Tariffs duties calculation diference btw Zonos and Stallion Express (after Feb 20, 2026)
Summary: A conversation took place regarding differences in tariff and duty calculations between two services, Zonos and another shipping company, after February 20, 2026. Multiple participants engaged in the discussion, but the content of their interactions isn't disclosed. The conversation likely involved assessing which service provides more accurate or beneficial calculations, though specific details were not made available.
Shipping from Canada to US.
After the US Supreme court decission, the rates calculated in Zonos and Stallion Express almost never match for me for the same HS Code. I have been playing chat and email tag with both but to no end, they don't explain why the difference, just argue the other calculation is wrong.
So I can't be wrong. Either I am underpaying at Zonos or overpaying at Stallion Express.
I don't track what tariff is for what, it gives me headaches.
See examples. Every shipment like this. I go to checkout and that's what I pay when going to checkout.
jtg204
·6 months agoMy options are simpler, because I don't have Stallion/ChitChats to consider. So I'm only comparing where to get Canada Post (Tracked Packet USA) labels from.
I haven't found an answer I trust as to what happens if duties Zonos collects for Canada Post to pay don't cover the amount if it was inspected and reclassified and not enough was collected. When I can get Zonos to have sports equipment show a 232 (ie: 'sports equipment with aluminum and steel parts', it only applies 232 to commercial shipments and not postal shipments.
troys_toys1
·6 months agoHow do you charge your buyers for the duties/tariffs? Can I ask why you haven't been using eIS? (besides the recent glitch that is causing it to not work currently, I mean when it was working properly).
itolduandso
OP5 months agoI haven't been invited to eIS yet. It's only available to some sellers in Canada.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoUPDATE:
One more observation... for shorter distances e.g. 500 miles, all rates remain almost unchanged except for Stallion Express rates for packages over 2 kg where the rates gradually lower than Canada Post NetParcel rates, for heavy packages over 5 kg the saves are significant.
Put again the data into GPT:
The Short-Distance Recommendation (400–500 Miles)
The "Short Distance" Pattern Observations
1. The "Weight War" is Over at 1.9kg For long distances, Canada Post was competitive up to 2.5kg. For short distances, that "competitive edge" for Canada Post vanishes much sooner. Once you hit 1.9kg, Stallion Express becomes the default choice for almost any item under $150.
2. Stallion's "Heavy Lifting" Advantage For a 5kg package at a short distance, Stallion Express is $16 cheaper than Canada Post (at an $80 value).
Even if you double the value to $160, Stallion is still $9 cheaper.
You have to go all the way up to a $250 value before Canada Post even starts to look cheaper for a 5kg box.
3. The "Lightweight" Exception Even at short distances, if the package is very light (0.2kg - 0.5kg), Canada Post's base rate is still very low. If you're shipping a featherweight item, it's worth a 10-second check on NetParcel.
Your New "Short Distance" Decision Tree:
Is it over 2kg? Just use Stallion Express. You’d need an extremely high-value item (like a $300 watch in a 5kg box) for Canada Post to be cheaper.
Is it under 2kg? * Value < $100: Use Stallion Express (Convenience + lower cost).
Value > $100: Check Canada Post NetParcel. The tariff savings ($12 per $100) will likely outweigh Stallion’s shipping lead.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoI just looked up different scenarios for Stallion Express and Canada Post (NetParcel) to determine if I should buying label from Stallion or NetParcel (Canada Post).
Assuptions:
I assumed for this test, the item value is 80 dollars or 160 dollars. I would not ship UPS or Assendia with NetParcel (higher fees, higher duties). I buy for insurance. The package size is small up to 25 inches combined or larger 39 inches combined and the weight ranges from a few 100's gram to 8 kg. The item was leather shoes, so tariff would be 10% (Canada post) or 19% (Stallion Express). Different items would have different tariff difference, so that could have an impact on which shipping option is better, but it should give an idea. For shipping destination I picked cross US, so it's about 2000 miles (If you are further north in Canada, that may be again slightly different numbers).
Anyways, I threw results into GPT to see what it thinks... Here is response, I think it's kind of good to look at it when shipping so I don't need to run the math every time.
Now I know this could be wrong to assume it works out like this always, if the distance is short, maybe the difference between the shipping rates is less.
Still I I find it useful so I wanted to share.
1. The Value Threshold (The "Value Limit")
Value < $70: Stick with Stallion Express for everything except the very lightest packages (under 0.5kg). The convenience is worth it here.
Value $70 – $150: This is the "Switching Zone." Check Canada Post for anything under 2.5kg.
Value > $150: Canada Post will almost always save you $10+. The only exception is very heavy items (over 5kg) where SE's flat shipping rate fights back against the high tariffs.
2. The Weight & Size Rule
Under 0.5kg: Always check Canada Post. It is almost always $5-$8 cheaper because SE's base "entry price" is higher.
The 5kg Sweet Spot: Stallion Express has an incredible rate for 5kg packages. Even if the item is worth $160, SE is still about $2 cheaper than Canada Post. Use Stallion Express for heavy/dense items regardless of value.
The "Large" (39") Rule: Canada Post hates large packages. Even at high values ($160+), Stallion Express usually stays cheaper for the 39" size because CP's base shipping jumps by $30+.
Last note : In almost every weight category, Shipping with Canada Post Snap Ship is $5-$7 more expensive than NetParcel (except for very light packages under 400 grams)
I asked for a cheat sheet:
The "Big Box" Rule: If the package dimensions total 39 inches or more, always use Stallion Express. Canada Post’s surcharges for size are much higher than Stallion’s value-based fees.
The "Heavy & Small" Rule: If the item is heavy (e.g., a 5kg-8kg kettlebell) but the box is small and the value is low, Stallion Express is unbeatable.
The "Value Penalty": For every $100 increase in value, Stallion Express becomes $12.00 more expensive compared to Canada Post just in fees alone.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoJust a small note here since we talk about the tariffs charges of various carriers... NetParcel offers Assendia ePaQ for up to 2kg and it can be signficantly better rate than Canada Post Tracked USA, however, they do charge all tariffs (even those beyond Section 122) and they charge the tariffs even on the Made in USA items, while Stallion Express and Zonos clearly no tariffs on Made in USA. I don't know if it's a glitch in the system or they just charge the general rate on the item because they process items differently through customs, or maybe their broker requires certification Made in USA.. Don't know. Assendia is cheaper than PostNL at Stallion for items btw 1-2kg, so it would be an option but it could be actually more expensive.
Also, Assendia charges 2.69 USD for single item plus 3% of the tariff amount to process customs.
Whether Assendial ePaq includes insurance, or not, not sure, probably not, they don't even have insurance or it's limited, I couldn't find.
Anyways, so that's about that I wanted to add.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoOkay and NetParcel also accepts Wise (transferwise) Visa debit card, Shipo doesn't accept it because it sees it as a prepaid card. NetParcel also has paypal as payment option.
Okay good!
itolduandso
OP6 months ago@jtg204
Thanks, this was helpful. I must have looked at NetParcel in the past and I noticed they didn't have the Canada Post Tracked Packet – USA. Well it's because the moment I put any value for insurance, even 1-100 dollars, they hide the rate. Makes no sense. Insurance up to 100 dollars included in that rate.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoHere NetParcel notification right after signup:
It says, using NetParcel Zonos account is 2.99 CAD plus 15% of assessed duties, seller using own Zonos account with NetParcel is 1.99 CAD plus 10% of accessed duties. So essentially 1CAD plus 5% is the convenience fee for using Netparcel's Zonos account. Perhaps acceptable for a casual shipper shipping a few packages per year (outside of Stallion Express, my case) but too expensive for a regular shipper, I agree.
Interesting they warn about the Section 232 documentation needed. Sports equipment of any kind includes some sort of metal in it, so essentially it requires paperwork.
I guess the Zonos prepaid account didn't update yet since they don't mention anything.
itolduandso
OP6 months ago@jtg204
The rates you showing above for NetParcel match exactly rates at Shippo, that is without the CP fuel surcharge. Fuel surchage needs to be added to the total in both cases. Your NetParcel rates do not include the Fuel surcharge either. Looks like Shippo was able to get the same prices now as Netparcel. So the resulting discount compared to CanPost is less than what you are showing in the table.
But as you mention, Shippo doesn't allow adding Zonos account to their page so I can't even use their Shippo discounted Canada Post rate with Zonos. So I my guess it the only reaons I would use it if I have my own broker for tariffs. Otherwise I see no point using Canada Post rates without Zonos.
Just for comparison, here are the rates for the same package via Stallion Express below.
This specific item package is 2lbs with small size 18 inch combined.
Stallion US Economy is what is attractive, their USPS rates are 25% than CP rates. That's without insurance.
As mentioned above, the Stallion Express discount advantage disappears if the value of the item increases because their broker charges all the other tariffs beyond the Section 122 tariff. In addition to Section 122 tariff their broker charges the category specific tariff and Section 301 tariff, which Zonos doesn't charge.
So when shipping a 100 dollar value item, the 10 dollar discount offered by Stallion Express with their US Economy disappears, or worse, shipping cost with tariffs becomes even higher than what would be by shipping with Netparcel/CanadaPost/Zonos.
I think this is quite important observation and I am quite sure many sellers didn't notice this difference.
What I wonder is if there is some precedent on how Canada Post / Zonos handles packages with metal content. In my case, is basically all plastic but there are screws, so they may just let it go through, but if there was a larger metal and aluminum content in it.
Does Zonos apply the Section 232 Steel Aluminum tariff once they bill the account?
Because my understanding is if I use the Zonos prepaid app, they guarantee those tariffs rates, so either the US Customs just let's things scanned by Zonos though (unless there is somethgin seriously miss-classified), or Zonos pays the tariff difference if US customs comes after them.
Because here I am shipping an item with screws in it. Stallion warns me specifically with this being a Sports item, saying I must declare the amount of aluminum and steel, if I don't declare correctly, may lead to audits.
No such issue when I scan the item with Zonos, just charges the regular Section 122. Looking online, it says Zonos guarantees those tariff rates in the prepaid app.
So that makes me rejoice a bit because even I pay more with CP shipping, it's gonna be still less together with Zonos prepaid tariffs.
What I am worried about is, if Zonos verified account is not guaranteed tariffs, if they see Sports fitness equipment whatever on the customs declaration, they open the package and charge the Aluminum and Steel tariffs and I would get the Zonos Verified account later billing me the whole Section 232 Steel Aluminum tariff 100% on it.
If that was what was going to happen or even if that is what could happen with Zonosh Verified account, then I rather not ship this, I cancel the sale and that's it.
That's the pudding here.
jtg204
·6 months agonetparcel rates are including the fuel surcharge, and the canpost rates also include the surcharge and sfsb discount L1, the total price that shows up on the side in the summary.
netParcel breaks it down, here is a 1.4kg package I just got this morning:
Then I get a receipt for $21.37 as the total label cost. Then Zonos charges duties/fee ina few days.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoThank you. The NetParcel Ebay import is incredibly flaky, they didn't even create proper integration since ebay parted their ways with Paypal, this is so bad.. Coming from Stallion Express/ Chitchats, this feels like 1990s with NetParcel. Manual import by copy past the order number, no bulk import at all. Am I missing something here? I thought a company like this couldn't stay in business for long.
On the customs invoice information: (it's on their Single Shipment form)
Reference No.
What do you put there - something like "EBAY - order number" ?
Notes:
Are you using this for something? Instructions to Customs or for buyer or for shipping company?
jtg204
·6 months agoI just use the blank defaults, and no problems so far (cross fingers)
Currency I keep as CAD since the invoices show CAD, and Reason set to 'Sale'.
itolduandso
OP6 months agoI am shipping a sports gear, it's plastic 99% but contains a few scres and a aluminum widget. With Stallion, I need to declare this as 50% aliminum and 50% steel content because I don't have the exact metal conten certificate (it's my own used gear I am selling). Stallion calculated tariff is massive, 62%. Zonos prepaid on the other hand, mere 10%.
I read that Zonos tariff rates are guaranteed with the prepay application used with Canada Post. (Unlike the Zonos Verified account for Goshippo which is doing post-billing and sends invoice/charges senders credit card some time after the shipment clears US customs.
Makes sense?
So Goshippo may have lower Canada Post rates, but it requires post-paid Zonos verified account which means the charged tariff could be higher than than what would be calculated by the Zonos prepaid application.
57 USD ~ 74 CAD
By the way, is the Fuel Surchage for Canada Post in Shippo being added to the shipping rate shown, or is it included in the indicated shipping cost already? See image below...
When I calculate the same for the package in Canada Post account, the rate is somewhat similar, so if the fuel surcharge in Goshippo is not included in the shipping rate, then the rates are almost the same for light packages as if it was purchased on CP website directly.
Besides Goshippo, is there any other reseller of CP labels accepting Zonos? Most others like Easyship or Shipsavvy they require using their broker or have my own broker, they don't accept Zonos.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·6 months ago@itolduandso
The other one is Netparcel. It was connected to *CP*, UPS and Fedex.
jtg204
·6 months agoShippo is the same as SnapShip when it comes to Zonos charges to verified account method...unless they've changed it since I completed one Shippo DDP/Zonos shipment. You add your Zonos key and Canada Post account to a new Canada Post carrier account on Shippo as you can't use Shippo's account for Zonos/DDP so you don't get Shippo's discount. The rate will be what your connected Canada Post account has for the discount, and the label shows up as an order on Canada Post, charged by Canada Post and Zonos separately too. It's like making an order on SnapShip with Zonos automated billing method in the end. Shippo will charge you a tiny processing fee too. But, maybe they've changed the process since my test shipment I did to try it out. Shippo has 2 payment options of 'Credit card' and 'Bill account' that I didn't figure out what the difference would be.
Do you have a Zonos verified account setup already? If so, I recommend using netParcel for Tracked Packet USA + Zonos. They have a higher discount than Level 1 SFsB account compared to SnapShip/Shippo. You can add your store/account and import recipient info by order ID, and tracking is updated to ebay too. Choosing some options can result in hiding Canada Post though, make sure you do not enter an insured value on the first step for example. You then provide your own Zonos verified account key after selecting Tracked Packet USA and this will use your own Zonos verified account in the same way SnapShip automatic billing does. netParcel has a built in account you can also use, but they've increased their fee to use this account by too much. In the end you will get an initial charge from netParcel for the label with a final invoice later (already paid unless there was adjustments), and a charge from Zonos later for the duties/fee ($1.99 + Duties + 10% duties) when Canada Post prepares it for crossing.
This is a comparison of SnapShip SfSB level 1, to netParcel today for Tracked Packet USA:
For tariff free items over 0.5kg the $2 zonos fee works out cheaper than having no fee with the app (or about the same for 0.25-0.5kg).
itolduandso
OP6 months agoRecently I have shipped an item via UPS from Canada to US, the item required FDA 2877 Form (radiation, here fall CD/DVD Players unless built in a computer or laptop, but also laser printers).
UPS didn't charge the buyer the Section 301 Tariff either, only the Section 122 Tariff, same as Canada Post via Zonos. I was told this is because the item was a processed as Type 86 Entry, used single item for personal use.
That reduced tariffs for my buyer and although UPS charged processing fees, if buyer pays tariff and fees ahead of delivery (rather than at the door) then it reduces the fees by a little as the buyer doesn't pay the COD (door payment) fee.
I bought prepaid UPS label (not via UPS direct), so the cost of shipping with the shipping label, tariffs and fees be ended up only slightly more than cost that that would have been via Stallion Express, because Stallion takes the Section 301 Tariff.
So Stallion Express brokerage can take significant chunk of money, they may be cheaper shipping but because they don't process packages as postal service, they may not be the best option to ship to the US. That is a hidden cost that I didn't realize before, any many sellers don't realize either.
I am talking here about shipping single unit used item valued slighly over 100 USD, so the situation may varry in case the item has higher or lover value.
But given the weight (28 lbs), it was a pretty decent deal shipping to US with 3 days delivery UPS Standard, that's way faster than via Stallion Express UPS Ground which takes a few more days.
byto253
·7 months agoIf an item is US COO, is the Zonos fee still $0?
dinomitesales
·7 months agoYes, but only if you use the Zonos Prepay app.
itolduandso
OP7 months ago.
Oh, I just looked there at Zonos website. It's clear there:
Postal shipments to the United States may have fewer duties than commercial shipments.
itolduandso
OP7 months agoBrokerage fees are one thing. They are clearly listed Zonos brokerage fees. Stallion Brokerage fees not listed but they are about 1/3 of what Zonos charges.
So looks like Zonos and maybe even iES only charges 10% tariff and Stallion Express / Chitchats charge all tariffs that apply.
Looks like DJT is busy nuking Iran and doesn't read much in the forums here to find out he is losing billions of dollars revenue.
jtg204
·7 months agoZonos has an Item Quoter that shows Postal vs Commercial tariffs described by lacemaker3's post...
They have a landing page for Etsy you can use it 5 times before needing a free account (scroll down the page):
https://zonos.com/landing-page/etsy
Here are your two examples:
dinomitesales
·7 months agoI only use Zonos so I can't really comment on the differences between Stallion and Zonos. But Zonos is only charging the 10% Section 122 tariff (formerly they were charging the now-illegal IEEPA tariff) for postal imports.
If Stallion is charging more then I can only assume it's because of their status as a courier - maybe they have different rules they need to follow based on how their items enter the country?
john_koenig99
·7 months agoExactly. Kind of like the price difference in brokerage service fee between couriers and CP (when importing stuff into Canada). Certainly cheaper with the latter.
marnotom!
·7 months agohttps://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/eIS-problem-random-listings-suddenly-not-available-to-ship-to-US/m-p/536599/highlight/true#M173441