Canadian tariffs, duties, etc?


If I sell a piece of used audio equipment to someone in Canada, will I be responsible for any tariffs, duties, etc.?
mshan

Actually, I'm a bit of an expert on shipping from the US to Canada having dealt with hundreds of shipments over the years. Some of the posts in this link are accurate, others are patent nonsense.

The short version:
Post Office - slow, hard on packages, poor tracking, cheapest brokerage fees.
FEDEX Express- the best. Fast, reliable, great tracking, no brokerage fees but VERY expensive.
FEDEX Ground - next best. As above but cheaper and slower. Minimal brokerage fees.
UPS- cheap up front. Expensive at the door. Reliable. Good tracking. Ridiculous, bordering on usurious brokerage fees. Class action lawsuit, anyone? Definitely your least cost effective choice.

All carriers charge Federal and Provincial taxes or duties as required. The Post Office is the least efficient tax collector. I have had packages worth $500 US arrive at the door - no charge, due, I suppose, to inefficient data control.

AS for our US friend's assertion that the shipper MUST warn buyers of duties and taxes - this is absurd! It is incumbent on the buyer to know the laws in his home country. A shipper can't be expected to know the regulations in Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka!
I agree with Peebus statements, having had quite a few Canada-US transactions.

People in canada know that they will be charged a brokerage fee, 7% GST, 7% PST, and duties at the border if the product is not canadian made.

why is it that US citizens are not aware of the fees they will be charged, brokerage fees and duties if the product is not made in either canada or the US

My 2 cents
This is the opposite scenario (Candian seller, U.S. buyer), but I recently purchased a piece of equipment from a Canadian seller who shipped the item to me in the U.S. from Canada via UPS. It got held up for about a week in U.S. customs. Although the seller carefully packed the items, U.S. customs no doubt didn't use the same care when when opening, inspecting, and repacking the item. Based on this and my other experience with U.S./Canadian tranactions I'm going to pass on further such opportunities. Politically, I like to think of Canadians as brothers and sisters, but the costs and hassles associated with the practicalities of shipping equipment across the boarder seem to provide more downsides and risks than upsides. If you don't mind delays, extra duty costs, and mediocre handling of your equipment maybe it's worth the effort. To me, it's the issue of non-audio people inspecting and repacking pristine and delicate equipment that was carefully packed that pushes it over the edge. I'm going to avoid it in the future.
I live in Canada and have purchased stuff from US Audiogon members. I always ask for UPS shipping. Yes they charge a lot for brokerage fees, but as the buyer I am the payer and their handling is great - none of the packages I have received have even been opened for inspection and everything has arrived in good condition. The key is to honestly declare what is inside and what it is worth. A large and heavy package declared as a gift is a red flag for customs. My experience has been that the biggest chance of damage comes from customs handling, and not shippers. I always ask the shipper to send via UPS and I pay the usurious fees brokerage fees. These are fees that they charge to steer the thing through customs. Basically UPS does a pre-screening and if it looks legit, they will bulk the stuff through. As others have pointed out, there is always a 15% Canadian government goudge (8% provincial/7% federal) at the border, which the buyer also always pays. The way I look at it, I am saving enough by using audiogon to make the additional costs justifiable. The provincial goudge varies by province. Ontario is 8%, Alberta has no sales tax and charges nothing. If I am buying from a fellow Canadian, the tax goudge will probably be worked into the price somehow since they had to pay it when buying new. Bottom line is be honest, and things will work out better.
Baddabob is right about the taxes (applies to new and used goods). In addition, depending upon the country of origin of the audio equipment there may be duty that is applicable. For example, gear produced in N America is duty free, but subject to the taxes above. Yet, speakers say from Netherlands (Kharma) get dinged with an additional 6.5% duty, beyond the taxes.

I just imported stuff into Canada via Bax, and the great thing is I that I had to clear the customs stuff myself by going to the customs office. I paid the applicable tax and duty (they will take Visa), but then there were absolutely no brokerage fees. On the other hand, as noted above UPS can charge rather hefty brokerage fees. USPS and FedEx sit somewhere in between. I think in the future I would rather do my own Customs and avoid an additional brokerage "tax" from the shipping company.