[coco]

I am on the preorder list for the Westone 3s and I am just wondering about other Canadians experience with getting headphones shipped up from the US. I am worried that the phones will come with a $60 bill from the Feds. I have heard that it matters what shipping company you go with but have found no definitive answer through searching. I know for sure to avoid UPS as their brokerage fees are crazy. I can get them for $399 in Canada but better deals abound in the States. Anyone have any advice?

 

[riffer]

You have been the victim of some misinformation. The only worry you have on big fees is if you use UPS Ground/Standard/Standard to Canada or Fedex Ground. Other UPS, Fedex and USPS fees should be $10 or less.

If the seller offers the high fee services from UPS or Fedex, it is best to avoid them all together. Unless they have a pull-down menu or something with the specifc shipper and service, I find that most sellers will send it Ground, even if you specifically ask them to send it something else like USPS.

You probably won't get hit for duty. You will get hit for taxes for sure if you use anything but USPS. You sometimes won't get hit for taxes if you use USPS.

The best advice I can give is to assume the worse case scenario and calculate your all-in cost for each supplier and make your decision based on that. Don't forget the fx fees on PAypal and your credit card.

 

[warpdriver]

Basically....

If the shipper uses Fedex Ground or UPS Ground.........you are screwed, you owe brokerage fees PLUS a possibly of couple of other fees PLUS PST/GST

If the shipper uses Fedex Express or UPS's faster services, then the fee is minimal + PST/GST

If the shipper uses USPS, pay $5 + GST/PST on (marked) value of package. Sometimes it will slip through but not often (In My Experience)

What the above poster is saying is that most companies who offer shipping using UPS One Day/Two day or Fedex Express will probably also use Ground if you choose the cheaper shipping option. Unless they say exactly which method they ship with, you may want to avoid them altogether.

 

[Yuk_Fai]

Agreed, UPS is teh suck (when it comes to fees/brokerage).

Whenever I buy something, I always specify to ship it with USPS (or equivalent), as they're customs/taxes/whatever are very reasonable. So far, I haven't taken a major hit when shipping with them

.

 

[Mik]

USPS is by far the cheapest for extra charges. Usually USPS air mail makes the most sense, and is also much faster (and cheaper) than UPS or Fedex too.

If you need something here immediately, I've had good experiences with USPS Global Express Mail or whatever they call it now. There's a similar service in Japan called EMS that is quite cheap and gets stuff to Canada in 2-3 days.

After getting screwed by UPS (and their scamming third-party brokerage friends) enough times, I now entirely avoid all sellers that insist on UPS or Fedex.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik /img/forum/go_quote.gif USPS is by far the cheapest for extra charges. Usually USPS air mail makes the most sense, and is also much faster (and cheaper) than UPS or Fedex too. If you need something here immediately, I've had good experiences with USPS Global Express Mail or whatever they call it now. There's a similar service in Japan called EMS that is quite cheap and gets stuff to Canada in 2-3 days. After getting screwed by UPS (and their scamming third-party brokerage friends) enough times, I now entirely avoid all sellers that insist on UPS or Fedex.

Seconded. USPS for me as well. Here on PEI I typically pay $5 brokerage fee plus GST. Many other provinces you have to also pay PST or HST though.

 

[Lyssky]

Hello to all,
Can you please calculate the tax/customs fees of a $1300 product ordered from USA to Quebec?
thank you

 

[Shane D]

Hello to all,
Can you please calculate the tax/customs fees of a $1300 product ordered from USA to Quebec?
thank you

It depends on the shipping company used. First off you will have to pay the sales tax on delivery. For Nova Scotia that is 15%. Some courier will also charge a $10.00-$15.00 clearance fee.
I think it was DHL that also charged me a $10.00 fee to collect the HST.

The cheapest, in my experience, is anything delivered by Canada Post.