John Bell Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 I just searched the forum a few times and have been reading and reading to find the answer to this, but all the discussion is for slightly different situations. If an American buying a used (Canadian-made) board from a private individual in Canada has the seller send the board via Canada Post and insure the board for its actual cost (thus precluding a "used gift--no value" notation), will the American be charged a duty, tax or other fee by anyone (US Customs, USPS, etc.)? If you have firsthand knowledge, that would be great. (Previous posts dealt with which carrier to use, shipping to Canada, or buying from a Canadian company.) Thanks as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Not that I know of, but I've always been the seller. Varies by state I would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 If it's Canadian-made it falls under NAFTA and no duties should apply, don't know about state sales taxes. That should also apply to new boards, anyone import a Coiler or Prior lately and know for sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 I've never been charged duty on new Coilers, I've bought a bunch of them over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_roboteye Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 It is true about NAFTA, the three countries involved (CAN, USA, MEX) have a no duty agreement about products manufactured in any of these three countries. I would however count on being charged a state or federal tax, based on the price paid for the board. As a Canadian, when I buy a board (new or used) from the US, I'm charged both GST (federal goods and services tax), and PST (provincial sales tax.) On my last purchase of two used boards, $400 paid for two boards cost me a combined total of $58 in taxes. I know this doesn't directly apply to your situation because the flow of goods is reversed, but chances are you will be dealt with similarly. Sometimes all these hands in my cookie jar gets on my nerves a bit, but once I go riding I forget about it. later, Dave R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bell Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Fantastic. Glad to know the answer for certain. Hopefully this will help others with the same question in the future. As for our weak dollar: At least we still have Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bell Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Someone (an American) who seems to want to remain anonymous e-mailed me and said this: "No duty. However, I have bought dozens of boards from Canada. You DO occasionally get hit with 'Brokerage' or 'Inspection' fees from time to time. It is typically between 25-75$ charge. This happens up to a month after you have recieved it. They are VERY aggressive about collection." I asked this person if this was the case with boards bought from private sellers and shipped via Canada Post: "All of the above. ... from anyone and everyone. It is their crossing the boarder that is the issue. Some get directed to an inspection service 'Brokerage'; you never know when. Just get a bill in the mail a month or so later. I consider it when I buy from anyone in Canada. I ask myself 'Will it still be a good deal if I get nailed an extra 30-50$ in a month?' If the answer is 'Yes,' I buy it." In case anyone searches this topic in the future, I'd feel remiss if I didn't include this info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Someone who seems to want to remain anonymous e-mailed me and said this:"No duty. However, I have bought dozens of boards from Canada. You DO occasionally get hit with "Brokerage" or "Inspection" fees from time to time. It is typically between 25-75$ charge. This happens up to a month after you have recieved it. They are VERY aggressive about collection." I asked this person if this was the case with boards bought from private sellers and shipped via Canada Post: "All of the above. ... from anyone and everyone. It is their crossing the boarder that is the issue. Some get directed to an inspection service 'Brokerage'; you never know when. Just get a bill in the mail a month or so later. I consider it when I buy from anyone in Canada. I ask myself "Will it still be a good deal if I get nailed an extra 30-50$ in a month?" If the answer is 'Yes,' I buy it." In case anyone searches this topic in the future, I'd feel remiss if I didn't include this info. Man, I just for the life of me cannot see how someone (other than the USPS) could charge a US buyer for this. There is no contract between the recipient and the party charging the money. How on earth will they actually collect the $30-50? You've got your product and they don't have a contract with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bell Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 You have a point. But who knows; maybe there's some fine print somewhere in the shipping agreement that you implicity agree to by accepting the item. Although I would think that such would only apply to the person who purchased the shipping (i.e., the seller). Still, it would get real annoying to have them bugging me all the time, even if I know I'm not gonna pay them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Have you called a US Customs office to see what they can tell you? They were quite helpful the few times I had to call them. Man, I just for the life of me cannot see how someone (other than the USPS) could charge a US buyer for this. There is no contract between the recipient and the party charging the money. How on earth will they actually collect the $30-50? You've got your product and they don't have a contract with you. Good luck with this. UPS Canada will hunt us down for this brokerage charge. I've been charged $40 brokerage fees on $30 items. In Canada we can broker our own goods if we contact UPS in advance of them arriving. Call UPS and ask how you can broker your own stuff, they were surprisingly helpful to me. FedEx's rates are lower but they won't let us broker things ourselves. Canada Post/USPS charges us a flat $5 brokerage fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Good luck with this. UPS Canada will hunt us down for this brokerage charge. I've been charged $40 brokerage fees on $30 items. If "us" means the Canadian shipping party then I can understand... there is a contract between the shipper (UPS) and the shipping party (seller). UPS probably has rights against the Canadian shipper that shipped the goods because there is a contractual relationship. But against the US recipient who is in possession? No way. (which is not to say that there is not a bro-karma obligation for the recipient to help the shipping party pay off the obligation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_roboteye Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Canada Post/USPS charges us a flat $5 brokerage fee. USPS and Canada post are the best. If you want to be royally screwed use DHL, UPS, and FedEx. later, Dave R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bell Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Right. This guy who e-mailed me implied he'd been hit with a brokerage fee even when using CP/USPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 No ways. USPS / Canada Post charge 5$ brokerage and when they want it its on the receiving bill, when you get your goods. Nothing ever gets sent later. UPS and FedEx do do what described above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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