[LJ_Gencoupe]

Avoiding Brokerage Fees - DIY Supplement

I know that there is already a DIY for this (http://www.gencoupe.com/canada/40465-canadian-buyers-ups-fedex-brokerage-diy.html), but this is a good supplement to it.

UPS Brokerage Fees – Total Scam, Fraud, Cheating. How to avoid it. | Trueler

 

[Icerian]

Great find man, will definitely come in handy (for car and non-car parts)!

 

[ashhabib]

Use TheFinalCost.com - Canadian total shipping fees calculator (brokerage, duty, customs)

 

[Binz]

Wow, sounds pretty crazy but saving a lot of money on the brokerage fee's and taxes rocks!

I will have to give this a try.

Forget about saving taxes ! You have to pay the tax !
Honestly for the trouble it take etc,leave it to the pros.

 

[ManOnFire]

I have a few questions to any and all Canadians who have had items/goods shipped to a US postal outlet and went to pick them up there.

1. If I choose to do this, what exactly am I expected to pay on the items so that it is legal to cross the border with them?

2. Are the fees/duty/taxes etc... paid at the border (customs) or is this something that can be paid at the postal outlet?

3. According to this website...TheFinalCost.com - Canadian total shipping fees calculator (brokerage, duty, customs) if you look on the "fees" side and click on the [?] beside "Duty" it states that items made in the US are duty free to bring into Canada because of the NAFTA. In your experience buying items form the US, made in the US, does this hold true and do you or how do you need to prove this?

4. Would I need to use something like this Finding your US shipping address | Ship to the Border or would it be a good idea?

I just have the company ship the package to the UPS store in Ogdensburg, where I go pick it up. Just bring all of your paper work (proof of payment) and some money to pay for the tax. From Ottawa it takes me 45min to get to Ogdensburg.

I also just noticed this... if I'm buying something from a vendor here and paying via PayPal (no website) the only proof of payment I have is a print out of a paypal transaction made to an email address. Does this qualify as proof of payment/receipt? When I look back on previous paypal transactions there's no info on what I bought, or the actual price I paid for the item minus the shipping costs. :dunno:

 

[RudyH]

Well this was a fail. The last time I received a UPS package it went to Toronto, as it was flown in, so total travel time since I am on the east end 1 hour.

The parcel was sent ground.

I would have to drive 2.5 hours to Fort Erie, and 2.5 hours home since it was shipped ground. Called CBSA office to see if I can clear in Hamilton or Toronto and they said no.

Guess I am paying the $80 after all, but it is a ~$2,000 package so realistically minus gas I will suck it up on this one. Great deals all around by GenRacer.com - especially on the free shipping which would have alone been close to $80

 

[Slider]

Can't win em all I guess. :sad: It worked great for me, but only due to the fact the holding area was 20 mins away.

 

[SignalRunner]

Complicated and don't have time to run around like this for the huge package I'm about to get. Rather just pay.

Nice information regardless.

COD on delivery for a package containing huge things like a spoiler, bumper, springs etc. is like $65-$175, showing up to a business location.

 

[Mcmonopoly]

Complicated and don't have time to run around like this for the huge package I'm about to get. Rather just pay.

Nice information regardless.

COD on delivery for a package containing huge things like a spoiler, bumper, springs etc. is like $65-$175, showing up to a business location.

TBH I think it all depends how much your free time is worth to you...

BTW UPS charges more the higher the $$$ amount of the invoice, regardless of weight and size...So a 150$ package will see you pay ~70$ in brokerage, aside from actual taxes, but a 2000$ package will cost you ~150$ or more in brokerage, aside from taxes...

Again last year I actually saved over 700$ in brokerages fees by doing it myself, that's a good chunk of change right there...

Here's a chart showing the actual brokerages fees, before taxes, because they tax you for the service, and further down the page, you have the duties and amendment fees and such, which depending on the actual items, might be charged too.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

The Duties and amendment fee is always added...SO for a 1500$ and more invoice, you'll get 79$ brokerage fee, 50$ duties/amendment, then they charge the 4.25$ for COD and then taxes on all of that.. ALL that is before you pay the actual Provincial AND federal taxes on the actual invoice price...SO for a 1500$ invoice @ ~15% tax, you would have to pay ~340$ when the package gets to your door...

Well this was a fail. The last time I received a UPS package it went to Toronto, as it was flown in, so total travel time since I am on the east end 1 hour.

The parcel was sent ground.

I would have to drive 2.5 hours to Fort Erie, and 2.5 hours home since it was shipped ground. Called CBSA office to see if I can clear in Hamilton or Toronto and they said no.

Guess I am paying the $80 after all, but it is a ~$2,000 package so realistically minus gas I will suck it up on this one. Great deals all around by GenRacer.com - especially on the free shipping which would have alone been close to $80

Did you get an actual complete quote from the carrier? Because like I said in my previous post, a 2K$ shipment will cost a bit more than ~80$...

 

[ManOnFire]

Did you get an actual complete quote from the carrier? Because like I said in my previous post, a 2K$ shipment will cost a bit more than ~80$...

Yeah when I had my exhaust shipped directly to my house the price was $1176 USD and then I paid $230 at the door to UPS.

I bought a GlowShift boost gauge for $39.99 USD and then paid $36 to UPS when it got here... I think the minimum brokerage price for adding the taxes is like $30... ****ing ripoff.

If you live anywhere near the US/Canada border I find the easiest thing is just to have it shipped for free to a US address and pick it up there. I've done it twice now and it worked out great for me.

 

[Mcmonopoly]

Yeah when I had my exhaust shipped directly to my house the price was $1176 USD and then I paid $230 at the door to UPS.

I bought a GlowShift boost gauge for $39.99 USD and then paid $36 to UPS when it got here... I think the minimum brokerage price for adding the taxes is like $30... ****ing ripoff.

If you live anywhere near the US/Canada border I find the easiest thing is just to have it shipped for free to a US address and pick it up there. I've done it twice now and it worked out great for me.

Do you declare the stuff? If so, how does it work?

Thanks!

 

[ManOnFire]

Do you declare the stuff? If so, how does it work?

Thanks!

Yeah when you drive up to the border you just let the person know that you have something to declare and they will ask you the value of it. They give you a paper slip with the value you declared. They will tell you to pull over and go inside and you pay the taxes on your items. I crossed over in Prescott which is in Ontario so I paid the HST.

I'm not sure how it works but the last time I crossed over a few weeks ago, I paid $17 taxes on $365 dollars worth of car parts.

 

[LJ_Gencoupe]

For those who are in Ontario, you can have your packages shipped to CBI USA which is a warehouse in Niagary Falls, NY. The warehouse only charges $5.95 per box regardless what size but I think the weight is up to 80 pounds until they charge extra. They're only 5 mins away from Rainbow Bridge.

So in my case, I got a bumper and a hood and had to pay $350 extra (including taxes) just to ship to Canada. The value of the bumper and hood was about $1300. Now imagine that if you cross the border, you'll only end up paying the 13% HST (unless you own a business and have an import number, you only pay 5% GST)

 

[jayp6969]

It's easy to import all you need for customs is your cargo control doc, a completed b3 and the invoice. I know because I import shipments for my work. I am at customs daily and deal with all of the airlines.