So I bought some hubcaps on Ebay. I know - black looks tougher or get some real rims for winter. Anyway I got them for $39USD. Thought that was pretty good cause I couldn't get that design here. Add $20USD shipping and handling. Ok but when I went to pick them up add $39CND for GST+PST+Brokerage fee + Duty. So $108 CND - everyone has their hand in your pocket!

 

been there done that and still doing it right now lol. I bought CAI from US and paid around 350 for it and end up paying 100 something when it arrive in frot of my door. And now i just bought a stillen cat back from Grubb wonder how much im gonna pay this time ~_~ Like Adam Smith said...Everyone is trying to the a rational utility maximizer except the the word rational. LOL

 

Yup and it only gets worse when the purchase price increases.

The best way to save on custom fees is to use the United States Postal Service (USPS) for shipping, as Canada Post's custom processing fee is only $5.

The second best way is to have your own Custom Broker on retainer in the USA and be responsible for your import paper work and fees. The brokers will clear your merchandise through customs and reship the items on the Canadian side. This cost depends on how many items you have to import and the value. Bulk is definitly cheaper.

Third best is shipping by United Postal Service (UPS) international ground service. Just be prepared for a custom fee sticker shock. UPS brokers charge on a shipment value scale. I'm still looking for that charge scale chart for references. I swear it changes on every shipment.

The worse possible service and expense has to be FedEx and the new service DHL. Stay away or be prepared to be hosed. So far, in my dealings with both companies, it has not being favorable.

Rememeber to insure your packages, as things get lost and to save monies on duties and the famous GST, you can under claim your shipments value. But remember, you can only insure to the value of the shipment and if your caught doing this ......... the customs fines are not cheap and the GST police are not user friendly and will audit ALL past transactions.

Not worth it IMHO.

 

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I've usually had good luck with UPS with one exception: A $40 USD J-collection 1/43 scale G-Coupe that came from California to Cambridge ended up costing $100 CDN! total.
I'm still not sure how UPS figures their charges, but that item cost about the same to have delivered as my Borla exhaust.

 

LOL..
What ever happened to free trade

 

Oky, what i heard is that they have setup free trade zone somewhere for those big companies…so my guess is that free trade is not for regular citizens. I asked about the duty I got to pay for exhaust this time and it came up to be 230 something, which I think is not that bad~

 

So, NAFTA isn't all it's cracked up to be? Strange, but everything made in Canada is free here. I have always wondered why it's not the same going the other way.

BTW, free trade in North America does apply to regular citizens. I should know since I am a Customs Officer on the U.S. side of things. Unfortunately, Canada Customs' primary focus was/is revenue, so they collect on everything they can. It's been proven here anyway that collecting duties from regular citizens accounts for less than 1% of the total annual revenue that we generate. So it's not worth it.

I think you guys have a personal exemption if you stayed outside Canada for a certain amount of time. Wouldn't it be easier to have the item shipped to a freight forwarder or warehouse on the U.S. side, then go pick it up?

 

The custom duty is cheap ...... it's the cost of the paper work that sucks.

How UPS or even FedEx has the gall to charge what they do for paperwork, is beyond me ....... Now I've done it, I'm pissed off now

 

UPS sucks. USPS is the way to go.

i had a debacle with performance nissan for my spacers and wheel bolts. they ended up shipping the wheel bolts by UPS and i ended up with a bill for $40 even after i specifically told them to use USPS.

 

The only and best way is still using a custom broker agent located in the USA. Your in TO, drive across the border, get a broker and go for a afternoon drive and pick up your parts. Do a group buy and send in bulk. How hard is that to do? Before ya know it, your profits are paying for your parts. All you need it tons of patience and lots of Mallox for the ulcer.

Been there done that .... once too often

 

I agree with^.

We have a broker that we use at work.
Much better than letting UPS clear it.

 

I just go across the boarder and pay for it when crossing then only pay for gst and pst. None of the other BS!

 

With UPS you can do the paperwork yourself and clear customs and avoid their rediculus charges.

Another tip is when someone ships something to you, make sure they write 'made in the usa' on the package, this way you dont pay duty.

 

Very bad advice!

Packages are routinely inspected and searched. One of the things they look at is where the article is made. IF customs discovers that the paperwork and the package contents don't match, you will have delays and possible fines.
Plus your shipping address and name will be highlighted and EVERY package will be inspected via UPS, USPS, and your name will be "flagged" at each and every border crossing. So ...... think it's still worth it?

Another concern is the GST and for some the PST police. You do want to undervalue shipments to avoid paying your taxes. One day will cost you a fortune after the GST police get done. I've heard first hand what they do to a small business that has fudged it's books and not paid there share of GST. Not worth it IMHO

 

I've have had parcels inspected and they havent done anything...

You are right though, this shouldn't be used with everything. If you order something that is from Japan and has Japanese all over it, it probably wont work.