C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 If you ever ship something to Canada, NEVER EVER use UPS... My DH got something on eBay that got shipped via UPS. There were no custom fees to pay - we knew that. But UPS charged us 41.70$ Cnd just to check that there were no custom fees to pay! Over FORTY dollars! It's called brokerage fees. But they had nothing to do! And that's on top of their shipping costs. And to top it all, the guy does not give out change. Luckily I had 42$ so I'm only out 30 cents. But if I had had 60$ he would have merrily taken it all. :mad: :banghead: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Oh yes, I've learned that the hard way too! The brokerage fees are insane. And of course you don't get those back if you need to return/exchange the item.... I buy a lot from the US online but only if they will ship USPS. Sorry you went through that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 We've known about it for a long time, but this particular time, DH forgot to tell the seller, and we're both surprised it came by UPS. Their shipping cost are lower (gee, I wonder why) so the seller got to keep more of his shipping and handling into his own pocket. Meanwhile, we're out 40$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 It stunned me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBC Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Yup. We just received a package for our business that had been shipped to us via UPS. The bill was $61, and it didn't even include the shipping! It was $40.30 for "Entry Prep Fee", and then there was some sort of Bond Fee, a $15 govt charge, and various GST amounts. Totally ridiculous. Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 We've known about it for a long time, but this particular time, DH forgot to tell the seller, and we're both surprised it came by UPS.Their shipping cost are lower (gee, I wonder why) so the seller got to keep more of his shipping and handling into his own pocket. Meanwhile, we're out 40$ I'm just thinking out loud - 'cause it will happen to me eventually, esp. when USPS and UPS look so similar on the online order forms -- what happens if we refuse delivery? I was thinking whether it could get sent back to the vendor & then we ask them to send by the regular post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have had the same thing happen to me. I just don't buy US. Very annoying. I also dislike that people always seem to assume that everyone lives in the US. It makes me what to climb to the top of a hill and yell, "I AM CANADIAN!" Really? I buy TONS of stuff from the US! Mostly because I'm too lazy to drive around shopping; I hate shopping IRL. I'd rather order online & have it delivered. Plus even with shipping etc I usually am saving money. It's not a problem with Canada Post. If duty & taxes are owing, they'll collect & tack on $5 for a service charge. Otherwise, you pay nothing extra. I get books, pet supplies, yarn..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Like the others said, if you watch who the shipper is you're not going to have problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 That is outrageous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 I once paid 11$ brokerage fee on a stoopid TSHIRT.... And a cheap tshirt too it was. I'm not dissing shipping to Canada from the US. I do it all the time (on the receiving end of things). However, UPS is to be completely avoided. USPS is the way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Really? I buy TONS of stuff from the US! Mostly because I'm too lazy to drive around shopping; I hate shopping IRL. I'd rather order online & have it delivered. Plus even with shipping etc I usually am saving money. It's not a problem with Canada Post. If duty & taxes are owing, they'll collect & tack on $5 for a service charge. Otherwise, you pay nothing extra. I get books, pet supplies, yarn..... But don't you have to pay a big percentage in taxes on the value of the package when ordering w/regular post? Is it ever cheaper to ship via ups? I'm genuinely curious because we send a ton of product to Canada, and almost everyone wants it sent via usps because of the issue with ups, and I'm wondering if at a certain dollar value we can save our customers money by shipping via ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 But don't you have to pay a big percentage in taxes on the value of the package when ordering w/regular post? Is it ever cheaper to ship via ups? If there are fees to be paid (customs or taxes) both methods of shipping will charge them. So Canadians cant evade those fees. But we know about them, and we expect them. What we can avoid, though, are the UPS handling fees, that USPS doesn't charge. Shipping via UPS is slightly cheaper, but the handling fees make the total even higher, by quite a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 But don't you have to pay a big percentage in taxes on the value of the package when ordering w/regular post? Is it ever cheaper to ship via ups? I'm genuinely curious because we send a ton of product to Canada, and almost everyone wants it sent via usps because of the issue with ups, and I'm wondering if at a certain dollar value we can save our customers money by shipping via ups. We can get charged duty & taxes & then the postal service collects those fees on the govt's behalf & tacks on a $5 service fee. Some things are exempt duty (if they fall under the FTA) but might be subject to GST &/or provincial sales tax. GST is 5%. Even on items which should be charged duty & taxes, it seems pretty random whether you will be charged or not. I'd say for me it's about 1 in 3 chance that I'll get dinged. You have to understand the UPS fee is NOT in lieu of the duty & taxes. If duty and taxes are owing, you pay those AND their stupid brokerage fee. IMO, it's never better to ship UPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Thank you for the clarification. I was confused - I thought that perhaps the ups fee was taking the place of the taxes. WOW, we will definitely never use ups for shipping north! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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