CANADIANS: Read before you purchase from the USA!!!

[canuckchat]

If you reside in Canada - and purchase an item from the USA - you need to educate yourself as to the fact that you WILL be paying applicable taxes and possibly duties on the item when it crosses the border into Canada.

Yes, if the item is shipped by postal service, your "brokerage handling fee" will be a nominal $5 or $8 - plus the applicable taxes for your province (and possibly duties, but seldom are they charged.)

And yes, MANY times the items shipped by postal service are NOT charged taxes or duties incoming - so sometimes you will escape paying the taxes that are due to the Canadian and provincial governments.

However, you should ALWAYS - and I stress ALWAYS! - calculate the cost of the taxes and possibly duties into the decision to make a purchase internationally.

Additionally, if your item is sent by the USA seller (or other international seller) through a courier service (for example, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, etc.) then your applicable brokerage fee will be upwards of $25, on a sliding scale dependent upon the value of the incoming item.

Yes, these fees (brokerage, tax, duty) are ALL part of the cost of buying an item internationally and having it shipped to you in Canada.

It is NOT up to the seller to pay these for you - YOU are the importer of record - YOU are the one who will be billed for these charges - YOU are the one who will NOT get your parcel until you pay these charges.

So - before hitting the "BID NOW" button, do a bit of calculating and make an informed decision to see if it is really worth getting that imported widget!

Happy Bidding, Folks!
:-D

[comicgeek74]

So true about the broker fees and how the U.S. sellers charge for international shipping as said above in many many posts.

After having had a taste of what the bloody UPS and other couriers did to me with their outragous "broker fees". I decided to take action to resolve this problem.  I have found and created 2 ways to get my widgets.

1) Set up a U.S. shipping address account near the border and have any bulky packages be sent there.  Most U.S. sellers tend to offer free shipping if within the States... thus I took the advange. All I have to do is go there once every 2 weeks or a month to pick up the packages and go back home in Canada. I do pay custom duty fees but now since with the new rules allowing me up to $200 duty free if staying for up to 24 hours.

2) Look for favourite sellers that always offer Postal Service (U.S. postal service) on small light parcels and have them ship to my Canadian address. I make sure I kept my purchases under $20-25 everytime. Ever since I had gotten lots of packages by Canada Post and I haven't been asked to pay broker fees ($5.00 to 8.50). One seller did VERY good with packing - rigid boxes and lots of bubble wrap. He gets my 5-stars feedback.

So these 2 methods above worked very well for me and good riddence to the couriers - they're bloody thevies with their fees!!

[brandeentertainment]

No you don't. Just remember in all your eBay purchases just prior to paying, add a note to seller that:

Safe delivery to USA/Canada requires rigid box or/and enough bubble wrap...WRONG WRONG WRONG

If you want to insure it is packaged that way you ask before you even attempt to buy ..

Many sellers can do amazing prices because they instead of 30cent-$2 for packaging they will ship in mailers that only cost them 3-7 cents like myself ... I have about 1 out of 500 Complain about poly mailers which is not enough for me to ask the other 499 people to pay an extra $1 or $2

If your picky with packaging and you have the right to be you should alway ask before you click that buyt now button..

[2011limey1]

I would never buy anything that is shipped UPS period.  But am I just lucky or what (I always say the guys/girls at Customs are sleeping when it comes to me). I used to work for government many yrs. ago in T.O.when I was a kid and should not have gotten so fed up and left so I could've had large pension!! for great $ for doing nothing - really!  I've never been charged duty even on items $200.00 or more.  Maybe I shouldn't have posted this.....there's always a first time.  Don't report me - Pleeeeze!!!;-)

[red_rose12]

Thanks for this post and all replies.

Yes, I got duped. ( First purchase!!) Purchased an item for 165 CAD, paid  60 CAD shipping through UPS on paypal, then got the surprise at the door of another 60 odd CAD. I've been since researching these amounts....now I understand.

It's a shame that there wasn't even an asterisk with a hint of these costs while I was completing my purchase. I would have scrolled down to see what the reference was made to. The cost of conversion was included as well as the shipping to Canada clearly selected.

Shame on me, buyer beware. I won't be purchasing from abroad again.

[anguscoinshop]

If you are a registered business and purchase what you are selling, the border agency will let it through tax and duty free. You just have to make sure the seller enters the right code.

There's no recourse as a consumer.

[quix-a-mart]

I HATE UPS!!!! I have made many purchases from Ebay over the last several years and pretty much all of them have been from the US.  I was once charged the insane brokerage fee and then they stopped- some sellers had it posted that there weren't any hidden brokerage fees- they had changed how they did business with UPS- that seems to have gone out the window as I paid $125 for shipping and today when my package arrived they nailed me $51 at my door- I am freaking out because I have two more packages arriving this week and I am BROKE!  lol but serioulsy it's nothing more than EXTORTION.  They stand at your door and demand money or they will hold your package hostage until you pay it.  The driver today was so rude and nasty that I threatened to call the police on him!  Bet I get the same damn guy tomorrow or the next day too!  I need a huge guy to come answer my door tomorrow.  I want to know how this is even legal?  UPS is paid by the seller who ships the item and then they can turn around and charge the buyer at their door?  It's double charging and it's a rip off.

[cpsl707]

Im I right to think this only applies to new items?????

Or if I buy item from a merchant with a registered company name???

This does not seem to apply if the item is new ex: beads from china...with free shipping...or those items sent by regular post..

that were bought in auctions...new or second hand????

Please correct me...or confirm me

Thanks

Claudette...

[useful_info]

My friend in Burnaby BC swears by USPS , Canada Post deliveries despite the strike last year. No UPS or Fedex for him.

[Anonymous]

Oh please, we need to retire this topic as it is been told over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

[claudeagarneau]

Yessirree. I've had items from UPS and FEDEX come in with higher brokerage fees than the cost of the order. I now refuse to buy from dealers out of Canada who don't ship Post Office.

As an FYI (don't know if this has been posted yet), there are class-cation lawsuits against both Fedex and UPS because of brokerage fees.

The link to the UPS lawsuit; http://www.classaction.ca/actions/Consumer-Protection/Current-Actions/United-Parcel-Service-Canada-L...

This one refers to both the UPS and FEDEX cases:

https://www.merchantlaw.com/classactions/courier.php

[mesbah.javid]

UPS punishment after overcharging customers in the capacity of north of 40 highway robbers, is that now UPS has to deliver for free shipments from Amazon.ca & Amazon.com! 😮 Don't be crooked UPS or that is your end!

[grammatonkyu]

This guy went through it all and took the time time to educate us all:

http://trueler.com/2010/11/24/self-clear-shipment-cbsa-avoid-ups-brokerage-fee/

[tictoctac66]

Well,,, heres a question..  now with a new program with piteny and Bowes..  whos paying the customs bill? what is the import fee?

[evannxie]

It is absolutely true. I just had such bad experience. I want to return my item to the seller for some reason. I have to pay two-way shipping fees $50 + duty tax $30 = $80 extra cost even though I get a full refund for $85. So, be careful before you decide to go that way.

[randygr90]

I didn't read all of this Topic but here is what I was wondering. I'm Canadian and this year I have purchased 90+ items from USA. I have been charged only once on a UPS item which was 25 dollars to pick my item up. I didn't think there was a difference between UPS and USPS at that time. Every time under USPS I didn't get charged anything extra. Was I just getting lucky or USPS is the way to for buying?

[mesbah.javid]

USPS passes items to Canada Post and Can Post passes through Canada Customs and usually for small or less costly items the Customs does not waste time charging...they have to pay more salaries than they recover from small items.

However, the stupid UPS just asks for a ransom in order to hand over your item. Never buy items sent by UPS coming to Canada...big belly dumb USP guy gives you grief!

[mesbah.javid]

UPS Christmas activities:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6aIPIsUE5I

[closeupfanatic]

Items shipped via USPS from USA to Canada are in my experience never charged import if under $50, and almost never if under $100. What bugs me are the sellers who state "customs services provided", which means that they collect Canadian HST even when Canada doesn't.

If you guys&gals want to sell to Canadians who have bought more than 1 or 2 things, quit gouging us for tax our government doesn't collect.

[closeupfanatic]

USPS is THE way to buy for Canadians. I refuse anything else now. Couriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.) are a ripoff crossing the Canadian border.

[comicgeek74]

@ collectors52:  I do agree with your post:

"Oh please, we need to retire this topic as it is been told over and over and over and over and over and over and over again."

Second in voting that the topic need be retired! This subject had been beated, whacked, flipped and shifted like deck of cards so many times. I've had said my piece on that subject, so no need to repost by explaining how to avoid high custom fees.

Mods need to retire this thread soon... 😛