has anyone ever shipped anything to canada?

[yellowstang1994]

Reason I am asking is if anyone knows the deal on the duties & taxes there. No one anywhere will tell me about it, they say "we don't know what canada will tax you" which is all good and well i'm sure they don't. All I want to know is, if it's going to be a kick in the ass or nothing to worry about. The fedex international 'duties & tax estimator' scares me because basically i don't understand it fully. I need some advice from someone who has shipped something there before.

 

[1TallMF]

If you are the one shipping to Canada, you don't have to worry about what happens at the border, it is the one receiving the package that will have to pay for brokerage fees at the border. If you are the one paying for shipping, then you will pay the international shipping rate for the item. I think brokerage fees (border fees) only apply if the value of the item exceeds $200 (Canadian currency) and the receiver has to pay this amount before the item can be signed over to him/her. So if the item is valued at less than 200, then there shouldn't be any extra costs other than shipping.
As for taxes, as far as I know if the person you are shipping it to is paying you for the item, he/she will pay tax on top of the selling amount. Canadians get the end of a really sh**ty stick when they buy from the U.S. A set of headlights I got off ebay were listed for 68.99 USD and when it was all said and done, it cost me about $200 CDN.
This has been my experience, someone correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.

 

[94gts]

i shipped a fuel pump there about a year ago. the guy told me to put a small declared value on it so it wouldnt cost him much at the border. if you go through ups like i did you need to have their telephone number (for security reasons i guess). 1tallmf got it right i think, but he should know since he lives there

 

[mackey]

It is such a huge pain in the ass if you UPS or fedex it. Send it USPS.

 

[yellowstang1994]

thanks guys, I feel a little better about this. I drove all the way to the fedex world shipping center and the girl there tells me they can't send my package by ground internationally, they can only send it by air which is outrageous price wise. They shouldn't call themselves the "World Shipping Center" then, lol. I would love to send it USPS but while the box is probably 15inx15inx15in it weighs around 20lbs. I wonder if they'd ship something that heavy?

 

[1TallMF]

I hate FedEx, they always give me a hard time with either shipping or receiving an item. But I was told that there is a max. package weight of 30kg, which is about 66lbs, so I don't think there should be a problem. I'd say go with UPS though, they've always been far more helpful and reliable and willing to go the extra mile to make things happen.

BTW, I just received some new foglights shipped from California via FedEx ground, so the girl you talked to is full of *****.

 

[95strokerPSU]

thanks the box is probably 15inx15inx15in it weighs around 20lbs. I wonder if they'd ship something that heavy?

My two piece tonneau cover is in transit via USPS right now in two seperate boxes, so they'll definitely take your box.

 

[SeventyMach1]

When I was an M-day soldier, I worked for UPS. I was an international auditor. In other words, I audited packages that were going out of the US. That was a while back, so I'll give you what I remember .....

The invoice with the package MUST have a declared value. We had a tag for each package that gave it one of 3 value levels. These were loaded into truck a certain way (for reasons I do not know .... maybe used to charge the shipper more .) For different countries, there were different guidlines. Plus the value guides changed often, so I can't really help you there. Just be sure to put that value in there. I do remember this .... Canada was alway the most leniate country as far as inspecting the package goes. LOL, the thing that sticks out the most is the fact that I HATE the way Canada's postal codes are (alpha-numeric).

And packages CAN be sent to Canada via GROUND service. For UPS AND FedEx .... so yeah, I agree that the woman was giving you some BS. There are weight limits with UPS, but trust me, you don't have to worry about that with only 20 lbs.

 

[Therian]

It is such a huge pain in the ass if you UPS or fedex it. Send it USPS.

What he said.

let me give you a for instance:

MM clutch cable kit: 144 CAD
Brokerage fees: $68

this was UPS
DHL is significantly cheaper
Fedex sucks together with UPS

USPS is your best bet for not getting ****ed in the *******

 

[Dan95-5.0]

heres what i do. everything i buy from the states i try to get them to send it VIA USPS. no brokerage fees. the seller pays for the shipping. USPS delivers the item. no fees. most of the time that is.

if the item is sent by UPS, i get the tracking number and call ups. tell them you want to clear customs your self. go down to ups, pick up the paper work, go down to the customs office, pay the taxes, go back to ups and pick up your ****. its a bit of running around but you save $$$$.

i cant stand ebay when they want $40 shipping for something thats not even worth that much just to ship to canada.

 

[STM1965]

Canada Taxes

I ordered a tonneau cover off E-bay $129 US plus shipping. Was sent USPS and was supposed to take 6 to 10 days (not) took 14days. Paid $29 US shipping. Got nailed for GST & PST plus $5 fee for Canada Post which was another $26 bucks.

 

[Ozz]

USPS, mark it as a $10-20 "gift", and that's it. Easy as pie. I used to deal w/collectibles and had a biz partner in Canada, and that's how he always had me do everything to avoid customs.