Canada Shipping charges

[KennyWu 24]

Definitely go USPS.

I went UPS with a motorcycle helmet, $120 duty.

I think a lot of online vendors are accomodating and will ship it via USPS if you ask, but i'm not sure if all of them will declare the value a lot lower.

[lando_8 0]

I buy a fair bit of stuff from the US (read eBay) and I always ask the buyer if/to ship USPS. If they don't I won't buy from them as UPS' brokerage fees are a joke. They even state that Custom/Duty may be charged on top of the brokerage fee and as you can see in Radio's case, this was the case. $44 brokerage fee and no duty (i.e. no charges/fees/levies that need to go to the Canadian Government). I would rather see the seller make the money than the shipper. Why should the shipper be making more money on the transaction than the seller, makes no sense. You are already paying for shipping, they are essentially double billing for their services.

Always specify USPS if you are in Canada and buying from the US!! Unless it is a deal too good to give up. Chances are there is somebody else who will ship it the method that you, the buyer wants.

[ljbaron 0]

Sorry to jack this thread, but i was wondering if someone could help me out.

I bought something from MI and is coming to Canada by airmail.

It was shipped out tuesday.

How long before it gets here?

And how long do you think the border will hold it for?

[althoma1 575]

Sorry to jack this thread, but i was wondering if someone could help me out.

I bought something from MI and is coming to Canada by airmail.

It was shipped out tuesday.

How long before it gets here?

And how long do you think the border will hold it for?

Based on personal experience about 10 business days, but it varies.

[ljbaron 0]

Sorry to jack this thread, but i was wondering if someone could help me out.

I bought something from MI and is coming to Canada by airmail.

It was shipped out tuesday.

How long before it gets here?

And how long do you think the border will hold it for?

Based on personal experience about 10 business days, but it varies.

Where abouts do you live and where was it coming from?

[teamhystyk 0]

What if you need to insure your packages for lets say $200.00 can you mark them on the customs form that the value is only $50.00? how does that work out? I ship a lot of packages to canada and need to insure them so how can you get around this if you need insurance? Wont customs just look at the insured amount and wonder why it doesnt match the value on the customs form?

[ljbaron 0]

Put the decared value at $50 and mark it as a gift and you should be allright.

[lando_8 0]

What if you need to insure your packages for lets say $200.00 can you mark them on the customs form that the value is only $50.00? how does that work out? I ship a lot of packages to canada and need to insure them so how can you get around this if you need insurance? Wont customs just look at the insured amount and wonder why it doesnt match the value on the customs form?

You have to take the risk that the package doesn't get damaged or go missing if you want to undervalue it to save on the customs. Sending via USPS I guess you have to determine if it is worth the potential $17-20CAD in savings in avoiding duty vs. getting a damaged product (which if it is worth $200 I'm guessing could be more expensive than $17-20 to fix/replace).

I don't think you can expect USPS to insure a "$50" package for $200 even though the actual value is $200. If you need the full value covered then you will just have to put the full value. You can still check gift and a lot of times it will still get through. Depending on what it is it might get through too, "used hockey equipment" seems to work, or "demo xxxx", "xxxx sales sample", "warranty replacement"....

When paying duty on stuff that is sent via USPS we generally only have to pay a service fee of $5 ($8 if it is EMS) plus GST on the value of the item so it usually isn't a huge deal (unless it is Sat radio stuff). It is with UPS, etc where we really get screwed (brokerage fees)

[donkey87 0]

What if you need to insure your packages for lets say $200.00 can you mark them on the customs form that the value is only $50.00? how does that work out? I ship a lot of packages to canada and need to insure them so how can you get around this if you need insurance? Wont customs just look at the insured amount and wonder why it doesnt match the value on the customs form?

That might work with the postal service but if you'll get screwed if you do that with UPS. While Customs will use your custom's declaration to calculate duty and any taxes, UPS uses the insurance amount to calculate the brokerage fees.

[hip check 0]

For insurance purposes, mark down the full amount, or you'll only get the $50 you put down. The people who inspect packages aren't as dumb as we think they are, and can hold/seize products that they think are under-valued. I have had items take 4 weeks to travel 150 miles, but they go hung up at the border. I've had other things take 4 days, breezed right through. Sometimes you get lucky.

Don't mess around trying to get something with cheap shipping or customs and duty if you REALLY want it. It's not worth the risk, no matter how slight.

Also, it is unreasonable to expect retail stores to mark something as a gift - how dumb do you think the Customs people are when they see a package marked 'gift' with a return address to Hockey Giant or EW Hockey??? Most stores simply won't do it.