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

[boredhousewife*123]

I have never been charged the duties not once in the first 3 years I went on EBAY and most of all were US products..You need to read just carefully what the seller uses, as shipping.. Anyone seller that does not give the customer a choice on how it is shipped I skip period any underlining, as sometimes they use UPS or any other courier I skip too.. There is no reason why the Canadians should not buy from the US all they need to do is read and if they are unsure about anything email the seller and if that does not satisfy them you do not buy.. Simple.

[catera60]

Yes canuckchat, you could have been my hero... but because I failed to read your post BEFORE I purchased my car part from Michigan, you are my EBay mentor who is screaming "I TOLD YA!" I wanted to post this message to all Canadians who, like me, might be an occasional purchaser on EBay that has never worried about what might happen if you decide to buy an American item that is over $100 shipped by UPS. Last week my car suffered a A/C compressor bearing failure. Being on a very low budget, I searched and searched for this part in Canada but could not find a reasonable price under $500 so I decided to check out EBay for a solution. Low and behold I found a great unit manufactured by a reputable company in Michigan for a very reasonable $270 plus $40 shipping! Now that I can afford! Yup... SURPRISE... UPS showed up yesterday with my compessor and an additional fee of $90 for a grand total of $130 to ship my part that is the size of large beer mug. On that note... I need a beer!

[sampsonjg]

I stopped using Ebay primarily for this reason, I use Amazon more than ever and only resort to ebay when it is my last chance, Amazon is a lot more reliable for costs and shipping costs as well as legitimacy of products.

[arieswoman2012]

Guys, there is another option. With all the crazy new shipping rates to Canada, taxes, broker fees and duties when shipping to Canada. Don't do it! Unless you have no other option. I'm a Canadian outside Toronto...and have all the items I buy shipped to my sister's house in Michigan. I save TONS this way. I visit her every couple of months...and she comes up here, too. So I never have to wait more than a month or two to get my stuff.

So, if you have a U.S. address you can use, go for it! I use this same method with Amazon, Victoria's Secret, MAC, etc.

[dek011661]

Thank you for this information, I do wish I had read this prior to the purchase I made then i wouldn't have been shocked when the parcel arrived. Too bad cause now my online purchases will probably be next to nil.

Again, thank you

[arieswoman2012]

Go to "my summary"....click on the "account" tab and select "addresses" . It gives u the option to change your shipping information. Paypal will honour this. I've already shopped ebay this way. If you need further help or confirmations,. Call ebay customer service. You can't change the ship to address from the Paypal end. You have to do it thru the ebay side.... 🙂

[brandeentertainment]

shipped through usps there is no duty with anything under $200 ... Watch out for carriers unless you buy lots$$$$  worth go with Canada post and if you buy LOTS $$$ worth choose ups but beware of the UPS shipping method because trhere are method that come brokerage free ....

[pjcdn2005]

shipped through usps there is no duty with anything under $200 ... Watch out for carriers unless you buy lots$$$$  worth go with Canada post and if you buy LOTS $$$ worth choose ups but beware of the UPS shipping method because trhere are method that come brokerage free ....

Perhaps I am missing your point but items over $20 in value shipped to Canada can be charged duty and tax regardless of which company they are shipped by. It's possible that you won't get charged for items sent by USPS under $200 but it isn't a "rule" or a certainty. I find that items sent priority or express or more likely to be charged than those sent via first class.

[pierrelebel]

One more time:

If the item is worth more than CAN$20, you must pay the applicable duty, the GST or HST, and any PST on the item’s full value.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html#c1 

[recyclemikey]

agreed.  I calcuate about 10%.  it's a bonus when I don't get charged by customs.

[lady.stark]

"Mods need to retire this thread soon"

Well, not retire it. Because obviously, it is still helpful to many new users. However, maybe closing it would be a good idea.

[mr.x-eleven]

Well there has to be a way of getting the message out to Canadians other that this forum.I thought of leaving a comment when giving your feedback, adding "Canadians Beware of Import Fees ! " so when buyers check feedbacks, they would see it.Most of what I bought this year came right through with no fees.I got caught with this so called " Import fees "of 18$ on my last purchase.It should be more obvious that you will be charged with these fees ,at least give another option. It would of made a big decision on my purchase. I think this will reduce the amount auctions people outside the U.S. will bid on.I already don't bid on auctions shipped via UPS and now I won't bid on the ones with the " Import Fees" .

[pierrelebel]

mr.x-eleven "I got caught with this so called " Import fees "of 18$ on my last purchase"

Did you get an invoice from Pitney Bowes detailing what was included in that $18 fee?

Did they provide you with their GST registration number on that invoice?

[bbtreasures2011]

50-50 chance the parcel under $99 will clear customs without any fees if sent thru the USPS.

Providing it was sent reg. International Parcel or International Priority. If sent USPS Express, was told expect the fees.

And it's sure funny how certain agents classify a product into some unrelated category and trying to dispute it is fruitless........................

Any other delivery service used, expect the higher fees plus brokerage fees. I received a free item worth $0.00 sent via UPS and it cost me $38.00. Lucky for me the shipper included some extra free items that compensated for the fees. I now always indicate no UPS.

[pierrelebel]

Many years ago, I also received a free item in the mail and I had to pay taxes and Canada Post brokerage fee.

Why?  The item (a real unsolicited gift) had been sent by a corporation and as such no "gift" exemption applied.  Full duty + taxes + brokerage fee through USPS/Canada Post. 😞

[ispa1960]

Hi there...in all honesty, I do not need both of my hands to count the number of times I have had to pay duty, or a brokerage fee on my purchases from the U.S., or elsewhere in the world. Most certainly, when shipped via Fed-Ex, or UPS, those fee's applied, but it was extremely rare that I had any extra fee's on my purchases...and a very large percentage were upwards of $150.00, and quite a few over $500.00.

You need only scan through my feedback to see the frequency, and value of my transactions. I have paid taxes, GST, HST, etc., on maybe 25% of my purchases from Canada, and less than 1% of my foreign transactions.

I am, in no way, disputing your facts, or your message to Canadian eBay'ers, I'm simply letting you know of my personal experiences.

[calmolley]

Just for your information, what follows is an typical example for a $84 USD sale:
By using the USA Ebay Global Shipping Program option the USA seller subjects the Canadian buyer to an additional $14.20 import charges / brokerage fees ; in addition to the shipping charge of $11.77 using International Priority Shipping to Canada.
This is enough to deter this Canadians from purchasing from the EBay store.
Just for your information US swellers can opt out of the Ebay Global Shipping Program option when they select their shipping choice.

By everyone educating future american EBay sellers of potential lost sales , we just may be able to stop this brokerage / import fees program, which resembles the UPS billing issues.

[chimera148]

I wonder if the US sellers can opt out of the GSP after a bid or offer is made on the item ?

[mdixon]

I've bought about 1000 items on US ebay (I'm in Canada) over the years and have NEVER paid brokerage fees. My best tip is to check on their shipping method. If they ship USPS then great, no worries about couriers. I don't buy if they ship UPS, Fedex or courier. 

I've probably paid an handful of time for GST plus the $5 charge or whatever it is now. Most items under $100 slip through fine. The post office can't be bothered to yank all the packages, with their understaffing and high volume of parcels.

So don't let someone with only 30 feedback scare you away from buying on Ebay USA.

[broda777]

Importing goods worth under $20 will not excise and tax or duty states by CanadaPost.:
http://www.canadapost.ca/textonly/tools/pg/manual/pgcustoms-e.asp

2.2.2 Mail Items Valued at Less Than $20CDN

The CBSA does not assess duty or tax on mail items valued at $20CDN or less. However, this general rule does not apply to certain products including intoxicating beverages, cigars, cigarettes, manufactured tobacco, and publications where the supplier is required to register under the Excise Tax Act. Also, this may not be combined with other exemptions.

The CBSA does not consider items to be of low value in cases where a single transaction is split into smaller shipments to keep the value below $20CDN.