Where is automaton based?
CMDStore out of Montreal has always been good in my experience...as well as A3U, The Toy Trove out of St Catherines Ontario. Please contact many Cybertron.ca sponsors as most of them are great!
Customs is indeed random. Stay away from purchases from US sellers that use UPS and FedEx to ship to Canada..some of those services end up charging you Brokerage fees...beware of couriers for items coming from the US. USPS is quite good, I find we get dinged more if its a well known store. Example, BBTS will often mark your items as a gift but since they are a well known retailer items get dinged more often. I also find you get dinged with customs more often around Xmas time. I find things I've got from Japan usually do not have customs charged. It is true, depends alot on the customs agent that happens to get your package, and this experience is based on receiving items as far afield as Tasmania and Siberia.