# US to Canada shipping - duties..ugh



## little devil (Aug 18, 2009)

Call in your order, ask for them to mark down the price for shipping. If there willing to do this, all it does is make it that if your package gets lost you only get the money that the package was marked at.

If their unwilling to help you out, dont buy off of them.

Dogfunk has a tariff included shipping option which saves you from all the other charges that may occur.


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## Justin (Jun 2, 2010)

if you buy off of ebay and they ship with usps there are no charges when the package arrives (so far for me anyway, although i do live in alberta). The problem with ups/fedex is they charge you a fee for them being the broker to get your stuff through customs. It doesn't matter what you buy ups will hammer you when it comes to your door. Always check ebay (if you are ok with last years modle) i have purchased multipule snowboards off ebay and some outerware, i always check to see that the ship with usps. Some ebay sellers ship with usps to canada because they know that canadains are more likley to buy from them then if the ship with ups.


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

Avoid UPS, Fedex, and above all DHL


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## hpin (Feb 11, 2010)

fanshu said:


> Ive read that USPS is the way to go because UPS rapes you with duties and that i should go with USPS air/priorty/express or whatever to help avoid the duties.


They can't rape you with duties. Duty goes to the government and has a fixed rate based on the product category.
They rape you with brokering fees.

You wouldn't have to pay duty for something made in the USA or Mexico.

Personally if I can't get it shipped through USPS, I would prefer Fedex.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

hpin said:


> They can't rape you with duties. Duty goes to the government and has a fixed rate based on the product category.
> They rape you with brokering fees.
> 
> You wouldn't have to pay duty for something made in the USA or Mexico.


You do have to pay HST (or Pst & Gst if your province hasn"t changed over yet)

Go hit the CBSA website, they explain how they charge the tax. 

The courier company's brokerage fees and "special" cross-border shipping rates are where you get screwed. USPS is the way to go. That way Canada Post acts as the broker and they charge next to nothing. They're actually pretty quick too: 2 or 3 business days normally, although they say 5-7.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

Ship USPS and mark as gift. I've shipped several boards internationally including Canada and not much problems afaik.


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## fanshu (Nov 5, 2010)

Justin said:


> if you buy off of ebay and they ship with usps there are no charges when the package arrives (so far for me anyway, although i do live in alberta). The problem with ups/fedex is they charge you a fee for them being the broker to get your stuff through customs. It doesn't matter what you buy ups will hammer you when it comes to your door. Always check ebay (if you are ok with last years modle) i have purchased multipule snowboards off ebay and some outerware, i always check to see that the ship with usps. Some ebay sellers ship with usps to canada because they know that canadains are more likley to buy from them then if the ship with ups.


i guess its usps or nothing, no one selling 157 bata jams on ebay  are there any site where there nice enough to mark it as a gift for you?


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

fanshu said:


> i guess its usps or nothing, no one selling 157 bata jams on ebay  are there any site where there nice enough to mark it as a gift for you?


I got my Vapor from a shipment forwarding company that sent it to me as a used gift with a value of 10$... They buy it on your behalf and as a US company, they usually receive free shipping from the sellers anyways. The service itself cost me only 10 dollars as well. I still can't believe I received that big ass package without having to pay any duties/taxes or otherwise.

That company was forwardit.us


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> I got my Vapor from a shipment forwarding company that sent it to me as a used gift with a value of 10$...


The only problem with doing this: if it gets lost or damaged, the most you can get is $10


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## DoubleT77 (Nov 8, 2010)

I'm reviving this post. I have two options:

1- Ship to a PO BOX jsut across the border, pick it up myself and pay what ever I have to pay at the border. Never Summer Boards are made in the USA therefore I think it would only be HST?

2- Find a site that ships UPSP and get it at home.

Anyone know which would be the cheapest option? If I ship UPSP to home, do I still pay other taxes and Fees aside from what the website charges?


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

UPS/Fedex/etc will charge a brokerage fee.

Duty (separate from taxes) is the "responsibility" of the border services agency.

USPS regular parcel post has no extra charge other than any applicable taxes.

USPS express has a $5 charge for customs clearance.

Applicable taxes will be applied based on the mood and attitude of the border officer who handles your package (teehee).


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## pcdawg (Feb 18, 2010)

Not all shipping methods by UPS and fedex would result in heavy duties and brokerage fees.

If by UPS, if they use worldwide express or expedited shipping, all the fees are including. (though taxes will not).

Fedex might have an option where you pay fees up front as well. 

However, if they ship UPS ground or fedex economy, they will tack on the duties and brokerage fees when it comes to you and these fees are HIGH!


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## Jeklund (Dec 14, 2009)

Any couriers are going to charge you a brokerage fee (FedEx, Purolator, UPS, DHL, Etc...) and their will most likely also be a duty fee. If you use USPS the price you pay for shipping will be the final price no brokerage fees and BS however their will also be a duty fee unless your package is marked as a gift. I buy stuff off eBay all the time and pretty much everything ive bought has been marked as a gift. The couriers are nice cause they are a lot more reliable and quick but they will attempt to get every penny they can out you. You could also check stores that are within a reasonable driving distance as shipping for all your stuff would probably be about the same as a tank of gas.


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## oldlady (Jan 11, 2010)

UPS rapes you with brokerage fees. I just ordered a $69 USD item, and brokerage would have been $30. 

I avoided this by telling UPS I want to clear the package myself. This entails calling UPS and telling them you want to clear the package yourself. Have your tracking # ready. You will then need to drive down to their receiving warehouse to pickup a form which you bring to the tax office to pay the taxes. Once this is done, go back to UPS and submit your receipt from the tax office. Pickup package.

For me, this is feasible because the receiving warehouse is in the same province (BC. Warehouse in Richmond). Sometimes point of entry is a diff warehouse so call UPS to find out more details.


On the other hand, get the vendor to ship either: UPS Worldwide Express Plus, UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Worldwide Express Saver, and UPS Worldwide Expedited Services. The difference could still be cheaper than the brokerage fees.

There are no brokerage fees for any item shipped this method. 

UPS Ground = brokerage fees. UPS: Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada


Hope this helps.


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## DC5R (Feb 21, 2008)

If USPS is not an option, call UPS and/or Fedex and find out from them which methods include the brokerage. From there, pick the cheapest option that would get you the equipment in a timely manner. You're done.

On a separate note, don't every buy boots unless you've test fitted them.


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## Zee (Feb 21, 2008)

FedEX is now including clearance fees in their shipment rates (even ground), but may try to ding you for them again because there apepars to be some miscommunication between departments. If the board is made in the US, no duty, but you will pay GST. If it is made outside the US, I think duty is either 7% or 13% (I don't recall).

If they ship USPS, you're golden, but hardly anyone wants to do that anymore


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## DoubleT77 (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks for the info. It's starting to make more sense. Anyone have any reccomendations for a US site that has the Never Summer Infinity in a 145 that would ship USPS and I could ask them to mark it as a gift?


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## oldlady (Jan 11, 2010)

DoubleT77 said:


> Thanks for the info. It's starting to make more sense. Anyone have any reccomendations for a US site that has the Never Summer Infinity in a 145 that would ship USPS and I could ask them to mark it as a gift?


That's going to be tough for a retailer to mark it as a gift.. one shop I encountered said they can't "for legal reasons."

However, if you can order direct from a manufacturer, you can probably get away with trying to ask if they can ship it and mark it "warranty."


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## DoubleT77 (Nov 8, 2010)

oldlady said:


> That's going to be tough for a retailer to mark it as a gift.. one shop I encountered said they can't "for legal reasons."
> 
> However, if you can order direct from a manufacturer, you can probably get away with trying to ask if they can ship it and mark it "warranty."


That would be really sweet except Never Summer Doesn't ship to Canada. 

Forget about the "gift" what about a site that ships USPS and has the Infinity?


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## oldlady (Jan 11, 2010)

Not sure your budget (and expectations of CAD prices vs USD).. but Boardroom in Vancouver has it. They'll ship too. HTH

boardroomshop.com - Skate, Snow, Wake, Surf :: Order Online or Call TollFree 1-800-316-7669


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## Bobby Budds (Nov 23, 2010)

Royal Board Shop - Snowboards, Longboards, Skateboards, Surfboards - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Order from Royal Board Shop in Calgary. They stock Never Summer, so you will be ordering from within Canada.


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

oldlady said:


> That's going to be tough for a retailer to mark it as a gift.. one shop I encountered said they can't "for legal reasons."


That's because it's fraud.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

fanshu said:


> so i want to buy some stuff from US online retailers since its a pain to find what i want where i live or Canadian online retailers. but what scares me is the duties and taxes.


Too bad you aren't showing your location. Might actually turn out there's a local source for what you want.


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## fredericp64 (Jan 4, 2010)

pcdawg said:


> Not all shipping methods by UPS and fedex would result in heavy duties and brokerage fees.
> 
> If by UPS, if they use worldwide express or expedited shipping, all the fees are including. (though taxes will not).
> 
> ...


So does this mean that fedex air saves you brokerage fees?


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## Chip_Board (Nov 21, 2010)

Just looking into this and I don't understand why people are recommending going Expedited to avoid brokerage if going with UPS.

I'm looking at bringing a $700 board from SLC. The shop is saying 45 bucks for Standard UPS and about 150 for Expedited.. Brokerage charges for a $700 value package are just $56 so in no way does it make sense to pay for Expedited to avoid Brokerage fees...

..or am I missing summat?..


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