Canada Shipping charges

[Jordan6969 0]

Does anybody know how to get out of canadian taxes and custom brokerage fees on packages from the states? I know the person sending it so I'm just wondering if theres any way to get around duty charges.

Thanks

[G60 0]

use USPS, say it's a gift.

[Jordan6969 0]

Is there a limit on the price the guy sending it can mark it as.

[lando_8 0]

yes, $60CAD so go with $50USD and a gift and you should be fine

[NorthStar 0]

The lower you declare the value, the better chance you wont face any customs/duty fess. Like others have said use USPS and mark as a gift.

[pisani34 10]

exactly what everyone else says, declare as little value as you can, mark it as a gift, and use ANYTHING BUT UPS!!! the brown never does anything for me....they're the ones that will charge you up the @$$ for customs etc.

[--notorious 0]

exactly what everyone else says, declare as little value as you can, mark it as a gift, and use ANYTHING BUT UPS!!! the brown never does anything for me....they're the ones that will charge you up the @$$ for customs etc.

UPS and USPS are two different things

[G60 0]

i think he knows that.

[lando_8 0]

You can use UPS but just ensure that the value (or declared value ;) ) is under $20 as UPS won't charge the brokerage fee. (with UPS Standard that is) Above $20.01 it is $7.00 and goes up from there. (Other UPS services other than Standard don't charge brokerage fees). UPS Rate Guide - Page 59 Brokerage Chart

USPS/Canada Post items marked as a gift need to have a value of $60CAD or less. TC4051 Importing Non-Commercial Goods by Mail

[TheSnake22 0]

How much are the duties and taxes if it's not marked as a gift?

[pisani34 10]

How much are the duties and taxes if it's not marked as a gift?

if you shipped it via USPS, sometimes even if its not marked as a gift, they still wont charge you any taxes/brokerage, im sure that the value wasn't something crazy. If you used UPS however, that non-gift marked package will almost certainly have sort of duty attached to it...so if it was via USPS i wouldn't worry too much, if anything, you wont get some sort of rip-off rate, it would be something understandable

[lando_8 0]

Yup, USPS is hit and miss, you can get lucky and have it fly under the radar. With UPS you will get nailed everytime as I'm sure they are making a pretty penny off the "brokerage fees".

[althoma1 575]

Even if it's under $20 and they didn't charge a brokerage fee (I can't recall ever getting something from UPS without a brokerage fee, but then again I usually get things worth more than $20 and I avoid UPS whenever possible) I still prefer USPS when receiving things from the US. UPS does try to deliver it to you up to 3 times, but if you happen to be out all 3 times you have to go to the UPS pickup depot to pick up the package and that's at least a 30 minute drive from me in good traffic. With USPS they hand it over to Canada Post and if you're not home you can go pick it up at the nearest post office (which for most people will be like 5 minutes away tops).

[TheSnake22 0]

i was asking because i mailed a few sticks out USPS to canada 14 days ago, and so far, 2 have made it, both to quebec, and the other 2 haven't been delivered yet, one to ON, the other to BC. Would they be sitting at the border for some reason waiting for duties to be paid? or is it more likely that its just taking a long time and they're still on the way?

[pisani34 10]

well it is the weekend so no processing gets done right now, so if your looking at the tracking and all it says is "clearing duties" or w/e, they might have already passed duties on the friday, however tracking wont be updated until tomorrow, so be patient and i hope you got insurance if worst comes to worst

[TheSnake22 0]

im not sure you read my post thoroughly... i mailed them, so while they are insured, it's not really sure it's my problem if something happened to them at the canadian border. i was just asking so i could tell the people to whom i sent the sticks what the holdup might be. according to usps, airmail parcel to canada is 4-10 days estimated delivery and it's been 10 business days. is it normal for it to take a little longer?

edit: on usps.com, it says that delivery status is not available for the package online. at the post office they told me that once it reached/crossed the border, they cant track it anymore.

[lando_8 0]

It is more likely that they are just taking longer at the particular border/customs offices in ON and BC. Duties would be collected by Canada Post when the sticks are delivered (if necessary) on behalf of CBSA so they wouldn't be waiting at the border for duties to be paid. Certain offices can be pricks about letting stuff through. I had a buddy who ordered a set of golf clubs from the US late last year and they should have arrived in mid Sept based on the USPS service that the seller shipped them. He didn't get them until late Oct and I'm sure it was just because of some ass at the border sitting on them so he couldn't use last golf season.(our assumption anyway).

As for tracking the package, you can use your USPS tracking number in the Canada Post tracking system as well, you might have more luck there if either stick is North of the border.

i was asking because i mailed a few sticks out USPS to canada 14 days ago, and so far, 2 have made it, both to quebec, and the other 2 haven't been delivered yet, one to ON, the other to BC. Would they be sitting at the border for some reason waiting for duties to be paid? or is it more likely that its just taking a long time and they're still on the way?

[TheSnake22 0]

Thanks for the tip about using the canada post system i'll see if it works.

edit: it says - "Item accepted and entered into sortation plant" translation? i know it wasn't delivered so i guess it's just sitting somewhere...

[lando_8 0]

By the sounds of it the stick(s) is/are in Canada and just waiting to be sorted and routed to its/their destination on this side of the border.

[pisani34 10]

lando probably has it right....any good news for you yet?

[TheSnake22 0]

like i said, it would be more good news for the people getting the sticks than for me, but i found out that one guy did receive his stick on friday, and another guy's stick is in BC not too far from where he lives so it should be there soon. I gave the rest of the people their item numbers and directed them to canadapost.ca so it should all work out just fine. thanks again

[RadioGaGa 162]

I got 2 sticks from Buzz about a month ago...and guess what arrived today...The UPS Invoice for brokerage fees.

Another $44.44 on top.

Bastards!

I thought when the package arrived with no added fees on it, I figured I was free and clear of extra fees.

Crap!

[RadioGaGa 162]

exactly what everyone else says, declare as little value as you can, mark it as a gift, and use ANYTHING BUT UPS!!! the brown never does anything for me....they're the ones that will charge you up the @$$ for customs etc.

What's funny about this bill I just got is there is no Duty amount. I assumed that would be the big expense if there was one at all.

Entry Prep Fee $19.45 (I assume that means taking it off one truck and putting it on another)

Disbursement Fee $5.85

CA COD Surcharge $4.25

Customs GST $5.62

CA Ontario PST $7.49

Brokerage GST $1.52

COD GST $0.26

Duty Amount $0.00

Total $44.44

I say again...BASTARDS! The deal from Buzz was great...but this extra fee has made it not quite as good a deal.

Oh well...live and learn. From now on it's USPS or bust.

But, I'll tell you what Brown can do....

[pisani34 10]

^ thaat really really sucks....anyone seen the article a while ago about some guy whos so fed up with ups's brokerage fees that he had a lawsuit against them? i don't know whats happened with that right now....

[RadioGaGa 162]

^ thaat really really sucks....anyone seen the article a while ago about some guy whos so fed up with ups's brokerage fees that he had a lawsuit against them? i don't know whats happened with that right now....

I don't even have that much of a problem with everything except the $19.45. Thats the one that bugs me.