Thread: UPS

After having paid $30 for UPS ground freight they charged me and additional $55.44 for brokerage fees for a box of horn from the US to Canada, so just a quick warning for my Canadian brethren. That make UPS unusable for me. My $100 worth of horn almost doubled as a landed cost, not that UPS took all of that, it was subject to 7% GST.

Usually the brokerage fees are lower. Are you sure Customs Duty wasn't figured into that?

Ouch! I have been looking at shipping costs to Canada, and from what I have read the United States Postal Service has an agreement with the Canadian Post for a direct turnover. No brkerage fees required. No idea on customs, duties, or GST fees/taxes though.

Most countries use Customs fees as a big money maker and go out of their way to collect them. The U.S is an exception.

If you use an outfit like UPS or Fedex they look for any reason to levy fees. If there is no duty there is no brokerage fee. If you pay the fee you are doing it because the duty was charged. often times with private outfits like that the brokerage fee is higher than the duty.

Yea, learned my lesson over 25 years ago not to use a courier service for international shipping for the exact same reason. This has been a issue on this forum and on several photography forums I have belonged too. Do not, repeat do not, use a courier service for international shipping period when receiving goods from out of country to Canada.

Bob

http://trueler.com/2010/09/13/ups-br...ting-avoid-it/ It has been going on a long time.

Bob

Yup the lesson for the day is postal service or shop somewhere else if the supplier doesn't use the post. It's a good thing that the two countries have a free trade agreement. I have had many packages come in from the US. This is the first time I have had a big issue. There has been a few times that Canada Border Services have charge me the usual fee for "inspecting" my packages, but nothing like this. Lesson learned. I hope this post saves someone else the charges by shipping another way, that was after all the motivation for the post, well and maybe a little venting.

Yup - I got stung big time, sent two razors to the US for honing, they came back, knock on the door, $60.00 for customs and duty, I phoned and said nothing was purchased, basically got the too bad, so sad, you lose. So to get two razors honed, the shipping and duties cost me more than one of the razors I sent...sheesh!

Phrank

How were the razors shipped, courier or post? Was part of the bill for brokers fees and part for duty if it was by courier? Did you call Canadian Border Service Agency to see if duty was payable?

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Phrank

How were the razors shipped, courier or post? Was part of the bill for brokers fees and part for duty if it was by courier? Did you call Canadian Border Service Agency to see if duty was payable?

Bob

Was sent by UPS tracked, it was Canada Customs of course that assessed the value and dinged me, package had the standard insurance that comes with a tracking number, and that was that, they'll bleed you any chance they get. DOn't get me started then how they wouldn't take cash...as I explained to them, you know, the legal tender of the country!!

Phrank,
Unfortunately the person you talked to did not have a clue what they were doing. If you ship something from CA to US for honing, the razor itself is being re-imported after being exported for repair. The value of an item on re-importation should not have duty. The only dutiable value is the cost of the repair. Under NAFTA, the duty on that value is 0%. The person working for the courier needed to file the import with a different code to make the above claim. I hate that nobody in the transaction knew what they were doing. The couriers have offices full of staff that must meet quota on the number of shipment they process in a shift so they just key the fastest thing on the declaration and have no incentive to think for themselves.
I say the above as someone who has made their career in international trade and Customs brokerage and it is unfortunate that what you experiences is the norm.