Not so much a question but an FYI to dealers and buyers.

[marjack1]

To all buyer STOP BIDDING for items if dealers will not use whatever national post of their country instead of any courier service including ebay global mail service. They all charge a import fee. THERE IS NO SUCH THING.  I have been collecting and receiving parcel by USPS and other national post offices for 40 years and the only time i ever paid an import fee was to an courier service who just happen to own the brokage company that charges for the fee. So if you use a courier service you will get a bogus import fee that does not exist other then to them because of some loop hole. They are thieves in my opinion they are thieves.

[hlmacdon]

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@marjack1 wrote:

They all charge a import fee. THERE IS NO SUCH THING.  I have been collecting and receiving parcel by USPS and other national post offices for 40 years and the only time i ever paid an import fee was to an courier service who just happen to own the brokage company that charges for the fee. So if you use a courier service you will get a bogus import fee that does not exist other then to them because of some loop hole. They are thieves in my opinion they are thieves.

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For your reference:

[marnotom!]

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@marjack1 wrote:

To all buyer STOP BIDDING for items if dealers will not use whatever national post of their country instead of any courier service including ebay global mail service. They all charge a import fee. THERE IS NO SUCH THING.  I have been collecting and receiving parcel by USPS and other national post offices for 40 years and the only time i ever paid an import fee was to an courier service who just happen to own the brokage company that charges for the fee. So if you use a courier service you will get a bogus import fee that does not exist other then to them because of some loop hole. They are thieves in my opinion they are thieves.

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You've been very lucky if you haven't had to pay taxes and a service fee on an item sent to you by mail.

My wife recently purchased some clothes from a US online retailer.  She received the Canada Post parcel pickup notice with a note that she needed to pay $150+ in fees.

Turns out that Canada Border Services had charged duty and GST on the shipment.  However, this is where things get really weird.  The retailer didn't use the price my wife had paid for the clothes as the declared value, but, rather the regular price of the items.  (She had purchased them on sale.)  To complicate things further, CBSA had somehow calculated the GST owing to be almost the same amount as the 18% duty charged on the clothes.

So now my wife has to appeal the amount owing on the shipment because (1) the retailer did not use the "transaction value" of the shipment as its declared value, and (2) CBSA was somehow completely out to lunch on the calculation of the GST owing.  Not an overly complicated procedure, mind you, but a big pain below the tailbone nonetheless.

Consider yourself lucky, marjack1. Consider yourself very lucky.

[reallynicestamps]

So if you use a courier service you will get a bogus import fee that does not exist other then to them because of some loop hole.

You are wrong.

The import fees charged by couriers (including the Global Shipping Program) are there by Canadian law, not a loophole.

They must charge applicable duty on any import valued over $20CDN* ($14 USD).

They must charge applicable sales taxes on any import valued over $20CDN ($14 USD).

They are entitled to charge a fee for the service of assessing and collecting these monies.

The GSP collects ~$5USD. Canada Post collects $9.95CDN. Couriers vary with UPS collecting $25CDN and up depending on the value of the goods.

But there is a loophole and you have benefited from it.

The public servants at CBSA have informally decided not to bother assessing items for duty (and therefore sales tax and service fees) if it will cost more for the assessment than the assessment will cost CBSA.

Since these public servants are well paid (in excess of $40K annually), this means that they ignore dutiable items that are low value (usually under $100) or not very bulky (whatever the value).

But this is informal, the law still has that $20CDN maximum on duty free imports.

*$60 for gifts, but if you paid for it, it is not a gift. That would be the sweater your Nana who retired to Florida knitted for you.