It's in Canada, so let's say the seller is in Canada and the buyer is in the US. The buyer is having what they buy shipped internationally.

Now, I do understand that *Some Company* is a referral service that pairs buyer with seller privately, so that's about as private as it gets, and much better than something like eBay. But what I don't get it is, when Mr. Smith in Canada sells Mr. Jones in the US a three-neck flat bottom 24/40 flask, that info goes through US customs, so doesn't that create a record with the US that Mr. Jones has imported a three-neck flat bottom 24/40 flask? If so, isn't that just as bad as (worse than?) the risk of a site like eBay deciding to narc out customers who buy glass through them?

I apologize Vesp, if mentioning the name was bad.   I'm really not that dense, I swear.  I saw others had mentioned them in other posts, more than once, so I thought they in particular were okay to mention because they are a referrer not a seller (like eBay... yet apparently it's not a faux pas to mention eBay?  ).  I guess I just won't mention any name of any company under any circumstances (except eBay).

Thanks pyramid, but, well, that's the thing... I know (at least everyone says) eBay is a bad bet, and it's good to know this, but how does one know who is okay? Do we assume anyone that isn't on eBay is okay? That seems too broad... maybe someone could please PM me with a recommendation, because they all look the same to me if I don't know who's "cool." Since we can't mention names to let each other know who is safe and who isn't, I guess it has to be done in PMs?

Of course I can search for and find glass companies in the US all day long, but how do I know which ones are the ones who really respect their customers' privacy, and which aren't? That's what it really comes down to, but no lab glass manufacturer website that I've ever seen makes a point to mention customer privacy...

And I'm still very curious about the answer to my original question, even if I don't ever buy anything from Canada.

Thanks PE. I guess I was looking at it all roughly the same way. I just wouldn't want to buy glass from a domestic company and blunder into a situation where I just flat pick the wrong place. I'll keep looking and also try to get a recommendation or two at the same time.

The only things I've ever bought from other countries were both 10 or 11 years ago---one was a used vac pump and the other, a 3kg pail of oil.  So I guess my aggregate picture regarding importation isn't too bad overall.

Anyway, I just remembered my policy of not buying used lab glass. At least not for major pieces like the one I'm dreaming of right now (a 2L FB 3-neck heavy wall flask).

Unless you are in Texas I don't see the problem of ordering glassware as long as it's under 22L.

^^^ I have never understood this mailing to your address no matter how safe it is anyways. I mean for god's sake a mail box rental costs less then $20 a month and you can get just a 3 month rental if you want.

Fractal, putting Texas aside for a moment, I think this comes down largely to individual states and their political climates. I've ordered a lot of little things to my house over a long period (years)---a flask here, a beaker there, a mantle there... never with any problems but I think that may have a lot to do with the reputation this state has for people fighting for civil rights. In other words I think cops are conditioned here to know they need more than a hunch to get a warrant because if they're wrong their department gets sued. My feeling is that if one were instead in, say Arizona or Idaho or a bunch of others I can think of, it would be way more risky. It's bullshit to openly offer something to the general public on e*ay or anywhere else on the net and then when someone buys it, get a warrant and bust them based solely on the fact that they bought it. What's the probable cause for the warrant? "John Doe bought a distillation kit judge, therefore we suspect he is making drugs"? Does that really fly in other states? Man... it doesn't fly here, I believe judges are a little more careful than that, they need to see some more cause for suspicion. Based on this logic, anyone who buys a Bic lighter or gasoline could have a warrant sworn out against them for suspected arson.

What I'm having trouble getting my head around is that there wouldn't be a big risk in using a fake to get a PO box. I haven't checked, but I would bet that in this post-9/11 world that that is a BIG time felony, since it involves federal postal regulations. Sure, most PO box shops will probably just photocopy it as per routine and rent you the box, but what gnaws at me is how do I know for sure that after I leave they don't submit the ID info to Homeland Stupidity or whoever? Maybe there's a requirement that they do that, maybe it started last year and I don't even know about it...? That would be a massive blunder.  That's the part that bugs me. Sure we know the ID itself will pass the visual, but it won't stand up for one second to a database search, obviously. If it gets run, I'm caught red-handed and I won't even know they know until it's too late. Yeah they don't know where to find me, but did I leave a print on the application? Or on the box? Gotta make sure not to. In this sense I feel like the ID thing is much more risk than ordering some glass because in ordering the glass one hasn't actually broken any laws, but if/when they find that the ID is fake, they've got you nailed on that. Am I just way over the top or what? I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but I'm stuck at this part.

And getting a suspicious item mailed is 100x worse if its going to a fake name, this establishes intent... whereas if the cops took note of a chem order going to your house in your real name you could explain it away. 

Your wrong here OU. I know they don't do this from my personal experience and the experience of 150 or so other people who post about doing the same thing. Boxes are good until either a pack goes missing or it runs out. I've had friends tell me they're receiving multiple large packages of contraband in a month doing this even recently and they are fine. If the government knows what's up they sure are being nice about shit to EVERYONE I talk to who does this. You do know that you don't even need a state ID to open a box right? They also take corporate and college IDs as long as they have a pic (USPS, UPS, & every other place I've been to). So your telling me they have a record of every student ID from every CC in the country for immediate reference? The fact that they except corporate IDs makes that concept even funnier. They just keep a photocopy on record. I'm telling you this works and it also would give you a better chance to know for sure that the pack hasn't been compromised. You could watch it get delivered and who delivers it. Leave it sitting there for months at the UPS store. You can also avoid the whole ID charge by having a friend/s set up boxes using fakes. You could just say a girl you recently started fucking asked you to check her box, her name is whatever the ID you got her said it is. Still better than having a L of sass & kilo of sodium cyanoborohydride sent to the pad or your friends pad or a box in your name. Yeah on the glass it's pretty messed up. It has never happened to me so can't really say how they got the warrant. I'd also say they'd need more evidence. Stuff is starting to get pretty messed up now a days though.

There's a bunch of new age thinking along the lines of creating what you think of or give energy to.  I've been giving it some thought and there's a lot of truth to it - the more you try to use subterfuge the more you increase your chances of being caught.  Remember in Eleusis story what got him was the package he didn't try to claim - his knowledge of his guilt got him in trouble.  Cops are looking for something suspicious so don't do anything suspicious.

The hard part is if you are strange to start with they can be suspicious for the wrong reasons.

Salat

"The hard part is if you are strange to start with they can be suspicious for the wrong reasons."

Very true .......................................................................i womder why my ears are itching ?