Over the last decade or so I have purchased many items including
piano rolls from the USA for shipment to Canada.  The reluctance to
ship outside the USA is often simply the perceived extra work involved
in filling out the customs declaration form, often complicated by the
purchaser requesting the seller to undervalue or show the item as
a "gift" to save customs fees and taxes -- clearly illegal and fraud.

I am told that United Parcel Service (UPS) will pick up at the
vendor's home or place of business, as opposed to United States
Postal Service (USPS) where the vendor has to take the parcel to
a post office or postal outlet, adding to the "work" on the vendors
part.  Although convenient for the seller, UPS can be prohibitive
cost-wise for the purchaser [because] here in Canada UPS charges
an up-front brokerage fee.  (The only time I got caught on that was
many years ago on a box of 50 rolls I purchased on eBay for $28; the
shipping was about $25 plus a brokerage fee of $75 plus taxes at this
end that the shipper had no knowledge of, and then finally the local
sales taxes on top of that.)

The bottom line, unfortunately, when dealing with those vendors who
choose not to ship outside the USA as foreign purchasers, is simply
to say "Oh well" and move on to other vendors who are will to go that
extra step and fill out the customs declarations.  Also, for goodness
sake, _don't_ ask the vendor to lie and expose themselves to fraud.

Another option, for Canadian purchasers living near the US border,
is a parcel handling service near the Canadian border (but in the
States).  There are many such services coast to coast which offer
a good and inexpensive service.

Alan Turner