Buying speaker and amps from Canada to the US.Tax?

I know that anything being shipped from Canada into the US via UPS will end up getting you some type of customs brokerage fee tacked onto it. I do not know if this is directly related to declared value or not. All i know is that it raised the price of an amp that i bought a month after it arrived. UPS sends a bill to the recipient after the fact, so it was pretty much a complete shock to me to have to come up with this "extra" money. As such, it made me change the way that i think about doing transactions across the border. I do not know if one would encounter the same thing going into or coming back from Mexico or not.

Having said that, i have used the Postal Service to have low weight items ( DAC, preamp, etc... ) shipped to me from Canada. There was no extra charge that was passed onto me that i was ever aware of. As such, i would try to use that method if possible. Shipping speakers and hefty amps through the Postal Service might be a bit much to ask though... Sean
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Ups is the Issue not Canada or US Law. UPS money grab. They charge you a brokerage fee. Rip off fee is what it should be caled. If its under 70 Pounds Use the Postal service cross border. I bought a DVD player last week took 7 days to arrive. I paid the 15% Tax that was due and a 5.00 processing fee. Thats how easy it is. If UPS had handled it. They would have added about 40.00 to the transaction.

I have had a few items shipped to me from Canada. If you use UPS, your asking to be charged. If its a light item use Canada Post as Sean mentioned. If its heavy, use Fed Ex economy international air, its quite reasonable. From what I can tell, the trick is to ensure that the person shipping the item to you fills out the duty papers properly. I was told to use terms such as "For personal use Only". The stereo shop also taped to the box a page of the brochure of the speakers that showed the speakers and also said they were make in Canada. Even then, one of the speaker boxes was opened and inspected, but no duty/other charged.

I bought some expensive interconnects from Canada more than a year ago, and then about 6 mos. after that I got a bill for $80 from UPS! I ignored it and never heard anything again. PLEASE don't forward my post and email address to UPS!

I have both sent items from Canada to the USA, and received items from USA. I have been charged UPS brokerage fees even on items that were produced in Canada. I know that some items have had brokerage fees added on after I have sent them to people in the US. I think UPS is a bit of a rip-off. I have enquired about their brokerage charges, and they say if you use an expedited service such as "2-day", the brokerage charges are included. I have never had any brokerage charges with Canada Post or the US Postal Service.
Duties should only be charged on items originating in non-NAFTA countries.