[rogan]

took USPS 3 weeks to get something to me from the US
 
they then wouldnt give me my item until i had paid them their ridiculous price (£21 (~$30) for a $100 item)

 

[elnero]

Quote:

took USPS 3 weeks to get something to me from the US
 
they then wouldnt give me my item until i had paid them their ridiculous price (£21 (~$30) for a $100 item)

What did those charges entail and what was the carrier on your end?
 

 

[kyoshiro]

the only way to not have the receiver get the after bill from Fedex or UPS is probably to have the sender pay the fees and taxes involved. 
Apparently when I order from mouser, if i choose USPS i have to pay around 200HKD worth of fees but when I use their freeshipping fedex / ups its inclusive lulz
but yeah when i ordered 40 dollars of goods from US when i was in canada and paid 50 for fedex shipping, I got billed another 20 a few weeks later. thats how stupid it is.

 

[obzilla]

Hi, another in Canada.
 
The best experiences I have had have been through Puraltor. Not many places in The States use them, or may even be able to, but BH for example does. All taxes are precalculated in the shipping total, paid, and there is no delay in customs and no surprises. I have bought multiple high dollar items from them largely due to the convenience and reliability involved.
 
Second best is USPS/Canada Post combo. You can factor HST as the amount they will require, plus a small amount for brokerage/handling. Most recent example being LCD2s from headroom. $995, they wanted $140. That is 12% HST, plus a small fee. I received tracking info and updates from both USPS and Canada Post online (Canada's didn't start until it was in the country, and USPS's didn't continue once it had arrived in Canada).
 
UPS and FedEx come in last. If the items are shipped airmail, it's pretty much the same as USPS/Canada Post for items of US origen. FedEx is certainly the pricier on the receiving end.
 
UPS and FedEx ground are the nightmares. They take forever and spring the most on brokerage fees. I will never use them unless shipping something very large of low value. Like trucks full of dirt.

 

[wullymc]

Quote:

HeadAmp supplied the Pico Slim amplifier to myself in Toronto,Canada.
I have ordered electronics from many parts of the globe.
Once an item from USPS/EMS clears customs it enters into the Canada Post package stream.
If you are unavailable to receive the package after a couple delivery attempts,the parcel goes to your local postal outlet based on the postal code.
From there you can pick up the item with ID and a signature at your convenience.
FedEx,along with other private parcel services are known for their atrocious "brokerage fees" on international items.
They have a large window of estimated delivery time,if you plan to be on hand for receiving.
You will play a longer game of tag with FedEx.
In order to make arrangements for outside pickup,you have to be fortunate enough to live close to a main FedEx depot,which are certainly not as extensive as sub postal outlets.
In my case,I am close to Pearson International Airport,so it is not inconvenient to pickup there.

I am also in Canada and I will not be purchasing unfortunately from Vendors shipping with Fedex or UPS.  Their brokerage fees are unreasonable.  At least with USPS we have a chance at not paying the high duty that we are guaranteed to pay with Fedex or UPS.
 
I know that it is more administration on your behalf but I would offer the customer whatever delivery him/her chooses.
 
Good on you for asking.  I appreciate your concern for the customer!
 

 
 

 

[gduck]

Thank you for asking customers on their opinion about this ! IF only other vendors be so kind..............
From a customer point of view and my own experience, i echo the other ppl who have said that if they see a vendor using fedex, ups, they run away.
I don't mind usps/canadapost tracking info, sure its not as up to date as the other guys, but it gets the job done. I mean, to be honest, i don't really need that much info, when they ship out, they ship out, and when you receive your item, well end of story. I don't need to kno every single pit stop at exactly what hour and what minute the parcel has been scanned and moved.
Secondly, fedex in my experience have ridiculous time frames, its like waiting for the cable man, are you coming at 9 am, 2 pm, 8 pm ? I don't want to wait in my house the whole entire day. 
Also, if you miss their visit, you have to wait until they come again, which again, is in a 10 hour window, they do this sick kind of routine 3 times in a row, and when that happens, they send your parcel to pick up at some no mans land.
What Canadapost does, if you miss their first and only visit, they leave a tag on your door, telling you when you can pick it up ( usually the day after ) and at which location, which will keep it for you for 2 weeks ( great if you happen to be on vacation ), and more importantly, these locations for pick up are close to your home since there are many canada post stations throughout, ( i live next to a shopping mall, which is where all my parcels go, lucky me ).
Last but not least, the duty fees, enough horror stories there, canadapost is very reasonable, sometimes overly generous, in the way that many times i don't even get taxed, the worst i ever gotten was paying the tax, but thats something i should be doing anyway.
 

 

[buntokapi_t]

Quote:

if it's FedEx Ground into Canada, does that change anything?

FedEx Ground is the bad one.  The shipping is paid for and then you also get a brokerage bill (applicable taxes and/or duties, plus brokerage).  Items shipped across borders via the Ground method are cleared and charged by FedEx TradeNetwork (something like that) which are their chain of brokerage firms.  This is why you may get the bill later (in one situation, I got bill before the item actually arrived).  Because you don't know which office is processing the brokerage, it is harder to clear the item yourself (you may want to, but find that the office has already done it).
FedEx Express is different.  Brokerage charges are already factored in the cost of shipping, but you still pay the applicable taxes and/or duties.  Higher upfront costs, but more predictable final costs.
 
USPS is handled by Canada Post (CP), as mentioned by others.  Brokerage/Handling fee is about $10, plus the applicable taxes and/or duties.  This is charged at the descretion of CBSA inspectors/agents (that is, you may not get charged at all) and collected at delivery by CP. Delivery can be a tad unpredictable and tracking can be an issue because barcoded items may not be scanned when they enter Canada.  I've had items delivered that had tracking information no longer being updated after: at the border, at customs inspection, at last major hub/sorting facility, on the vehicle...
 
 

 

[MultiplexMan]

USPS/EMS - only good experience with their service to Australia. 
 
FedEx - only have received a couple items from USA.  No issues but significantly more expensive. 

 

[Fah-Fah-Fooey]

Its nice to see a company taking interest in duty and brokerage fees as it can really make a difference in final cost.
 
From my own perspective as a Canadian who shops across the border
-USPS, hands the parcel directly of to Canada Post who charges the duty/tax on the package and collects it, which they don't seem to bother if the package is under $20 and let a fair amount of the under $200 get through without additional charges. I believe they currently charge a flat rate of $8.50 for brokerage.
-UPS is required by the Canadian Government to provide all the paperwork that goes along with importing, and their fees can be ridiculous when using they're cheapest shipping option. Unfortunately I cannot find the bills from the last two times I shipped with them or I would provide examples.
-Fed Ex, I don't have any experience with them but i would expect them to be quite similar to UPS.
 
If you want to sell to Canadians it would be helpful to list which products are produced in a country in the NAFTA agreement as these products will not be charged any duty, UPS will still charge brokerage, but with the increased USPS costs this may make them the cheaper option. While a country with 18% duty would probably be better served being shipped USPS in hopes of not being charged duty.
 
I might also recommend including a letter with any international orders asking the recipient to report any duties charged so you can gather some first hand knowledge to better inform your customer in regards to shipping options, because in the end the cheaper you can ship a product to your customer, the happier everyone will be since neither you nor your customer benefit from brokerage or customs fees.

 

[kiertijai]

I am in Thailand and am expecting the Aristaeus probably in April
i have ordered several items from US using Fedex and USPS express international
and USPS priority international.
USPS and Fedex  never fails to deliver.  Fedex may be one day earlier.
Both of them have good tracking.  Fedex is more expensive.
However I prefer the USPS express international even if the S&H are the same.
I have to pay for custom for both services at the time of delivery.  Fedex will
call before , usps some times to inform the amount of custom.  Thai custom
will charge heavily for the items sent by Fedex may be up to 30% of the declared value
and if they are not confident about the declared value they will hold the items at the
custom so there may be some delay because of that. They will also charge for daily
storage fee.   I have less problem with upsp delivery.

 

[davidgotsa]

Took exactly 5 business days for me to get the stuff I ordered from the US to Europe with USPS. That was Priority International I think. 

 

[aces]

EMS: Arriving within a reasonable amount of time, and that the driver/courier delivers it straight to my door and would wait to get my signature instead of just carding it and leaving it at the local post office, or leaving it randomly on my property in plain sight. Although this may differ for other people due to contractors and what not.
 
FedEx: Tracking, Comes on the day/day before the day it's estimated. Although the cost difference (at the time) was significantly more.
 
In the end I just think it depends on the item being shipped itself. If it costs a significant amount (ie. $3-400+) then I would say ship with FedEx, while if it's for an item less than that EMS should be fine.

 

[graben]

 
Quote:

This is my general experience receiving parcels:
 
EMS: Fast and efficient and they ask for any customs charges at the door. Sometimes customs inspection is delayed a little, so it has taken a day or two longer than expected, though not lately. Packages are almost always opened for inspection. The postal service here is excellent otherwise.
 
FedEx: They send a bill after the fact asking for their customs brokerage fee etc. They ask for this even when, if the item had arrived via EMS, I wouldn't have been charged anything. FedEx items are processed by a major Japanese courier company (Sagawa) and not FedEx themselves. They tend to quote a conservative delivery date estimate which they always beat by a day or two.

I completely agree with the above comments.
 
 

 

[essencez]

An Australian perspective.
 
USPS/EMS - Slow and inexpensive. The item gets stored at your local post outlet if you're not home to receive it.
 
FedEx - International shipment I recieve are faster than standard Aus to Aus packages lol. Would definitely pay the premium to use this service if the item is anything other than accessories.

 

[Masika]

Another Australian point if view.
USPS - generally slow but sometimes here within days of purchasing. I have had ALOT (ask my wife) of items arrive via this method. I have never had one not arrive and very few damaged items. My preferred method. It is the tortoise of the race which is unfair as ithee really arrives sooner rather than later.
FEDEx - expensive and generally has the same arrive time as USPS. Most of the time items are damaged. Always get replacements bur takes forever with claims. When given a choice I will always choose USPS.