50% UPS Brokerage fee????

[kazoobers]

I bought an item that was $99.95 US. The Seller charged me $16.00 for UPS standard shipping to Canada.

The package arrived and here is a Brokerage C.O.D. due to UPS for $54.17. What a rip! The seller said nothing about additional fees due IN ADDITION to the $16.00 I paid him for the shipping. By looking under Help in eBay, I see there is nothing I can do about it.

[nomadiclife]

Whenever I look at an auction, if the seller ships using UPS I don't bother bidding. Anything you buy that is shipped via USPS passes through Canada Customs and they deem whether or not to open and assess it for duty. I've had items valued at over $75.00 come through via USPS and no dute was levied.

UPS on the other hand is another story. They have their own brokerage people at the border and they levy duty on EVERYTHING. I have fought with them a few times and finally decided it just wasn't worth the hassle.

[misshunnypooh]

my boyfirend recieved a bunch of text books through a courier, I dont' remember who, and was given a bill for a large fee. He never paid it and they never pursued it but he kept tha package. Just a tidbit I thought I'd share to those Canadians who get these insane brokerage fees.

[kazoobers]

Unfortunately, with UPS if you don't pay the COD fee, you DON'T get the package. Then the package goes back to the seller and you have to deal with them to try and get your money back, or arrange a different delivery.

[dabbott01]

I just saw on the news yesterday that someone in Canada is launching a class action lawsuit againt UPS for their bogus brokerage fees.

This happened to me once a couple years ago and luckily I was so confused and naive that I called UPS and explained how I had already paid all the fees I was aware of and the lady was nice and actually cancelled the extra fees (which were outrageous)...

[que3jxp]

Well, I work at the actual brokerage facility in New Brunswick that processes all of this stuff. I am the head of the IT dept so don't blame me for the shoddy work.

I will say, however, that although the fees are ridiculous for personal shipments, the fee structure for B2B customers is quite competitive.

Also, as a few have pointed out, the total due at the door will more than likely include taxes and any applicable duties. There is NO WAY to legally avoid those costs. THAT is something you can blame on the government.

As for individual responsibilities in the matter. It is not necessarily nice that UPS does not seem to be "Up Front", but the grim reality is that most do not understand how the import regulations in Canada are set up. Technically, the person here on E-Bay sending it to Canada is the actual shipper. UPS is the carrier. And you are the importer. As the importer it is totally and legally YOUR responsibility to deal with the duties and taxes. If you cannot actually go to the port of import, you will have to have a brokerage firm handle it for you.

There are alternatives to using UPS brokerage when importing via UPS, but they are all even more expensive than UPS. The only carrier that has "reasonable" or low rates is Canada Post.

[mo*post]

This idea of collecting 'brokerage' fees on goods by the company delivering the item is totally foreign to me.

Let me see if I have this right: a person buys an item from another country and pays for that item AND pays for the shipping of that item. And then the company that did nothing more than ship the item (for which they got paid already) charges more money to deliver the item depending on how much they think the parcels contents are worth?

This is LEGAL in your country?

[marniel2005]

LOL, mo*post, that's not quite how it goes. But is is unfair nonetheless!

Canadians are exempt from fees for importing items worth less than $20 CDN ($60 if it is a gift). Over that amount, we have to pay taxes and occasionally duty. If shipped in by post, Canada Post charges $5 or $8 to bring the item across the border. Courier companies (UPS, FedEx, etc) have charge ridiculously high brokerage fees to bring those same items through Customs. Starts at $25 and goes up up up.

But no, the couriers don't get to re-value the item. Only Canada Customs gets that privilege, and they don't seem to do it very often.

Nice to see you back! :-)

[mo*post]

I spend a lot of time on eBay thinking how cheap everything is over in your part of the world and wishing things were that inexpensive in Australia.

But when all is said and done, I'm at least allowed AUD1000 for every item imported before Australian customs starts sticking their beak in.

I looked up brokerage fees with specific regard to UPS and it said that they charge this fee to pay Canada customs what is owed and to pay for all the paperwork they have to do.

To be fair, I then looked up brokerage fees in Australia but all I could find were fees for buying and selling of shares.

I feel really sorry for you frosties.

[iyardsale_canada]

> I looked up brokerage fees with specific regard to UPS and it said that they charge this fee to pay Canada customs what is owed and to pay for all the paperwork they have to do.

And yet, the question still remains, why doesn't Canada Post have to pay these amounts to Customs?

BTW, it's not competitive if CP charges $5 and UPS charges $30. It's just silly.

Even if the seller says UPS, I ask politely if they would send via USPS. If they say yes, and I win the auction, I remind them when I pay. Never had a problem this way.

[iyardsale_canada]

Does this have anything to do with CP being a crown corporation? Do they actually have lower costs when dealing with customs?

I've always wondered why CP can charge $5, while everyone else charges $30. Simple market economics doesn't quite explain it.

[3235taylor]

Nope...it's not high....,it's UPS - the jerks! Their fees for Canadians ARE NASTY. I've been burned, too. Only way to avoid this is to become your own broker - but you have to run down to the border and pick it up yourself. It's way cheaper that way as becoming your own broker is inexpensive---If you don't live near the border you are sort of at the mercy of customs.

Only other option is to see if your seller will consider shipping USPS. (If seller is from the states) Or find some other mode of shipping that may be slower, not as secure or insured and take the risk...

And at %50, I'd say the risk might be worth it. Yikes! Sorry, I feel you pain...

[nobody*puts*baby*in*a*corner]

Unfortunately, with UPS if you don't pay the COD fee, you DON'T get the package. Then the package goes back to the seller and you have to deal with them to try and get your money back, or arrange a different delivery.



And unfortunately for the seller, when you refuse a package THEY get billed for the UPS charge.

The seller loses the sale, the money for shipping, and gets to pay UPS for nothing.

Everybody loses.

ALWAYS confirm with the seller that your item WILL NOT be coming UPS, and that it will be valued at the ending bid price. Many sellers don't know about UPS until it's too late.

[lokijeep]

hahaha, love your username



Vote for INDY and MACY here!

[canuckchat]

Let me just repeat this again: UPS is a business - they have a legal right to charge for their brokerage services to bring your item into this country.

The same goes for Fedex, DHL, Purolator and any other courier firm that the seller chooses to ship with.

If you had ever worked in a business that imports items on a regular business, the idea of paying brokerage would not be foreign to you. It is a legitimate business expenditure. Items being imported have to be documented and brought into the country legally, hence "brokerage" is levied for this service.

On the other hand, Canada Post has negotiated a nominal brokerage fee incoming to the country, hence they charge you a nominal $5 (or $8) for the brokerage handling of your item. Don't ask me how they did this, they just did. Accept it. And move on.

[bookbin.etc]

UPS and Canada Post are not paying these amounts to customs. As stated, they are brokerage fees. They are the fees charged by UPS to do the paperwork to import the parcel, and are based on the value of the item (with a basic starting fee, I believe).

The only money paid to the feds is the actual duty payable on the imported item, and the taxes applicable.

[heynow999]

I have had enough with UPS. I had to pay a fee at the door, they then said I did not pay the fee and I got a letter from thier internal collections agency. They try to make it appear to be an outside agency with a different address and all but it is still part of UPS. The name is RMS. They ARE NOT a registered collection agency in Ontario but they try really hard to look like one in thier letters

Here are some excerpts

"Dispite our efforts, this account remains unresolved. Your creditor insists that this matter be pursued to a prompt conclusion.
We must inform you that unless we have your full payment by 10/12/2006, we will assume it is not your intention to settle this matter amicably.
Failure to contact the personnal collector named below will leave us no other recoursethan to reccommend to our client that they begin legal proceedings through our solicitor.
Please govern yourself accordingly.

Sincerely,"


like I said, I am pissed. I am going to do the same as the guy mentioned earlier in the thread and sue to get the fee back. I will, no matter how much it takes, get that money back from UPS!!!

[n529jkjr]

UPS has high brokerage fees.

[canuckchat]

And you have comparison shopped with Fedex, Purolator, DHL, PBB, K&N and others and found that UPS has the highest of all??

[groupvp]

You are justly annoyed!

UPS has absolutely ridiculous brokerage fees.
I too have been a UPS victim.

I recently ordered a watch from Germany to be
delivered to London, Ont. Canada.

I watched the trackable item as it went from
Germany to Toronto (Missisauga) within less than
24 hours - after which it left on a journey through
the states and eventual wound up here 3 days later.

$180 watch cost nearly $50 more in brokerage fees
on top of a $30 shipping fee the seller charged.
Nice to be charged for all their ineficiencies!

What's more I find that some shippers abuse the
shipping fee charges - especially when they are
shipping outside the USA - an example being
Dale Perry a billiard cue seller / cuemaker - he charges
Canadians $100 - when I have received cues from the states for $30 - tell me if this isn't just another
way to get more money out of an auction.

Please don't anyone respond with "well you don't have to
buy an item of you don't agree with the shipping fees"
That is obviously understood and not the point.

[greyhaligonian]

Here is another 'fun with brokerage' stories.

A forum member bought a very cheap longblock crate motor (brand new) for $800usd ($3-4000cdn here if you can find them).

When he got the call to pick it up it had arrived on back of the trailer on it's side and one of the heads was sheared off with pulleys bent.

He only got some of his money back.