Art Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 Can somebody explain these fees to me? What are they based on? what if no money changes hands? Do they include non-retail private parties? Just ax'in. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 The brokerage fee is the charge for handling duties and taxes. It's levied by whoever deals with Canada customs for you (when importing to Canada) or whatever the equivalent US bureaucracy is. It's an administration fee for handling the paperwork of the import. I only know the damages for US->Canada, but I assume it's similar the other way. When shipping to Canada, the cheapest way is USPS. Canada Post is then the broker If there are duties due, you'll pay them plus a $5 (or is it 6?) fee. If there aren't any duties, you pay nothing. Worst is UPS ground service. The brokerage fee is $40. I don't think they charge you if there are no duties applicable. Fedex ground is in the middle - $25 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 sometimes you can get around them by declaring no value and, no..there shouldnt be duties if the item is a "gift" Ive had huge disputes with FedEx where they tried to levy ridiculous fees against me as a shipper when the recipient refused to pay. Its a huge fcking scam. I told them to shove it up their ass and i never heard from them again. Surprised, actually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted October 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 So is this based on the value of the product? Is there a declaration form that is filled out when shipping where value is claimed? I know, I'm going to find out soon enough but I'm trying to avoid a reaming and would rather learn form other peoples misfortune so as not duplicate overpaying the local govt entities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 yes, declaration of value and the agencies will sometimes look up the value in their "blue book" of sorts. best to have something shipped as a 'gift" with a super low value if possible, but...from US to CAN you cant insure something for more than the value declared so it can be sketchy. Ive never had anything get lost though, and if it is packed right it will not get damaged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 The ONLY time Canada Post does not charge is if the declared value is below $40. Shipments the other way are nowhere near the same sort of control. I've shipped bindings, boards, boots and other stuff and the recipients have never had to pay anything. But that was USPS. I'm sure FedEx and UPS are always looking for sheep to fleece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCrider Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 I have had items go missing with Canada Post but only when they weren't insured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 Being in Wa., one alternative you could explore is shipping to a BC address and then going to get it. The land crossings are usually much more lenient in terms of charging you taxes and duties. If you don't know someone in BC, Mail Boxes, Etc. will accept packages for a small fee. I always load up when I travel to the U.S. Can make for interesting conversations at airline counters and customs though. "Sir, why does you suitcase weigh 120lbs.?" "Umm...brake rotors.". Followed by funny looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 (All this advice is mostly for the US to Canada direction) Declaring as a gift only works if the declaration is under $60. Over $60, they treat it like normal. I expect the US has a similar policy. Watch under-declaring things. Nice trick, but if you're caught you get fined - as the recipient! I import lots from Japan due to my other passion, kendo (Japanese fencing). The manufacturers of kendo equipment usually under-declare by a large factor and as the border officials have no clue about the equipment they get away with it. But a guy I know recently imported a carbon-fibre practice sword declared as a $15 - customs official took one look at it and said "carbon fibre anything ain't no 15 bucks". He had to produce a proper invoice, pay the full duties plus a $90 fine and has been put on some sort of watch list for the next 5 years. Where it's made has an effect on how much duty is owed. Technically, every single piece you import should be marked "made in ---". I once had a shipment sent back to Japan because not every little piece in it had a tag. AFAIK stuff that is built in the US or Canada is subject to no duty from either country (NAFTA donchaknow), so we can freely ship Donek, Prior, Coiler, Bomber and Catek products all over and not get dinged, duty-wise. But in Canada you're still subject to GST on imported stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 Interesting Neil. I had the opposite experience. I bought an old wooden steering wheel for my Alfa Romeo off eBay for $150. It was properly and accurately declared. But, the over-zealous Canada Customs official figured he knew antique car parts, revised the value to $500 and charged me based on that. My buddy who works for Revenue Canada figured it was a summer student trying to do his part to reduce the deficit. I appealed, sent a copy of my eBay invoice and got a refund back within a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted October 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Thanks for all of the input. I think we got it figured out. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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