CANADIANS: Read before you purchase from the USA!!!

[canuckchat]

If you reside in Canada - and purchase an item from the USA - you need to educate yourself as to the fact that you WILL be paying applicable taxes and possibly duties on the item when it crosses the border into Canada.

Yes, if the item is shipped by postal service, your "brokerage handling fee" will be a nominal $5 or $8 - plus the applicable taxes for your province (and possibly duties, but seldom are they charged.)

And yes, MANY times the items shipped by postal service are NOT charged taxes or duties incoming - so sometimes you will escape paying the taxes that are due to the Canadian and provincial governments.

However, you should ALWAYS - and I stress ALWAYS! - calculate the cost of the taxes and possibly duties into the decision to make a purchase internationally.

Additionally, if your item is sent by the USA seller (or other international seller) through a courier service (for example, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, etc.) then your applicable brokerage fee will be upwards of $25, on a sliding scale dependent upon the value of the incoming item.

Yes, these fees (brokerage, tax, duty) are ALL part of the cost of buying an item internationally and having it shipped to you in Canada.

It is NOT up to the seller to pay these for you - YOU are the importer of record - YOU are the one who will be billed for these charges - YOU are the one who will NOT get your parcel until you pay these charges.

So - before hitting the "BID NOW" button, do a bit of calculating and make an informed decision to see if it is really worth getting that imported widget!

Happy Bidding, Folks!
:-D

[nicki9912]

where in the world is Canuk? and Loo?
been looking for them everywhere

oh, and ps, I have never seen so much mis-information on one thread before !!

Keep on asking your U.S. sellers to mark your packages as Gifts, youre not only asking customs to FLAG their names, but YOURS as well !

4 years ago, I noticed that more and more sellers were marking mine as gifts, without me asking them to. As time went by, my packages were taking longer and longer to arrive AND they had been OPENED, and INSPECTED, so obviously my NAME was flagged

Nice Sniperoonie Jakee !

[bewbeee]

FYI:It doesn't happen with EVERY purchase you make.
Of all the years (6 Yrs) my husband and I been buying on ebay, there was only once I got charged duty on a package.

[bewbeee]

OH and it depends on the price of your purchase too..of course.

[carrie444410]

do you get charged any duty or taxes from items being shipped to canada from hong kong

[tamdesjar74]

I am sooo mad at UPS X-( I have been screwed 2 times by them, they collected over $100.00 from me for shipping and fees.yes ,yes I know fool me once shame on you fool me twice well I am a slow learner 😛 I googled brokerage fees and came up with this link for any Canadians who have been ripped off by UPS
http://www.classaction.ca/content/actions/ups.asp
I think we should all jump on this and make UPS pay us back for their thievery. I just don't understand how they can still be doing this if there are so many angry Canadians ,oh right we are Canadians we will write a letter LOL Not this time we need to stop this scam and I think if we hit them in their pocket maybe they will rethink their scam. Two shipping fees what B.S its not a brokerage fee as they try to justify it its a doubley charged shipping fee. The best part is they don't notify you until they are on your door step wanting money. I dont think anyone who is new to Ebay expects to get ripped of by the shipping company.Its not the sellers fault ,but they sure could help thier customers by recognizing the scam and discontinue using UPS just for the moral fact.Why not support their government by using USPS I saw woot woot for our snail mail !!! :^O

[tamdesjar74]

I am sooo mad at UPS X-( I have been screwed 2 times by them ]:) , they collected over $100.00 from me for shipping and fees.yes ,yes I know fool me once shame on you fool me twice well I am a slow learner ?:| I googled brokerage fees and came up with this link for any Canadians who have been ripped off by UPS

I think we should all jump on this and make UPS pay us back for their thievery. I just don't understand how they can still be doing this if there are so many angry Canadians ,oh right we are Canadians we will write a letter LOL Not this time we need to stop this scam and I think if we hit them in their pocket maybe they will rethink their scam. Two shipping fees what B.S its not a brokerage fee as they try to justify it its a doubley charged shipping fee. The best part is they don't notify you until they are on your door step wanting money. I dont think anyone who is new to Ebay expects to get ripped of by the shipping company.Its not the sellers fault ,but they sure could help thier customers by recognizing the scam and discontinue using UPS just for the moral fact.Why not support their government by using USPS I saw woot woot for our snail mail !!! :0)

[tamdesjar74]

LMAO so sorry for the double post!!!!:^O

[seenbucket]

Just don't buy from Americans. Problem solved.

[mizzfitnezz]

so that MOST people will see it and read it...

You give us humans too much credit, CC, unfortunately only a small percentage will actually see it and an even smaller percentage will actually read it, and (need I elaborate?), still far fewer will comprehend it and even fewer will actually apply the recommendations.

But, for the 1 or 2 people it will help, I do agree it would be nice to see it pinned.

:-) Thanks heavens I'm in the 1 or 2 but even then I still can't wrap my head around the HST 😞

I wonder, are we going to get charged ECO fees as well? I know this program is scrapped for now but some businesses are STILL charging it. I ordered a computer monitor from Costco yesterday and they still apply it to those AND tires.....UGH.

Mizz.

[jakeeangel]

Mizz the tax on electronics and tires have been around for years now and have nothing to do with the Eco tax that was recently scrapped.

There are many many taxes and changes going on out there. It pays to watch the news. That tax on electronics came in about a year or two ago. The tire tax has been around for at least 15 to 20 if memory serves.

[mizzfitnezz]

Mizz the tax on electronics and tires have been around for years now and have nothing to do with the Eco tax that was recently scrapped.

There are many many taxes and changes going on out there. It pays to watch the news. That tax on electronics came in about a year or two ago. The tire tax has been around for at least 15 to 20 if memory serves.

I thought the tire tax was only if for e.g. you purchased new tires and wanted to get rid of your old ones right then and there....Ok, dh usually does that stuff but it sucks because we always get rid of our own tires as far as I remember.

As for the electronics, yeah, now that you mentioned it, I do remember it.

Mizz.

[jakeeangel]

You pay the tire disposal tax even when you're not actually getting rid of tires right there and then. It's paying for it in advance really.

[cjan519]

If you reside in Canada - and purchase an item from the USA - you need to educate yourself as to the fact that you WILL be paying applicable taxes and possibly duties on the item when it crosses the border into Canada.

Yes, if the item is shipped by postal service, your "brokerage handling fee" will be a nominal $5 or $8 - plus the applicable taxes for your province (and possibly duties, but seldom are they charged.)

And yes, MANY times the items shipped by postal service are NOT charged taxes or duties incoming - so sometimes you will escape paying the taxes that are due to the Canadian and provincial governments.

However, you should ALWAYS - and I stress ALWAYS! - calculate the cost of the taxes and possibly duties into the decision to make a purchase internationally.

Additionally, if your item is sent by the USA seller (or other international seller) through a courier service (for example, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, etc.) then your applicable brokerage fee will be upwards of $25, on a sliding scale dependent upon the value of the incoming item.

Yes, these fees (brokerage, tax, duty) are ALL part of the cost of buying an item internationally and having it shipped to you in Canada.

It is NOT up to the seller to pay these for you - YOU are the importer of record - YOU are the one who will be billed for these charges - YOU are the one who will NOT get your parcel until you pay these charges.

So - before hitting the "BID NOW" button, do a bit of calculating and make an informed decision to see if it is really worth getting that imported widget!

Happy Bidding, Folks!
:-D

I hear you out loud.

I bought a box of cards from the states and Canada Customs charged me 140 dollars to open my box and look inside for me. How nice of them. If that wasn't a bomb I don't know what is.

Although I sent the bill back and was eligable for a REFUND

[syn-ec-do-che]

My policy is that I only bid on items that ship via USPS (which applies to most) unless it is a low value item or unless the deal is good enough that it is still worth it with potential taxes and brokerage fees included (rare).

[9966frenchy]

I purchased a used winter coat from the US and it was shipped by UPS and I thought "no big deal" HOLY HELL, was I wrong!! It costed me and additional $200+ in fees!! So now before I make any more like purchases that state UPS shipping, I ALWAYS ask if it could be sent by USPS instead. Then the customs costs are more reasonable(ie: $50- ) Never again will I use UPS!

[9966frenchy]

Question: I have purchased several high priced items from the US and the sellers have always marked the purchase price WELL below the actual item price. Also I never ask them to mark it as a gift. Will I "get into trouble" with the authorities for this practice?

[angelasunshine135]

Very rarely does shipping with usps charge me any fees .. so SELLERS need to be educated !

[dckarrie]

If you ship an item back you are able to apply for a refund, realistically its no different than taking back a purchase to a store, the tax should be refunded as well as the tax is intented when the item is being used, or "end user". The same as anyplace else you do need to have proof of purchase and return so keep all paperwork!

[hozzi99]

glad i read this now. thank you. looks like i'll be spending way more than was shown on the 'shipping details' 😞 bummer. i have a lot of purchased items coming!!

[jakeeangel]

glad i read this now. thank you. looks like i'll be spending way more than was shown on the 'shipping details' 😞 bummer. i have a lot of purchased items coming!!

Of course it's not shown in Shipping Details. Shipping Details only tells you how much it costs to ship. It cannot tell you what the importing country may or may not charge in import taxes and duties and brokerage.

Do not fault the seller for that. It's not their responsibility to know that. It's yours as the buyer and importer of the product.