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67 replies

Shipping to Canada - "The Resolution"

dougmdougmMember
Well, I've stuck my neck into this one before, so here I go again. In the last few months I have had 4 separate orders come in from the U.S.
1. Full set of 17" campi replicas with tires mounted. Shipped UPS ground.
Duty = $0.00, Tax = $0.00, Broker fees = $0.00
2. Electronic stuff. Shipped UPS ground
Duty = $0.00, Tax = $9.29, Broker fees = $39.10+tax Total COD $50.34
3. Steering wheel hub from a California vendor. Shipped UPS ground.
Duty = $0.00, Tax = $0.00, Broker fees = $0.00 (this invoice was labeled, replacement for damaged parts,
no charge)
4. Headlight conversion kit. Shipped USPS/Canada post.
Duty = $0.00, Tax = $32.50, flat transaction fee = $5.00 Total COD $37.50

Obviously NAFTA is working, as no duty was owed on any of it.
This is the first time I have ever been charged tax on a mailed parcel. So I have to retract my statement that I have never been charged any of this when goods are mailed.
Broker fees and tax seems to be a crap shoot with no rhyme nor reason. Broker fees have no relation to the value of the goods.

I just assume that these charges will be added and collected COD on every delivery. If I get one with no charges, bonus, I got away with one. All charges were COD and I could not recieve the goods until they were paid! I still do not agree with the idea that I can be charged after the delivery has been made. This has not happened to me YET.

I paid all these fees and taxes. I fully agree that shipping charges and all related duties and taxes are the responsibilty of the buyer.

With the exchange rate what it is right now, coupled with shipping costs and charges, I won't be purchasing anything out of the U.S. that is not directly related to keeping the car in running order.
There is lots more I would like to do to the car but it will have to wait until better times.

Doug M
Pantera 3rd&LastPantera 3rd&LastMember
I had 2 Canadian members contact Carmen/Carmelo about this invoice. He told them he would take care of it. This was a month ago and he still has not paid it. He was described as "not good with e-mails". Well, he was able to use e-mail when he purchased the parts.

Do I sound pissed? Yes. And now to get the FedEx police off my back I am paying the bill. I suggest to anyone shipping north to clearly identify any potential customs fees up front with the purchaser before shipment.

Not a reflection on the many great Canadian Pantera owners. It would just be prudent and protect both parties.
Jeff
C cdem72 (Guest)
It is true there are no brokerage fees charge by UPS for air shipments, but getting away without brokerage fees for land shipment of wheels is a rare occurance! UPS will explain their fees to you and it isn't pretty. So, if you pay COD, above the cost of the item, you will pay Provincial (6-7%) and Goods & Services taxes (5%) on most items, and brokerage fees as follows:
$20.01-40.00 = $17.96;
$40.01-100.00 = $31.03;
$100.01-200.00 = $41.66;
$200.01-350.00 = $54.18;
$350.01-500.00 = $59.53;
$500.01-750.00 = $66.25;
$750.01-1000.00 = $72.87;
$1000.01-1250.00 = $79.54;
$1250.01-1600.00 = $83.89;
$1601.00-5000.00 = $87.88;
for every $1000 or fraction above $5000 add another $5.70. I was told this today, but if you prepay by credit card there may be some discount. UPS used to charge a fee for missed deliveries when they would place a sticker on your door, but say that is not done now! I seem to recall complaining about the brokerage on smaller valued items as it sometimes doubled the cost when shipping was included, so I have always tried to clear the items myself at Customs to eliminate the brokerage. But many times UPS has tried to tell me, and will tell you, it can't be done! YES, IT CAN! You need to get their tracking number ASAP and inform the receiving UPS depot (Canadian side) that you wish to clear the item yourself. When it arrives it will be held at the depot, you go there and get the Customs paperwork, take it to Canada Customs where they will charge any duties and the appropriate taxes, stamp the paperwork and FAX back to UPS that the item is cleared for release. You go back to UPS, sign and pick up your item. It can be a hassle if you, the UPS Depot, and the Canada Customs office are not close together, and your time, gas etc.
4nhotrod4nhotrodHe who dies with the most toys is dead
Don't use UPS! They are crooks.
I just had a billet fuel filler sent to me from Quella. For some reason ( the way they filled out the forms) they were charged $88USD after the shipment was sent ($300 value).
$500 CND for a fuel filler. What a bargain.
Hall and Quella have both agreed to use USPS for future Canadian shipments
For general perfomance parts at great prices and NO DUTY/BROKERAGE AND FREE SHIPPING go to
www.performanceparts.com
Will
Last edited by 4nhotrod
Pantera 3rd&LastPantera 3rd&LastMember
Guys,
All good suggestions. Discuss shipping etc. with your seller BEFORE your purchase.

However, the point of this original thread is that the BUYER not the SELLER assumes responsibility for fees and duties. If you do not like the fees take it up with your government. To stick the seller with paying YOUR fees is not correct.

Carmen/Carmelo of Interpropane was going to reimburse me for the fees I ultimately ended up paying. Guess if he ever did? No. Just a cheap jerk that makes selling to Canada not worth the hassle.

Jeff
dougmdougmMember
Four years later and things haven't improved much !
I ordered a part (front urethane bumper for a toyota) from a vendor in California.

As soon as I got a shipping number, I contacted UPS in Calgary and told them to notify me when the parcel arrived so I could broker it into Canada myself.

They did. UPS faxed me the document I would need for Canada customs. That afternoon I went to customs and paid the taxes and broker fees (about 1/4 of what UPS charges for this service) for my parcel. Got the release papers from customs. Faxed these to UPS first thing next morning and arranged delivery for that afternoon. Truck arrives on schedule, unloads parcel, nothing owing, all fees paid.

So far, so good, I'm thinking.

Not so. Six weeks later I get an invoice in the mail from UPS for $76.00 to cover brokerage fees and storage.

I contact UPS and I'm directed to the disputed invoice department. Sent them an e-mail explaining my situation and asking for some clarification on charges, as I brokered the parcel myself. I never flat out refused to pay, I just wanted clarification on how I was being charged broker fees on something I brokered myself. NEVER got a reply. Sent new e-mail a week later. NO reply. O.k. fine, I forget about the whole thing.

A month later, I get a final notice invoice in the mail for, you guessed it, $76.00. At this point, I just file it away in the fu section.

Now, the situation arises, is UPS chasing after the vendor for this money? If they are, I have no idea. This is a fair sized after market body kit supplier in the U.S. and I'm sure they would deal with it.

BUT

If this scenario cropped up during a transaction between two individuals, I could see how it would make for a very uncomfortable situation.

Just my 2cents. Rant over.

Doug M
bosswrenchbosswrenchMember
Doug, because of the nonsense that occurs at the border on most ANY shipment, quite a few Canadians maintain a mailing address of some sort on the U.S side. I'm told its worth the drive just to avoid the hassle. The money is not very significant compared to the paperwork, officials on both sides with a Napoleon complex, etc. Just a suggestion.
panterrorpanterrorMy 74 GTS
So resurrecting an Oldie here, but if I was to buy a high dollar (say $4k USD) used car part from a Canadian seller for shipment from Canada to USA, and the part was older than 25 years, and originally manufactured in the USA, and it would ship Canada Post, what fees would be due?

As I understand it, NAFTA would exempt it from duty, but would brokerage fees and tax could still apply. If so would they be fixed charges or based upon value? What documentation would need to accompany the shipment?

Any difference if the transaction were from USA to Canada?

Best,
Kelly
markcharltonmarkcharltonOld enough to know better and still young enough not to care. My '71 Pantera
Kelly,

The details regarding shipping of parts from Canada into the US is probably not best answered in the Canadian forum. I have looked into this and generally all should be simple enough (and duty-free), but if it is an engine, then potentially the US EPA gets involved.

As for importing parts into Canada, if the parts are specifically for a car that is 25 or more years old, then those parts are Duty-Free. Tax and brokerage fees (as dependant on method of delivery) are applicable. Typically the Canadian taxes on import would be either the GST at 5%, or HST at around 13%, but this is dependant on destination as different rates apply to different provinces.

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have more specifics.

Mark
4nhotrod4nhotrodHe who dies with the most toys is dead
Kelly, you bring up a good point that I was about to.
Although you may not get charged duty, companies like UPS charge a MINIMUM of $40 brokerage fee. This is an absolute killer with small deliveries. The UPS delivery guy told me he had items shipped by USPS and not his own employer because it was so bad.
These crooks don't tell the US sender that their recipient will be charged the fee. They just bill the recipient when it arrives or even later, by mail.
Send your parts by USPS and be done with it. Rarely any fees. Ive had a fee a few times but very small ( no rhyme or reason).
peterhpeterhMember
I agree totally with 4NHOTROD about the courier brokerage fee ripoff. I had many occasions where the brokerage fee exceeded the value of the part that was being shipped. An additional problem with couriers is that they will often hold the shipment at the border until they can track you down to extract payment. They don't get around to calling for days, and if you happen to miss their call the shipment will sit there until you start wondering where it is and call them to track it. I have had shipments delayed at the border for over two weeks because of this.

In the end, USPS is less expensive, you avoid the obscenely high courier brokerage fees, and often you will get your part faster.

But there is a hitch (of course). Some of the vendors refuse to use USPS because they have to go to the post office instead of just having a courier pick it up at their shop. My solution to this has been to simply not use those vendors.

I have noticed an unsurprising correlation to more general attitudes to customer service; those vendors who will make the extra effort to ship USPS knowing it will save their customer a lot of money will also make extra effort in their other dealings with me.
joulesjoules"Racing is Life, anything before or after is just waiting" - Steve McQueen
Kelly,

If you have paperwork to show the part emanated from the US originally then the importation process will likely be easier.

We re-imported 2 cars a month ago and the carrier asked if I worked for the FBI or US government as it was the fastest crossing he'd had. We had all the original US export paperwork (admittedly it had only been 12 months) but it sure made for a a breeze on importation. And yes we are back in the USA, actively looking for my next challenge in life!

A note on shipping parts from the US to Canada for my Canadian friends, if at any time there are parts etc. that you require that a vendor/seller will not ship USPS, then ship it to me in Reno, NV and I will happily combine shipments if required and forward. This may incur a small penalty for shipping twice, but likely better than the UPS cross border fees.

Julian
4nhotrod4nhotrodHe who dies with the most toys is dead
quote:
Originally posted by Peter H:
I agree totally with 4NHOTROD about the courier brokerage fee ripoff. I had many occasions where the brokerage fee exceeded the value of the part that was being shipped. An additional problem with couriers is that they will often hold the shipment at the border until they can track you down to extract payment. They don't get around to calling for days, and if you happen to miss their call the shipment will sit there until you start wondering where it is and call them to track it. I have had shipments delayed at the border for over two weeks because of this.

In the end, USPS is less expensive, you avoid the obscenely high courier brokerage fees, and often you will get your part faster.

But there is a hitch (of course). Some of the vendors refuse to use USPS because they have to go to the post office instead of just having a courier pick it up at their shop. My solution to this has been to simply not use those vendors.

I have noticed an unsurprising correlation to more general attitudes to customer service; those vendors who will make the extra effort to ship USPS knowing it will save their customer a lot of money will also make extra effort in their other dealings with me.

Well said. Quella goes out of his way to send his parts through USPS to save us Canadians money.
panterrorpanterrorMy 74 GTS
It’s either repressed memory or I’m just suffering from brain fade. It’s been a long time since, but over the years I bought/imported some items from Canada and I don’t recall doing much except paying which was the most difficult part of the transaction due to currency exchange and international wire transactions. SWIFT code and account number and paying a fixed fee usually solved that. When I initially was looking for information to refresh my memory the list below is what I found. I don’t believe the last four are applicable.

In this particular instance, when I contacted the seller he indicated that because the item was greater than 25 years old and originated in the US there would not be duty. However, though this is true, when I asked if he would complete the NAFTA certificate of origin to accompany the shipment I received no reply. Perhaps that’s because it’s customary that all import actions to be the responsibility of purchaser not seller which I surmised was Mark’s point about this part of the question belonging in another forum so maybe I do need to ask a Yank. Even so, within reason I would do my best to have a smooth transaction for the buyer if I were on the other end and completing a couple certs would certainly fall within that. I didn’t go forward with the transaction but it left me with the impression he would send it on its way Canada post and the rest was up to me. Even though the seller could complete the NAFTA cert if you really needed proof it was >25 years old and of US origin that would be difficult……no original invoices are available for 50 year old car parts nor do most contain made in USA identification.

When I have shipped expensive items to Australia via UPS the only thing I have ever done is include a commercial invoice and never had a problem. On the other end, customers had pay applicable tax and duty but the commercial invoice seemed to be all they needed.

Anyway, there seems to be a lot of variability in what you might encounter with the Canada-US transactions which seems unfortunate to me but I didn’t think a $4k purchase was the right time to learn/re-learn the process but the exchange rate is favorable these days. What I don’t understand is why this condition exists for US-Canada trade/import yet in several instances when I have bought something off of eBay that ships from China with free shipping in one of the so-called “e-packets”, it just miraculously shows up 2-3 weeks later with no additional documentation or fees required.

    Commercial invoice
    Also known as a business invoice, this must exactly represent the content and value of your shipment. If you just happen to toss in a few promotional items at the last moment and they are not on the invoice, the customs inspector may hold your shipment at the border until you clarify what is going on. Also, never declare goods, such as promotional items or samples, as being of "No commercial value." U.S. customs officials may decide to impose a value of their own or may even refuse entry of the goods.
    Yet one more invoice tip: When using part numbers, provide a written description that will help classify the goods for customs purposes. And be sure that each invoice also shows the total amount charged to the buyer for the shipment; never use the net value.

    NAFTA Certificate of Origin
    This was discussed in Section 4.1, "The North American Free Trade Agreement."

    Importer ID Number
    Also known as the Customs Assigned Number, this is used by U.S. Customs to establish bond coverage, release and entry of merchandise, liquidation, the issuing of bills and refunds, and drawback processing. Your customs broker can help you obtain the number or you can get it yourself by submitting Form 5106 to U.S. Customs, available at www.forms.cbp.gov/pdf/CBP_Form_5106.pdf.

    Bill of lading or airway bill
    Your freight forwarder, carrier or broker is responsible for filling it out. A bill of lading is not needed for mail shipments.

    Entry manifest
    The carrier is responsible for filling this out. Again, this is not needed for mail shipments.

    Entry/immediate delivery
    This is used for time-sensitive shipments, such as fresh produce, and replaces the entry manifest. The carrier is responsible for submitting this to U.S. Customs before the shipment arrives at the port of entry.

    Harmonized System Tariff Classification (HS code)
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