Do you know what you are talking about!
I buy and sell to and from the US every day; the custom fee can be
exorbitant. (Free trade my ass) and can be les than $5 some days.

The way it works, legally!!! (Both way!!! Mr. Terry):

Under $200 CAD, custom fee of $8 USD + applicable state taxes (if so, most
of the time = none)

Over $200 CAD, Custom fee of about (depend on gas fee) $20 USD + applicable
state taxes (if so, most of the time = yes)

The way to go is small package under $50, they don't bother.

The best way to go is by normal post, they don't check as much as UPS or
Fedex.

Ben
My company: http://www.eurokitplane.com/ (server is slow the past few days,
I will kick their ass)

Your $40 sound to me like a $24 CAD = $40 USD
Don't make me laugh, we buy a lot more in the USA than you guys do, and we
don't argue at all, we live with that... do the same. This is not a horror
story.