Duty and import fees in Ontario

[bonth_34]

I want to buy a manga book set from Japan for about $100 to $122 cad. Seller says it’s “free” shipping. I am aware I will need to pay 13% HST but how much is duty or import fee (approximately) if it’s shipping from Japan to Canada Ontario? I just don’t want any surprises. Should I be asking the seller the details of how they will be shipping? I am very lost and not sure what or who to ask. Will appreciate any help with the numbers! 🙂

[reallynicestamps]

There is no duty on books imported into Canada.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html

[marnotom!]

You likely won't have to worry about duty on a book from Japan.  What you might have to worry about are the various customs processing and clearance fees some carriers levy.  (These are usually referred to as "brokerage charges.")  Those fees are often folded into the shipping charge, but not always.  For items sent by mail, that fee is just shy of C$10, if CBSA even bothers to assess and charge for the taxes owing on the item in the first place.  For other carriers, it's a bit of a gamble as fees vary from carrier to carrier and the international shipping method used.

If the seller is offering "free" shipping to Canada and they're on the up-and-up, my guess is that they're going to be sending the book set by mail or a mail-courier hybrid.  You'd be best checking with the seller if they haven't stated the shipping method in the item description.