is exactly the problem our Buy and Ship to Cuba service was built to solve.

Below, we'll walk through how it actually works, why consolidating multiple purchases into one shipment saves you real money, and what to keep in mind so nothing gets stuck at Cuban customs.

What "Buy and Ship" Actually Means

Most families in Montreal know the frustration. You find a great deal on Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, Canadian Tire, or Sephora — but the retailer won't ship to Cuba. Some won't even ship to a freight forwarder without a US card.

With Buy and Ship, we do the shopping for you. You tell us what you need. We purchase it from the retailer using our accounts, receive it at our Brossard warehouse, consolidate everything into a single package, handle all the Cuban customs paperwork, and deliver it door-to-door to your family.

You don't need a North American address. You don't need to juggle multiple tracking numbers. You pay one fixed price in CAD, and the recipient in Cuba pays nothing.

Why Consolidation Saves You Money

Here's the part most people miss. Shipping to Cuba is priced by weight, but there's also a starter minimum — around 10 lbs (4.5 kg) is our standard shipment size. If you ship three small orders separately, you're paying the minimum three times over.

Consolidation flips that math on its head. When we combine your Amazon order, your Walmart order, and your Sephora order into one box, you pay for the combined weight — once.

The rule of thumb: if you're planning to send more than one item this month, wait and consolidate. You'll almost always come out ahead.

How the Process Works, Step by Step

We've kept this deliberately simple, because we know most families are doing this at night after work.

1. Message us on WhatsApp at +1 (438) 873-3589 with links or screenshots of what you want to buy.
2. We quote you a total in CAD — product cost plus shipping. That's the final price.
3. You pay online via Stripe or Interac e-Transfer.
4. We purchase and receive everything at our Brossard warehouse.
5. We consolidate, pack, and handle customs, then ship door-to-door to Cuba.
6. You get WhatsApp updates at every milestone, plus a delivery photo when it arrives.

Delivery to Cuba typically takes 7 to 14 days from the moment the shipment leaves Montreal.

What You Should Know About Cuban Customs Limits

This is where a lot of families get tripped up when they try to ship on their own. Cuba treats packages sent by courier as non-commercial only if they stay under $200 USD in declared value and 20 kg in weight. Cross either line and the shipment can be reclassified as commercial — which usually means it gets returned or seized.

When we consolidate for you, we plan the box specifically around those limits. A few useful things to keep in mind:

• Value-by-weight rule: Cuban customs values miscellaneous goods at roughly 1 kg = $10 USD, so a 10 kg box is treated as being worth about $100 USD.
• Food, medicine, and hygiene products fall under a special exempt regime (Res. 139/2025). Up to 20 kg and $200 USD by courier can pass duty-free if properly packed and labeled.
• Electronics have per-item quantity caps. You can send up to 5 smartphones, 3 laptops, and 3 tablets in a personal shipment.
• Some things are simply prohibited — satellite phones, GPS units, and drones without IACC authorization, among others.

You don't need to memorize any of this. When you send us your shopping list, we tell you upfront if anything's a problem.

What Families Actually Buy and Ship

After 500+ completed shipments, we see clear patterns in what Montreal families send. The most common Buy and Ship orders combine:

• Clothing and shoes for kids and grandkids (Walmart, Old Navy, Amazon)
• Personal care items — shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, feminine hygiene (Costco, Amazon)
• Vitamins and over-the-counter supplements (Amazon, Costco)
• Small kitchen gadgets and household tools (Canadian Tire, Amazon)
• Cosmetics and skincare (Sephora, Amazon)

A typical consolidated box weighs 8 to 15 kg and pulls together items from three or four different retailers. That's the sweet spot where consolidation savings really show up.

Why This Beats Doing It Yourself

You could, technically, ship a box directly using DHL, FedEx, or UPS. Most families who've tried it come back to us for two reasons.

First, the big couriers layer on fuel surcharges and often trigger surprise duties on arrival — so the "cheap" quote you saw online isn't what you end up paying. Second, they don't handle the shopping side at all. You still need a North American address, a way to consolidate on your own, and the patience to deal with customs paperwork in Spanish.

With Buy and Ship, everything from the "add to cart" moment to the delivery photo on your mom's phone is one WhatsApp conversation with a real human who speaks Spanish, French, and English.

Ready to Send Your First Consolidated Order?

If you've been holding off because it seemed complicated, it isn't. Send us a WhatsApp message at +1 (438) 873-3589 with what you'd like to buy for your family, and we'll come back with a quote in CAD — usually within 10 minutes. You'll know the exact final price before you commit to anything.

Your package arrives, and so does your peace of mind. Start your Buy and Ship order on WhatsApp or visit easycargoexpress.ca to learn more.