Parts-Express --> Canada = $$$

[planet10]

Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad

Were you to broker it yourself, your cost on a $100 shipment would be $5.

The $5 will vary province to province. The $5 represents the basic 5% GST. In the Maritimes (15%), Ontario (13%), and BC (12% -- sadly going back to a punitive GST + PST) will be charged. In other provinces you are also supposed to pay PST (if applicable), but sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. Alberta is the only province with no PST so it is the only place where it will be 5% for sure.

Also note that if it comes thru Canada Post it will sometimes slip thru customs uncharged.

dave

[fandersen]

Originally Posted by planet10

Also note that if it comes thru Canada Post it will sometimes slip thru customs uncharged.

I find anything valued < $100 usually always slips through.

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted by Minion

I Will not under any circumstances use UPS or FedX as a matter of principal , They are scam artists plain and simple ......

I get some of my stuff from a parts outfit in Thailand which is rediculously cheap and the shipping is rediculously cheap and faster from thailand to canada than from canada to canada .......

Tayda Electronics Home Page


While they don"t have a huge selection their prices are unbeatable .....

Most Canadians who have imported items more than a few times will not deal with a US reseller that ships via UPS. If you are a US reseller with an online presence and your business to Canada is less than 10% of your gross, chances are your potential Canadian customers are just closing the browser window and shopping at your competitors. Generally speaking these "clued in" resellers were able to increase annual sales by 15 and sometimes 20~25% by taking steps to cater to Canadians.

I deal with the president of one prominent US electronics parts vendor who tells me sales to Canada, already at almost 10% of his volume, doubled in one year once he set up a .ca domain and began to charge GST/HST at point of sale, and said to me (I quote) "Sales were basically like finding another California".

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad

A fee for brokerage;
The sales tax due (5% of invoice);
A fee for "loaning" you the 5%;
A fee for collecting the fees.

Were you to broker it yourself, your cost on a $100 shipment would be $5.

If you choose UPS, for example, the cost is:
Brokerage fee for value $100: $19.45
Sales tax "paid" on your behalf $5
Fee for "loaning" you the $5: 2.7%; minimum $10
Fee for collecting the fees: $4.25
Total $38.70

Note that the $100 value includes whatever UPS charged you for shipping, so the retail value of the goods imported will be less than $100.

Not much different than FedEx, as far as I can tell. I bought $24 dollars worth of stuff, paid $26 dollars for shipping ("brokerage fees included!" as per PE), and then I was charged the tax, the "loan fee" and the "fee for collecting the fee" based on a $50 purchase. As I said, I purchased $24 worth of stuff, then I was charged fees based on a $50 purchase, and then charged $10+ for lending me a couple bucks for tax. FedEx made far more money on the transaction than PE did!!!

As Bubbles would say, "it's just ******", IMO. They are the 1%.

[cogitech]

I deal with the president of one prominent US electronics parts vendor who tells me sales to Canada, already at almost 10% of his volume, doubled in one year once he set up a .ca domain and began to charge GST/HST at point of sale, and said to me (I quote) "Sales were basically like finding another California".

Newegg? TigerDirect?

They figured this **** out, why can't PE?

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by CSS/XBL

Hi,

In general the couriers charge what they can and even if some of the charges might be technically "illegal" they count on people not taking them on.

I offer anyone in Canada the service of providing PE product, though the margins are getting thin to non existent. I get free shipping on orders of $500 or more and have a place in Sumas that receives orders for me. I do my own customs clearance and pay the duty, etc. Customers pay for the product including shipping from here. Obviously the lowest shipping is in BC and many people come and pick up in order to save shipping or plan ahead and get/collect more stuff over a period of time. I also have a fairly good shipping rate in Canada with UPS. The largest benefit comes with multiple packages as I pay by total weight not the number of packages.

There are many things about the way PE does their pricing and monthly specials which neither I nor my sales rep there understand but it is what it is.

Thanks to all who support me in this way.

Bob

Bob,

I missed this at first due to the posts coming fast and furious.

Thanks for clarifying what Dave wrote earlier. This is an awesome service (wish I had known before) and I will certainly be in touch with you in the future if there is ever anything that I simply "must have" from PE.

I have to admit, though, that this experience leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and I will likely try to keep my business in Canada if/when I can. If this means saving up my money to buy some nicer CSS/MA drivers from you rather than jumping on $10 buyout drivers, then so be it. As discussed, Solen is always an option, too.

Have you ever considered expanding your driver line to include a bit more variety? Hi-Vi, TB, Peerless, etc.

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted by planet10

The $5 will vary province to province. The $5 represents the basic 5% GST. In the Maritimes (15%), Ontario (13%), and BC (12% -- sadly going back to a punitive GST + PST) will be charged. In other provinces you are also supposed to pay PST (if applicable), but sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. Alberta is the only province with no PST so it is the only place where it will be 5% for sure.

Also note that if it comes thru Canada Post it will sometimes slip thru customs uncharged.

dave

I rarely am charged PST; almost everything for here goes through the point of entry at Emerson, MB or comes in via Ontario (GST/HST only). I'm in SK; PST if you pay it is 5%.

[elizard]

When ordering anything from the US, I do one of three things, depending on the package:

- Choose USPS for smaller packages. Generally that also means I don't have to pay tax/duties either, for some reason they often don't charge taxes for imported packages.

- Broker myself, if shipping by FedEx/UPS. Despite what Dave said, I've had no issues brokering my own packages sent by FedEx/UPS. You do however need to call as soon as you get the tracking number, or risk having it already brokered. I have heard of people successfully refusing delivery on a package and brokering it themselves afterwards, though you run a much lower chance of success.

- Ship to a nearby US town (there are at least half a dozen choices within an hour's drive of Winnipeg), drive down and pick it up yourself. Best done for larger/heavier packages. You'll have to go inside at the border and pay all applicable duties/taxes. If it is NOT a commercial package you are bringing across, its super easy as the customs agents do all the work. Its a bit more work for commercial packages, but they were nice enough to help out the first time I did it. Well worth it for $30 worth of gas, and ~3 hours of my time. Most effective when US shipping is considerably cheaper or free (as is often the case). Not the easiest option if you're on the Island though

I suppose there's the 4th option - get it shipped to a friend in US and have them ship it to you via USPS. Extremely effective, but takes longer to get the package of course.

[GringoAudio]

Solen out of Montreal is a great supplier.
http://www.solen.ca/pub/

[Input2]

I ordered $200 worth of parts from Parts Express a few years ago, and had to pay Fedex $88.00 brokerage fees and that was on top of the shipping that I already had to pay.
I will never order from them again.