Buying from the US is always a pain for us Canucks. As many have pointed out, the best way is USPS. Canada post will charge a nominal brokerage fee of $5 cdn. In addition, appropriate taxes and levies will be added too. However, my experinece is that if the claimed value of the item is $50 or less, no charges will be made - just pick it up from the post office!!
Over the years, I have bought a variety of items from the US with USPS shipping - it may be slower but I have never lost anything.
Regards,
Actually no:
1 - They are not a must. They are what you call oligopolistic pricing power. I.e. little competition, so 3 suppliers can collude to control pricing.
The paperwork needs to be done (why? well, that's poor trade policy).
However, it IS being handled cost effectively by UPS etc.
I had drinks with a senior UPS rep who told be that the "Broker Service" group is one of the most profitable portions of the business.
I.e. we have your shipment, and you over a barrel, so pay up.
2 - The postal service does the same paperwork for a $5 flat fee
3 - Not all things in Canada are about taxes!!!
I don't know about 1-offs, but all my shopments from Madisound come via their FedEx commercial account and i get charged just GST (and duty when applicable), no clearance fees at all.
For general stuff i insist on USPS, and if i need something from Parts-Express i get Bob from CSS to get it for me (shipped for free to Sumas, where he himself goes down and clears it, then Canada Post to me).
dave
The couriers are "sharks" when it comes to fees. I dislike UPS most - you have to pay all the charges when the goods arrived or they will not give you the parcel. With FedEx, at least they send you an invoice later.
I bought something from China 6 months ago and the goods was shipped via DHL, no fees whatsoever?!! Is this normal?
Regards,
I won't purchase from PE because of shipping costs via UPS or FedEx. In fact, I won't order anything from the US if shipped via UPS or FedEx unless they're paying. I just received an order from Mouser, which was shipped via FedEx, but they covered all the costs. However, it was an order of over $200 so I could receive that benefit.
Another of my irritants is that I live in a rural area, close to a city, so can't receive delivery from UPS or FedEx ... which means I have to pick it up at their depots. FedEx is open business hours, but for customer pickup, UPS is only open from 4 to 6 pm, and have (I'm serious) parking for 4 vehicles.
Incidentally, I've found B&H Photo (photo, computer, pro audio) in New York to be an outstanding example of how to deal with Canadians. They ship via Purolator - a Canadian courier affiliated with Canada Post - with minimal hassle, and cost, which lets me pick up at my local post office. If PE gave a damn, they'd study how B&H works.
Another of my irritants is that I live in a rural area, close to a city, so can't receive delivery from UPS or FedEx ... which means I have to pick it up at their depots. FedEx is open business hours, but for customer pickup, UPS is only open from 4 to 6 pm, and have (I'm serious) parking for 4 vehicles.
Incidentally, I've found B&H Photo (photo, computer, pro audio) in New York to be an outstanding example of how to deal with Canadians. They ship via Purolator - a Canadian courier affiliated with Canada Post - with minimal hassle, and cost, which lets me pick up at my local post office. If PE gave a damn, they'd study how B&H works.
You can't blame Parts Express for what happens at the boarder. Shipping anything across the boarder is going to cost $20 to $30 because that's the cost of the paper work. Duty \ Tariff # have to be looked up and identify in correspondence with the country of origin.
Not anyone's fault. Yes it doesn't make sence to purchase a $25 item that cost more to ship so don't do it. Find a Canadian distributor that does this in bulk. Or you could actually do the brokerage yourself by providing customs with the duty\tariff # yourself. Remember there's also GST on product coming in as well. Not PE's fault or responsibility.
Not anyone's fault. Yes it doesn't make sence to purchase a $25 item that cost more to ship so don't do it. Find a Canadian distributor that does this in bulk. Or you could actually do the brokerage yourself by providing customs with the duty\tariff # yourself. Remember there's also GST on product coming in as well. Not PE's fault or responsibility.
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