Thank you for bringing this right to the front page.

Here is some of what Amazon itself has on the shipping page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/shipping.html/ref=ms_mhelp_ship?ie=UTF8&seller=A34NLXJLC88VVS#policies

"Shipping Restrictions for This Item
The seller will not ship to certain areas using certain service levels. These restrictions apply only to this item.

Listed below are shipping details for One Laptop per Child Foundation, including the geographies shipped to, the service level offered, and the prices charged

Standard
Continental US Street ETA 3 - 5 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
Continental US PO Box ETA 3 - 7 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
Alaska and Hawaii Street ETA 3 - 7 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
Alaska and Hawaii PO Box ETA 3 - 7 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
US Protectorates Street ETA 4 - 8 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
US Protectorates PO Box ETA 4 - 8 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49
APO/FPO Street ETA 20 - 40 business days
per Item $0.00
per Weight (lbs) $0.50
per Shipment $4.49"

Argh... I'm sorry to hear Amazon won't ship to Canada.

If it's any help, I will forward XO's to Canadian addresses at no charge. I'm not sure how to prove you can trust me, or how to get paid back for the shipping to Canada, but I suppose a good starting point would be to email (kris at OnEnsemble dot org) or call me at 310-350-8825.

Happy to help if more people can enjoy the XO!

Kris Bergstrom
OnEnsemble.org

Thanks for the offer Kris. I hope you aren't swamped :-)

Last year I imported 2 through the mailing address I have access to in Montana. The boxes are so small, it would be a small feat to ship them via Canada Post, so it's a darn shame that OLPC is leaving Canadians out this time. Not that their service to us last year was much better...

They are being total poop heads. Now everyone I've shown the XO to, will not be able to buy one and contribute to the project. Poop heads...

I know that the real problem is OLPC leaving out Canada (which is Dumb). That is what needs to be fixed. But what about Canadian groups getting together and renting an address from a mail forwarding company in the States? I say group because the base rental rate along with forwarding fees can be pretty expensive: like $200 USD for 6 months and then $8 a shipment. I figure 6 months rental because of how long it took OLPC to get the XOs to the donors last year. I am hoping Amazon can do better as long as the supply is there. Or what if some of us in the forums and clubs matched up with a Canadian donor and offered to receive and forward the XO? It's less than $25 to send it Priority Mail (USPS). There is already the nice Kris here in the comments offering to help. I know, liability issues, who can we trust and all that. Just thinking...

Or what if we all contact OLPC and swamp them with requests to sell to Canada? I'll start now.

I bought a PC from a Canadian address and it vanished into thin air while in custody of the Canadian Post Office. Their tracking number said it was in shipment for 6 weeks! The vendor refunded my money at his own expense. The Canadian P.O. wouldn't talk to me, and they told the vendor that the only employee who knew anything was on vacation for the next two weeks. Reminds me of GIGO...

While I'm sure it's disappointing to Canadians that want to participate, I really dislike the suggestion that it's "arrogance" on OLPC's part to not ship to Canada. Shipping to ANY foreign country is a massive headache with exponentially more work and possible problems. Canada isn't an exception just because it's physically closer than, say, Japan or the UK.

From the link provided in the article, it seems to suggest that Amazon isn't handling the shipping and handling for the program. Rather, the program is part of Amazon's Marketplace, meaning Amazon handles the money, while OLPC, or whomever OLPC contracts to operate as the "seller", will have to receive and ship the orders themselves.

Remember that G1G1 is a little something extra that OLPC does, basically as a form of promotion for the project. Calling OLPC "arrogant" because they don't have the resources to please everyone everywhere with this sideline promotion is just shameful.

I can see Jay's point (I was able to get one last year via a Canadian friend, who brought it to the UK for me). I guess what one really out to say is "it's a shame that the re-seller wasn't one that operates via Amazon.com, but ships to the rest of the world".

I know that some re-sellers do & some don't. ON the other hand, it does reduce the number that can be ordered. Perhaps they were worried about too many getting ordered.

Amazon is handling the shipping as well as the selling for the USA, so I've been told. OLPC just didn't want to bother with sending ~4,000 XO laptops to Amazon.ca, considering the market to small to deal with.

And that's the arrogance I refer to, since from what I can tell, the OLPC Canada parents and hackers are a vibrant community that contributes more than its fare share to the OLPC ideals.

I wish I could say that I were surprised, but given how borked their service to Canada was last year this is not surprising in the least.

Last year a number of Canadians managed to get their XOs by shipping to people they knew living in the US and then having that person send it up to Canada. Obviously the same route could be used again, since apparently it is now the only route. Admittedly, this is also how the Europeans got/get them.

Completely ridiculous, too, since Canadians and Canadian companies were involved in the original design of the XO.

Just another example of XO Foundation's short-sightedness. This is no way to improve their fundraising base!

CG.

@Wayan:

Maybe part of the reason for not sending any XOs to Amazon.ca is because Amazon.ca doesn't sell ANY computers, laptops, or nettops.

Also, researching other laptops like the EEE PC and Aspire One on Amazon.com, their shipping is limited to the US as well. So perhaps it's an Amazon.com limitation, or some larger export/import rules.

I think the "arrogance" tag would only apply if expanding this offer to Canada was something that could've been easily accomplished but wasn't. However, all the evidence indicates that including Canada is prohibitively labor/time intensive and expensive. So it's not arrogance, but rather pragmatism that won out.

According to the OLPC wiki there are plans to expand the 2008 G1G1 to include Canada and other countries.

"Can donors receive XOs in Canada? In Europe?
Not yet. During the rollout of the campaign in 2008, donors must provide a shipping address within the United States to receive an XO. We plan to expand the shipping options to include other countries in the near future. Specific countries being considered include Canada, the UK, Germany and Japan.
Bottlenecks include complying with recycling/takeback laws and finalizing national wireless certifications. "

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Giving/International

Is this correct? I ordered an XO to a house in Edmonton, Aberta Canada last year and it arrived, a little late but nonetheless.

I remember because I spent a while installing Xfce and openoffice, before my sister started using it to replace her HP tablet. In fact we still have it, in Canada, and it still gets used.

I received one in Edmonton as well with the 2007 program, and I've been telling people about how they'll be able to get on in 2008... I guess they'll just have to be content with the "Give One, Go buy an EeePC" program for now.

Canadians who don't want to pay the OLPC £50 Amazon tax, should contact me.
http://www.abandonedstuff.com/2008/11/27/looking-to-get-an-xo-olpc-laptop-in-canada-for-2008/

I have a solution for up to a few dozen people.