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.

[sir*edward*ross]

DW despite being told on numerous occasions to triple-check when ordering on-line cross-border, has at least twice had to refuse UPS packages (at my insistence), and has subsequently been refunded purchase price or had the seller quadruple check before shipping again via USPS.

No UPS hit-men have come a-knocking, no fees paid, and as far as I know, the sellers are still happy to deal with Canadians.

[guignol000]

I know what your talking about... if it has to be UPS get expedited or express service... more expensive but at least you get it faster and only have to pay for gst...
check this for more info...
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/courierfees/index.html

[chiz88]

I don't know if it has been posted yet, but there is a way to refuse to pay the UPS brokerage fees and get your package. What you have to do is go to the UPS office and request the customs forms for the package so you can clear customs yourself, you have to request it twice before they will give it to you. You can then take the customs forms to a canada customs office, pay the applicable gst/pst and take the form back to ups, at which point they have to give you the package. They can then not charge you their brokerage fees as you cleared it yourself, and as you have not signed the sheet they try to get you to sign when you go to get your package, they have nothing authorizing them to act as a customs broker on your behalf. If you do this, be sure to call ups after you get home with your package to make sure the delivery has been completed and they don't have you listed as not paying.

[obstreperous1-2-u]

Hi chiz - It's called Self-brokering, and you don't quite have it right

What needs to be done is
Once you get the UPS tracking number, you have to call ups, tell them you will be self-brokering it, and give them the number
Then when the package arrives at the UPS terminal nearest you, they will call and let you know it's there.
Then you print off the auction page, ensuring the amount you paid is showing
You take that to UPS, and get the paperwork for your item from them
Then you go to a customs clearance house, and present them with all your paperwork
They will assess it, you will pay them, and they will stamp your paperwork as cleared/paid
THEN you drive back to the UPS terminal, present your paperwork to them, and they'll release your item

Quick and Easy, non? :)

[canuckchat]

... and yes it had been mentioned previously amongst but it never hurts to have it detailed again, thanks ...

[gar42]

I to had a few UPS outrageous brokerage fees tacked on to my American to Canada eBay purchases before I smartened up. a few years back my son ordered 3 t-shirts for a total of $30, UPS demanded $40 at the door, I bought a replacement laptop battery for $35 and had to fork over $45 at the door. I let any eBay sellers know about these thieves and make sure to NEVER buy anything if it is going to by shipped with UPS. If I had to send a package and UPS was my only option I would walk the dam thing to its destination first.

[king_of_the_heats]

138$ in brokerage fees
for a 300$ laptop.

First time I used UPS
and...
The last time I used UPS.

The worst part about it, is I had a choice!
I clearly picked the wrong one.

Oh well, lesson learned.

Their ridiculously high fees have put a bad taste in my mouth forever.

Never use the brown if you're from the Great White North.

[sir*edward*ross]

Never use the brown if you're from the Great White North.

Nothing wrong with using the brown or any other courier if and only if, the package is domestic

[dilass403]

You can always appoint your own broker and any of these carriers will have to forward the documents to your broker by either fax or paperless system. In this case the clearance is done without your presence. Just find a broker that has fair charges. I am a Customs broker myself. We charge CAD 20.00 for a shipment valued less than CAD 1600.00. Customs duty (if any) & GST extra. It is just not worth it to do the work for less than that. For this amount we create a B3 Customs form for you, pay duty & tax and send you all the docs by e-mail. Have a look at the charges here: http://www.dilas.ca/html/brokerage_fees.html

[ourf1900]

You know if Americans would just give it up and become Canadas 11th Province or 4th Territory, we wouldn't have all this crap at the border.]:)

[canuckchat]

... somehow... i think thats a bit of a hard sell.... altho we could possibly annex alaska and they'd likely never notice...

[sir*edward*ross]

altho we could possibly annex alaska and they'd likely never notice...

Bite your tongue CC ... Sarah Palin is in Alaska ... no thanks

[canuckchat]

... i was totally ignoring her ... completely... i think she is likely going to head off to texas when her stint as gov is done ... go hang out with her bushie friends

[sir*edward*ross]

go hang out with her bushie friends

Had her pegged as a fan of the Brazilian cut myself

[sir*snarkypants*ross]

Confusion Say
a "toe" in the hand is worth 2 bushes in the field

:8}


BT'ers ... Try This! Matthew 6:5-8

[kazoobers]

bump!

[achajadm]

Hello.

Here is the UPS answer for their exagerated fees. I have paied $57.73 for a $105.63 item (more than 50%...):

The shipper has prepaid the cost of shipping Standard Service. The fee the shipper pays does not include any brokerage, duties or taxes owing as the shipment enters Canada. The consignee is responsible for these charges. It is always a good idea, when ordering items from outside of Canada, to ask the vendor if their price includes import charges (Brokerage fees, duties and taxes).

Here is the breakdown of the import charges on your brokerage invoice based on the shippers declared value of $105.63 CAD:

C.O.D. CHARGE $4.25
This is a UPS fee, to cover the cost of collecting the funds in this manner.
C.O.D. GST TAX $0.21
The Goods & Services Tax on the C.O.D. fee.
BOND $5.85
Bond fees are charges for UPS having to pay duty and/or taxes to the government on behalf of the importer.
ENTRY PREP FEE $29.00
Entry preparation charges are a fee for UPS processing the paperwork for a package to clear Customs
BROKERAGE GST $1.74
The Goods & Services Tax on the Brokerage charges.
CUSTOMS GST $5.28
The Goods & Services Tax on the Canadian value of the goods.
CUSTOMS PST $8.32
The applicable Provincial Sales Tax on the Canadian value of the goods.
BROKERAGE QST $3.08
The Quebec Sales Tax on the Brokerage charges.

TOTAL $57.73

A Brokerage fee is charged to process your shipment and present your paperwork to customs on your behalf. All courier shipments with a value exceeding $20 CAD require customs clearance by a broker. The customs clearance procedure requires the broker to perform, on behalf of the importer, a number of tasks. Tasks include, but are not limited to, auditing import documentation, classification of the commodity being imported, and preparation and transmission of accounting information to Canada Customs. The UPS Customs Brokerage published rate schedule is competitive with industry standards.

You may find our rates for customs clearance into Canada at the following link:

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html.

When accessing the link for Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada, please review the complete fee schedule provided. Please note: Entry Preparation Charges, Disbursement Fees and Additional Services may apply to your shipment.

U.S. shippers are advised that brokerage charges, duties and taxes will be billed to the importer unless otherwise indicated by the shipper.

UPS provides free brokerage services for all shipments sent via any one of our air services, Express and Expedited.

[s.brake]

UPS and the like rip off the consumer because they can. Businesses use other brokers that charge GST plus $19 for getting goods across the border. The $29 is about $10 too high. I don't understand the COD charge because the item has already been paid for. That's gravy to UPS for actually stopping at your door. Part of the problem is paying additional taxes on all the additional fees.
I agreed to a courier delivery when I purchased a very, very expensive item. Guess what? The item went missing in Mississauga. Someone in the GTA has a very nice Hermes handbag. And I don't believe for a minute any other explanation than theft. Next time I would use the best USPS has to offer with delivery confirmation. Because the item was so expensive, I willingly agreed to UPS. The seller was equally confounded when the item went missing. So much for thinking that this service is worth extra money to protect valuable items.
BTW, the UPS fees exceeded $800, with no credit or consideration for losing the first item. ($800+ is what I paid on the replacement.)
I am just happy that I had a great seller who was able to replace the item and who didn't tie up my time and money when the item went missing.

[steve.ladouceur]

Just to clear up mis-conceptions about UPS brokerage fees. First they have nothing to do with Canadian customs and as such are not required by any law, they are not a duty nor a tax and it is not in my opinion the responsibility of the average consumer to know these charges because you are not asked which broker to use. It is the responsibility of the carrier, UPS, in this case to know these charges. When I ship something I pay for it to be shipped from one address to another. The carrier knows the start and end destination and as such should inform me of all the charges before i choose them. It never seems to amaze me that they are unaware of this charge, since they select the broker and if i am not mistaken have shipped stuff before. In the case of UPS these fees are a blackmail tax that UPS attaches to your parcel as it gets delivered. Most people have waited a long time to receive the package and just pay the fee. And when you ask UPS how much it will be before you choose them as the carrier they reply with BS, "it is a customs fee and you are responsible to know how much it is."
If it was a customs fee or a duty or a legal tax you could look it up and find out how much it will be, try that sometime. It is simply UPS exploiting customs confusion to blackmail you into paying a fee. In reality it is the amount that the brokerage firm charges to fill out the customs paperwork and since UPS ships thousands of items every year it seems odd that they are not smart enough to negotiate a flat rate or just hire the people necessary to fill in the paperwork.
What it looks like to me is they throw the package at the border and hope it comes out the other side and then we pay whatever somone inside decides to charge us, great business model. I am not opposed to paying brokerage fees but I now refuse to pay any fee that I was not aware of at the time of shipping, and I have seen several merchants now including the brokerage fee in the shipping cost where it belongs.
If we want to change this then we all need to push merchants to only ship with companies that clearly state all the shipping fees upfront and that you will send it back if additional shipping fees are added without your permission.
note* legitimate taxes and duties are collected by Canadian customs and these you will still have to pay and be aware of, nope you don't get out of GST.

[gsr63]

No disrespect to the last post - but it should be known that the process described for customs is inaccurate. You don't 'negotiate a flat rate' with customs... and UPS DOES hire people necessary to fill in the paperwork - that's why they charge the brokerage fee.

Process is this - Shipper sends goods to Canada, Carrier (UPS, FedEx, U.S Post, Canada Post, DHL, etc.) notifies Customs what is in their trailer, Carrier either creates customs entry for each shipment or turns them over to another customs broker to create the customs entry, Carrier / customs broker charges importer (or shipper) for the process.

Canada Post does charge for this service - it's just a very small fee ($5.50) compared to UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc., who charge significantly more. Canada Post doesn't have the best business model and that's just one reason it is in [url http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=209671&Itemid=33]financial trouble.[/url]