[quiksliver]

I am planing to buy some headphones from someone in america on this forum, and I was wondering what kind of fees or taxes or duties we have to pay when we get stuff from the states

 

[DanT]

Ok, anything over $20 you have to pay taxe GST and PST,

Now the shipping compagny will ask for brokerage fees, UPS ground and FedEX ground charge very high fees,

USPS only charge $5 for brokerage.

Here something to calculate fees to get an idea of what UPS and FedEx fees are like

TheFinalCost.com - Canadian total shipping fees calculator (brokerage, duty, customs)

However the calculator don't include PST, Which I usually have to pay also

 

[Caribou679]

I bought an headphone from someone in the US who shipped it to Montreal with FedEx. It was declared as $100 value and FedEx delivered it at my door. 3 weeks later I received a $45 bill!!

I would strongly suggest you use USPS(United States Postal Service). I had no problem whatsoever with it , up to know, (touch wood), and often parcels over $20 pass through without any custom fees. Sometimes they get spotted and then you pay the taxes + $8 handling fees.


You can always ask the sender to lie and write a lower value or say it is a gift but I do not suggest that way of dealing. Even a legit value declared on the customs paperworks/form is a good thing: If it is spotted and put aside for you to pay the taxxes, you are sure it will be deliverd to you, meaning it won't be lost. And if it is not spotted by the custom you don't pay the taxes and you are legit.

When I bought the Atrios from the states, it was delivered to my door with USPS and I had nothing to pay, on a $130 + shipping value.

regards,

 

[Trippytiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here something to calculate fees to get an idea of what UPS and FedEx fees are like TheFinalCost.com - Canadian total shipping fees calculator (brokerage, duty, customs) However the calculator don't include PST, Which I usually have to pay also

Hey, that's a great website! Thanks for sharing it.

@quiksliver: Like others have said, only ship with USPS. It's usually slow, but reliable (in my experience) and you won't get stung with ridiculous brokerage fees. In fact, I'd say that at least 75% of the >$20 packages that I've had shipped across the border were never assessed fees of any sort. Customs just aren't that diligent, which is fine by me!