UPS charges me $41.50 C$ BROKERAGE FEE for a $100 us$ shipment

[marcopoloca]

The item was not even taxable so they didn't have to do anything!
i'd have it ship via some other mean but ups seem to corner the market in US for ground delivery.
outrageous fee not unlike mobster!

[whoscloset]

I won't buy an item out of the U.S. unless the seller indicates they will ship via USPS.

[ab-sol-canada]

I, have this experience couple of time where UPS or FED-EX call me ahead of time and acknowledge shipment and confirm brokerage and other expenses but in my case seller was co-operative and he send another invoice stating value=20CAN....mean no brokerage

[funkywatch_com]

In the same vein, when you have buyers that return merchandise to you from the US, be sure to instruct them they have to indicate it's a 'RETURN' on the Customs form, particularly when they ship back via courrier.

I am currently battling with DHL. They just sent me a Brokerage and tax bill for an item they delivered in September... The buyer had not filled the form properly

[javax.swing]

Open an account with them. 30 packages a year is all it takes to get highly discounted rates.

Even if it wasn't taxable, a Customs enry still has to be made.

[marcopoloca]

"Even if it wasn't taxable, a Customs enry still has to be made"
i guess people have different perspective and some do think that 36% of extra fee is resonable 😞

[profsportsfishing]

that doesnt suprize me at all. I bought a weed whacker for dad for christmas it was an expensive so it was used. They turn around and charge me for musical instrument on the invoice. I prefer fedex no problems yet in any charges

[javax.swing]

I'm not saying whether or not it's reasonable. I'm saying that a Customs entry must be made regardless of whether it is or isn't taxable.

UPS charges are clearly posted on their website. There's nothing "mobster" about them.

[marcopoloca]

Just because they are posted doesn't make it "right"; good luck trying to locate "brokerage charge" on their website.

[javax.swing]

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

Look on the left hand side where it is. It only takes a few mouse clicks to get to it.

And I'm sorry, but it is absolutely "right". You used their service and so rightfully they're going to bill you for it. Had you wanted to use your own broker you should have set that up beforehand. There are many across all the Canadian forums who will join your protest that UPS are theives, highway-robbers, mobsters, whatever...I however have no pity as all this talk about them has pretty much everyone knowing about their fees. It's no secret, and it's basic Customs knowledge that anything requires Customs paperwork.

[marcopoloca]

It's pretty disgusting for someone to add insult to an injury :(, i guess it's ok since it wasn't your money or package that was being taking hostage.

"There are many across all the Canadian forums who will join your protest that UPS are theives, highway-robbers, mobsters" Can they be all wrong?

The phone call i recieved from ups wasn't very pleasant either, their attitude was that either you pay up or they'd simply sent the package back, "i don't care attitude".

thank you for taking the time to find it though, the ups rep. on the phone couldn't locate it.

[javax.swing]

Can they all be wrong? I'll say yes. An attitude of ignorance shouldn't be rewarded. More often than not those that complain "oh I didn't know about the taxes, I thought free trade took care of that so UPS stole my money" blah blah blah.

I have a commercial brokerage account with UPS with highly discounted rates. Their service is second to none - extremely efficient, almost no mistakes (unlike FedEx that screwed up every package I sent and sent 20 of them to a brokerage house I'd never heard of for clearance), and UPS is the only standard ground service that guarantees delivery times from US to Canada, and they're also the fastest. I still pay for brokerage, but the cost is offest by how they've streamlined my importing process so much versus what it was before.

In your case, you live you learn you move on. There's no reason for namecalling as UPS did absolutely nothing wrong. You still have the option of declining their service and having the package sent back and reshipped USPS. If you feel so strongly towards UPS, maybe this is the option to pursue.

[alero0]

Not only do you have the option to have the package sent back, but as far as I understand you can arrange for your own broker to clear the package.

[marcopoloca]

Such Arrogance!
Just because someone have good service from UPS doesn't mean all other people who is not happy with UPS charges should simply shut up. UPS and Fedex are all reputable companies but may it's time to update some of their policy in dealing with smaller sellers; any feedback is valuable feedback for big or small companies.
May be your own "screw up" with Fedex is you own ignorance to Fedex policy?
I don't think returning the item to the seller for high brokerage fee is a viable option, if you are the seller would you be happy? The option of asking the seller to cooperate by faxing in as suggested earlier is a much better option and has been done before, unfortunately this is not every seller's cup of tea.
Arranging your broker is of course another option contemplated, but was not viable in this case.

[javax.swing]

Having the seller fax in fraudulent documents that place the value of the package under the taxable limit is exactly that - FRAUD.

It's not a ton of money...all this over what, $50? Cost of doing business. Had it been sent USPS, it would still be sitting in Customs for another 2 weeks.

This isn't arrogance - it's annoyance with the constant whining about UPS policies when they're clearly posted on their website complete with fee structure. You always have the option of using your own broker, but you have to let them know BEFORE it reaches the border. For occasional shipments, there's no cost savings: it's going to cost you more to do so, so better off to use UPS.

And it's nice of you to try to blame FedEx's big whoopsies on me, but that was completely their mistake in a very big way. I'm still dealing with the fallout from that.

UPS is NOT A CHARITY. They run a business, you run a business. It's as simple as that.

[recped]

Hey Javax, you know very well...


An eBay seller who turns a $1 garage sale widget into a $100 'collectible' has done a great thing.

A company that charges $40 to fill out some government forms is a lowlife of the worst kind.

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[zarzuella]

:^O

[whoscloset]

What Ben said!