@aramatic wrote:
Thanks for the breakdown of charges. You're right, of course, about the $124.99, which is US dollars and therefore over the CAN$140 limit. Only two things more. First, I resent anything going to Pitney-Bowes... $4 here, $5 there, for doing nothing but delaying the delivery of an item. Secondly, and the bottom line, the Godawful Shipping Program is obnoxiously inflationary in every sense. It's just as easy, it's cheaper, and it's quicker to send directly by USPS. I've had lots of things valued $10-$400 sent directly without paying a penny in import charges. I know some people say that's wrong and I'm just lucky. Well, I've been lucky for 17 years, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. If GSP ever comes to Canada I'll never use it. I know how many US purchases I haven't made because of it.
Unquestionably the GSP isn't a good fit for a lot of sales to Canada. Our geographical proximity to the US, our longstanding trade relationship with the US, and our countries' reasonably good mail systems and customs bureaux mean that direct shipping from the US to Canada doesn't have the same sort of potential problems associated with it as shipping to many of the other 100 or so countries served by the GSP.
Having said that, direct shipping from the US by mail is becoming less commonplace as the costs associated with it go up and the service is undermined. If you've purchased from e-commerce sites other than eBay, there's a good chance that your item has been handled and forwarded in a manner very similar to that of the GSP.
If your direct-mailed shipments from the US were stopped, assessed and charged taxes (and duty, if applicable) owing, I'm thinking you might regard the GSP with a bit more tolerance and figure out how to use it to your best advantage. Some considerations:
- the GSP's charges of typically US$4-6 dollars for processing items through customs is a better deal than Canada Post's charge of C$9.95 for collecting and remitting taxes and duty owed to CBSA. It's also a heck of a lot better than any courier out there
- the GSP's import charges include calculations for GST and HST, but not PST. Items sent by any other carrier will be assessed and charged (or advanced) PST for British Columbia-bound shipments
- items forwarded through the GSP don't go through backlogged International Mail Sorting centers
No question the program has a lot of quirks and issues, but if you find sellers who know what they're doing, it usually works out quite well. I've had no issues with the four purchases I've made that were forwarded through the GSP. I haven't made more than that because for the types of items I purchase, the GSP doesn't make a lot of sense. But I don't get bent out of shape about it.
Finally, the GSP has (obviously) not replaced direct mail or courier shipments from the United States, but I strongly suspect that if the program were to suddenly shut down, the majority of the sellers using the program would simply not offer international shipping. We'd be back to the days where we had to have our purchases sent to an address in the US to be picked up at some point or forwarded to our address, which is pretty much what the GSP is doing, except with the GSP we have more in the way of buyer protections at our disposal.
Actually, forwarding items under your own steam is still an option, too. The GSP hasn't taken that away.
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