After one rough experience, I would not buy anything from Canada. Shipping, customs, etc..a pain.
Problems with shipping to Canada
I checked the Forums but this topic doesn't seem to have been addressed before so potential shippers to Canada take heed. In June I shipped an item to Canada by FEDEX where the buyer had agreed to pay shipping and be responsible for paying the import duties. However FEDEX has been unable to collect the fees from the buyer and have informed me that as shipper I am ultimately responsible for payment. Luckily the amount I'm out of pocket is not large ($120) but I just wanted Agoner's to be aware of this possible pitfall especially if shipping high-value items
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To stop some of the rumours and to clarify some of the things for shipping to Canada: 1) Educate yourself about shipping costs and customs charges with the shipping company: - basic freight costs - import taxes (in Canada: between 7% and 15 dependent on the state the item is shipped to) - import duty (none for items made in North America following NAFTA rules) - brokerage charges (anywhere between $20 to $200+) 2) The important and difficult charges are the brokerage charges: Usually FEDEX Ground and UPS Ground charge fairly high brokarage charges for their own highly paid lawyer (anywhere between $20 to $200+). Air shipping (FEDEX Air, UPS expedited, UPS Express) are usually free of brokerage charges. See for example: UPS Brokerage rates 3) Of course the distribution of all these different costs should be agreed on beforehand and usually the receiver in Canada will pay for it. Just don't sell to any zero feedback members in Canada if you are afraid of being stuck with customs charges. All cross-border transactions would be so much easier if people on both sides would be aware of the costs and possible problems. Certainly there is no need for an irrational fear of shipping internationally! Good luck, Rene |
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I'm Canadian, and I end up going to Seattle to pick stuff up, because CANADIAN CUSTOMS are a pack of petty rogues. In fact I'm in the US right now picking up an architectural model that I had a friend of mine build. He builds violins, guitars, manolins etc... (I can't resist making a plug for him - he does impeccable work - he is an as yet undiscovered mastercraftsmen of stringed instruments - his company is called 'Brave Old World' guitars. tel# 509-493-0230. He deserves this credit! (and he's a terrible self promoter) If I were to have it shipped directly to Canada it would have cost me up to 500$ in taxes and duty. On the rare occasion that I do use Fedex, I use air, not ground. Brokerage fees are included with air so it ends up costing about the same. |
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