Cross Border Shipping
I’m posting this because a lot of people send parts across the US-Canada border, and it can be an expensive, time consuming, and painful experience if you don’t know what your doing. This applies to buyers AND sellers.
There are a few ways you can reduce the cost of cross-border shipping. Being that I’m in Canada, I have more experience buying from the US. All of these things are what I learned when dealing with eBay, Supraforums, Supramania, etc purchases.
Tips
1.) Be sure to fill out the shipping labels completely and accurately. Include ALL relevant information. This is, by far, the most important part of cross-border shipping.
2.) USED goods do not have the same duties and taxes applied to them as NEW goods.
3.) Parts manufactured in the US/Canada fall under the free trade agreement, so you shouldn’t have to pay duty on them. However, if the parts are made in Japan, you may have to pay. If you can state country of manufacture, make sure you do. If the forms don’t have a spot for it, be sure to ask the shipping company.
4.) If a package is a gift, you generally do not pay any tax or duty on it. However, if you label a package as a gift and its not, you may get into trouble.
5.) Warranty returns generally are not charged tax or duty. Example: You buy a turbo from a US online store, and it breaks. The retailer sends you a new one, and you send back the broken one. If you can prove that you sent the broken one back (by providing a shipping receipt) and that you already paid tax and duty, you shouldn’t have to pay twice. If you do get charged, Customs offices can provide forms to get those charges back, once you provide proof. However, if you buy an item, and the shipper states it is a warranty return, and either you can’t prove it is, you won't get the money back. If they lied on the form (trying to save the buyer money), the shipper can get in quite a bit of trouble.
Shipping Companies
People generally rely on two shipping companies for cross-border shipping: UPS and Fedex. Both companies are, in my experience, horrible to deal with.
These companies charge you a brokerage fee. What is brokerage? When you ship an item across the border, that item needs to go through Customs. UPS and FedEx handle all the details, filling out forms, moving packages around, etc. Your package will always have a brokerage charge, which varies with the value and type of item you are shipping.
They will often also charge you a “bond fee”. This basically means that if you do not provide money to cover duty/taxes beforehand, they will loan you the money, and charge you for it.
UPS guidelines for brokerage: http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html
FedEx guidelines for brokerage: http://www.fedex.com/ca_english/international/customsservices/index.html
So we will use UPS as an example. Say you buy an item for $250. You will pay $38.92 in brokerage, as well as a 2.7% (minimum $5.85) bond fee. On top of that, you pay duty and tax (for Canada, GST and PST, not sure how it works in the States). So using UPS, your $250 item just cost you over $300, not including the original shipping cost. Pretty crappy, eh?
There are other companies, such as DHL, Purolator, etc. Each has their own policies with brokerage, and its up to you to figure out which is the best choice for you.
Alternatives: Do your own brokerage
Now here is where a little hard work on your part can save you a bundle of money. There are multiple companies in the US and Canada that ship packages from major city centre to major city centre. All they handle is the shipping. They will then contact you, and you deal with Customs yourself.
I’ll use the company I use as an example. The company is called Seawings Express, and they ship from Victoria International Airport to Blaine, Washington. I have an item sent to myself care of ( c/o) their address in Blaine. They will fly the package over (they have multiple flights each day) and contact me when it arrives. I drive over to their location, and get a packing slip. I take the packing slip to Customs (about a 5 minute walk in the airport) and give them the slip. I tell them what it is, where it was made, etc. They charge me any applicable taxes and duties, then they stamp the packing slip. I take the stamped slip back to Seawings, pay Seawings their shipping fee (CDN$17 for the first 20 lbs) and pick up my package. Because I did all of the brokerage myself, I save a bundle of money. It only takes about 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Another advantage of a company like this is that you can take advantage of free shipping within the US/Canada that a lot of companies offer.
I haven’t researched it much, so its up to you, but you shouldn’t have much trouble finding a similar company in your area. Apparantly, UPS will allow you to do your own brokerage, but only at one of thier major centres (usually at airports). There is one in the Vancouver area, but I have never used it becuase of the ferry trip I would need to take.
Canada Post/USPS
I have found that the best way to ship smaller items is with Canada Post/USPS. USPS Airmail costs more to ship, but it will generally get you your package faster, and 9 times out of 10, you won’t pay anything on it. USPS Ground costs less. However, it takes longer, and 9 times out of 10, you WILL pay taxes and duty.
Another advantage of USPS/Canada Post now is that they offer tracking numbers for a small fee/free depending on what type of shipping you choose. This protects the buyer and seller because you can see exactly where the package is, if it’s stuck in Customs, etc.
That’s all I have for now, and I hope some of this information helps you out. Feel free to add your own opinions, and post any shipping companies that you know of that can save you money.
I’m posting this because a lot of people send parts across the US-Canada border, and it can be an expensive, time consuming, and painful experience if you don’t know what your doing. This applies to buyers AND sellers.
There are a few ways you can reduce the cost of cross-border shipping. Being that I’m in Canada, I have more experience buying from the US. All of these things are what I learned when dealing with eBay, Supraforums, Supramania, etc purchases.
Tips
1.) Be sure to fill out the shipping labels completely and accurately. Include ALL relevant information. This is, by far, the most important part of cross-border shipping.
2.) USED goods do not have the same duties and taxes applied to them as NEW goods.
3.) Parts manufactured in the US/Canada fall under the free trade agreement, so you shouldn’t have to pay duty on them. However, if the parts are made in Japan, you may have to pay. If you can state country of manufacture, make sure you do. If the forms don’t have a spot for it, be sure to ask the shipping company.
4.) If a package is a gift, you generally do not pay any tax or duty on it. However, if you label a package as a gift and its not, you may get into trouble.
5.) Warranty returns generally are not charged tax or duty. Example: You buy a turbo from a US online store, and it breaks. The retailer sends you a new one, and you send back the broken one. If you can prove that you sent the broken one back (by providing a shipping receipt) and that you already paid tax and duty, you shouldn’t have to pay twice. If you do get charged, Customs offices can provide forms to get those charges back, once you provide proof. However, if you buy an item, and the shipper states it is a warranty return, and either you can’t prove it is, you won't get the money back. If they lied on the form (trying to save the buyer money), the shipper can get in quite a bit of trouble.
Shipping Companies
People generally rely on two shipping companies for cross-border shipping: UPS and Fedex. Both companies are, in my experience, horrible to deal with.
These companies charge you a brokerage fee. What is brokerage? When you ship an item across the border, that item needs to go through Customs. UPS and FedEx handle all the details, filling out forms, moving packages around, etc. Your package will always have a brokerage charge, which varies with the value and type of item you are shipping.
They will often also charge you a “bond fee”. This basically means that if you do not provide money to cover duty/taxes beforehand, they will loan you the money, and charge you for it.
UPS guidelines for brokerage: http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html
FedEx guidelines for brokerage: http://www.fedex.com/ca_english/international/customsservices/index.html
So we will use UPS as an example. Say you buy an item for $250. You will pay $38.92 in brokerage, as well as a 2.7% (minimum $5.85) bond fee. On top of that, you pay duty and tax (for Canada, GST and PST, not sure how it works in the States). So using UPS, your $250 item just cost you over $300, not including the original shipping cost. Pretty crappy, eh?
There are other companies, such as DHL, Purolator, etc. Each has their own policies with brokerage, and its up to you to figure out which is the best choice for you.
Alternatives: Do your own brokerage
Now here is where a little hard work on your part can save you a bundle of money. There are multiple companies in the US and Canada that ship packages from major city centre to major city centre. All they handle is the shipping. They will then contact you, and you deal with Customs yourself.
I’ll use the company I use as an example. The company is called Seawings Express, and they ship from Victoria International Airport to Blaine, Washington. I have an item sent to myself care of ( c/o) their address in Blaine. They will fly the package over (they have multiple flights each day) and contact me when it arrives. I drive over to their location, and get a packing slip. I take the packing slip to Customs (about a 5 minute walk in the airport) and give them the slip. I tell them what it is, where it was made, etc. They charge me any applicable taxes and duties, then they stamp the packing slip. I take the stamped slip back to Seawings, pay Seawings their shipping fee (CDN$17 for the first 20 lbs) and pick up my package. Because I did all of the brokerage myself, I save a bundle of money. It only takes about 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Another advantage of a company like this is that you can take advantage of free shipping within the US/Canada that a lot of companies offer.
I haven’t researched it much, so its up to you, but you shouldn’t have much trouble finding a similar company in your area. Apparantly, UPS will allow you to do your own brokerage, but only at one of thier major centres (usually at airports). There is one in the Vancouver area, but I have never used it becuase of the ferry trip I would need to take.
Canada Post/USPS
I have found that the best way to ship smaller items is with Canada Post/USPS. USPS Airmail costs more to ship, but it will generally get you your package faster, and 9 times out of 10, you won’t pay anything on it. USPS Ground costs less. However, it takes longer, and 9 times out of 10, you WILL pay taxes and duty.
Another advantage of USPS/Canada Post now is that they offer tracking numbers for a small fee/free depending on what type of shipping you choose. This protects the buyer and seller because you can see exactly where the package is, if it’s stuck in Customs, etc.
That’s all I have for now, and I hope some of this information helps you out. Feel free to add your own opinions, and post any shipping companies that you know of that can save you money.
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