[hell0un1verse]

Hi Canadians out there,

I ordered some stuff from Mouser some days ago, today the package is supposed to show up, the sad news is the duty charge is ridiculously high, I ordered some C$70+ parts, and I was told that the customs duty charge is around $40+

Oh my goodness, how can I live with that! Actually I found Digi-Key is great, they have stock in Canada, and provide a C$8 one box shipping, and it's very fast, you place the order in the afternoon and get it the next morning! But unfortunately, Digi-Key doesn't stock something like Vishay Dale MF resistors, that's why I ordered from Mouser, but the duty cost really hurts me.

I wonder how you guys deal with this issue? Order from Digi-Key only? Or from Partsconnextion? BTW, I chose UPS standard as shipping method for this Mouser order, it takes one week to arrive but cost more than the C$8 for Digi-Key's one box shipping, which is by Purolator.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hell0un1verse I ordered some stuff from Mouser some days ago, today the package is supposed to show up, the sad news is the duty charge is ridiculously high, I ordered some C$70+ parts, and I was told that the customs duty charge is around $40+

That $40 is NOT a "customs duty charge"! There is NO duty or tariffs charged on items coming from the US.

You were ensnared by UPS' ridiculous "brokerage" fees. All of the money you paid, except for PST/GST, goes straight to UPS. On a $40 item, it's possible to pay up to $50 in UPS fees, on top of whatever you paid UPS to ship the item in the first place. There have been tons of threads about this. Do a search for the keywords "UPS" and "brokerage". FedEx is less bad, but still bad.

The only safe way to order items from the US is to make sure they're shipped via the US Postal Service, not UPS or FedEx (especially not UPS). Orders coming into Canada via the US Postal Service are charged $6+PST+GST. That's it. Fortunately, Mouser will ship via the US Postal Service if you select that as an option.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

I ordered parts from Mouser a while ago and encountered no fees. Make sure to use USPS over the other options.

 

[hell0un1verse]

Gosh, I have little experience with UPS, I chose UPS standard because it seemed to be the most cheap shipping method.

Thank you for letting me know this.

 

[mb3k]

I just received 2 packages from Mouser via UPS. One of them was 5lbs so I had to go through UPS and it cost $70 for the brokerage fees. On the other hand the other package was fee-free... probably because it only consisted of 3 resistors (backordered item shipped).
Too bad there wasn't a Mouser Canada

 

[AlanY]

Now that the Canadian dollar is so high, I imagine a lot of people are going to get hit by this kind of trick from UPS. Tell your friends.

By the way, it *is* safe to order items less than $20 CAD via UPS. They don't charge any fees if the total item cost is less than $20 CAD (not $20 USD). But as soon as you cross that line, they start to sodomize you. For instance, on an item that works out to $20.01 CAD, you pay $7.00 "brokerage fee" + $5.85 "disbursement fee" + $4.25 "COD fee" + GST on all those fees, on top of the PST/GST that you would have paid in the first place. That's $18.30 in UPS fees on a $20.01 item, on top of the rougly $15 you paid UPS in the first place to ship the item.

It gets worse on more expensive items. On an item that works out to $40.01 CAD, you pay $19.45 "brokerage fee" + $5.85 "disbursement fee" + $4.25 "COD fee" + GST on those fees, for a total of $31.61 in ridiculous UPS fees (on a $40.01 item!). That's on top of the roughly $20 you paid UPS in the first place to ship the item.

 

[hell0un1verse]

UPS is really evil. A hard lesson learned

So, for ordering from US, I need to go with USPS or express services from UPS/FedEx, with which no brokerage fee is charged, am I right?

Thanks AlanY!


Edit: Or maybe another way is calling in at Digi-Key and have them special order parts not in stock, if the lead time is ok, say a week, then it's worth waiting. I really like that 8 bucks one box shipping.

 

[tigger]

USPS is the best way to have your Mouser parts shipped. As mentioned above, the handling fee is $6 + PST and GST. Normal shipping time is approx. 1 week for this method.

Also, check out Newark as they have a similar shipping method/pricing to Digi-Key here in Canada.

 

[FallenAngel]

Newark is definitly the way to go for Canadian! I always buy everything I can from there. Never had any fees yet, $10 flat rate for next day delivery

 

[B-side J]

Funny story about UPS..I ordered $200 CAD worth of camera gear and lenses and the sell would only ship UPS

So I bit the bullet and figured it was still going to cost less that if I was to buy it all localy. The package showed up when I wasn't home so I figured my GF was going to be pissed that I spend a buncha $ and then she had to pay the Fees. The Kicker is that the seller claimed it as $10, 1 item, 1 pound!

there was like 12 items and the box was huge....Someones pocked must be gettin lined!

But other than that UPS is BRUTAL... USPS is the only way to go..even if it costs more for shipping the end cost is far less.

 

[hell0un1verse]

Thanks.