Buying mail order from US
 

I want to buy a some horse equipment from an online store in Florida.
They give shipping rates (UPS) to Canada.

What duty will I have to pay??

I am in Atlantic Canada so the tax here is HST and is 14%.

will I have to pay that on top of any US duty?

Are there any other fees the Canadian government put on top?

It looks to be a good deal, but only if I am paying reasonable tax.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

Firstly they shouldn't charge any U.S. sales tax but confirm that with the vendor.

Second, you may have to pay Canadian customs duty (depends on the item) on top of Canadian sales tax.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

Thanks

Do you know who I can call to ask how much they will charge me?

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

If the goods you are buying are made in NAFTA e.g. US, Canada or Mexico then you will not pay import duty. You will however pay HST @ 14% plus brokerage fees for customs clearance.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

Ask them to send via USPS (like Royal Mail)...you will have to pay a 5 to 8 dollar CCBA (customs) handling fee + taxes and any applicable duty.

If you ever buy on Ebay...ask the vendor to mark as a "gift" and send via USPS...cheapest method...quick and no duties....

But bad...very bad...!!!:sneaky:

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

Seriously try to get them to send the parcel USPS - Usless Postal Service (UPS) will charge you at least 90% of the time for brokerage fees and they are also crap with insurance claims too. We have never had a problem with USPS and refuse to shop with people that only ship UPS now because of the many problems we have had.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!

Don't use UPS for cross-border shipping!

This has been an issue for years. You won't know about the brokerage fees until you try to collect the package. Use the post office. If the seller insists on UPS, find another online seller.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

avoid UPS at all cost, I totally agree about their BS brokerage fees, if the vendor declare a low value for the item and its sent by USPS , you may not pay anything at all.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

I buy stuff all the time on eBay (I am trying to stop!!!) and I refuse to buy anything if they seller will only ship with UPS. As the others said - find another vendor. You do not want anything so badly that you will pay $100 for something and another $99 to UPS for doing what the postal service does for nothing.

The only exception would be places like Tiger Direct. They use Borderfree and you don't pay anything and they send via couriers.

Otherwise get it sent by post from other vendors.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

Thanks everyone for the replies and the UPS warnings.
This compnay use UPS so I guess I can do without the stuff.:frown:

It will work out more expensive otherwise.


There a couple of big companies that have reasonable prices in Canada so I will stick with them, and of course Ebay.

I would buy locally, but the only downside to living in a more sparsly populated place is that the small companies do not have a large inventory and it can take weeks to get your stuff.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

This is not entirely true or at least wasn't a couple of years ago.

It is true if you just get something shipped UPS Ground.

If the seller offers UPS Expedited and the charges are not too exorbitant you could try that. UPS don't charge brokerage fees when this method is used, or at least they didn't the last time I had something shipped via this method.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

I've been looking into buying some snow tires online from www.tirerack.com in the US. They state that UPS max brokerage charge for this transaction will be $20 which seems reasonable enough. Mind you Tirerack have a lot of clout so presumably this is something they can enforce better than you or I!

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

UPS just tried to burn me for $50 for a $90 purchase, I refused the delivery, there are law suits against them, use the postal Service.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

I don't get stuff delivered to Canada anymore, I use a US post box... but my last one to Winnipeg via UPS was 48 CAD due on a pair of 150 CAD boots. That's not good, is it?! :blink: I think clothing/shoes are at a higher rate of duty than other stuff but still... ouch.

Re: Buying mail order from US
 

This is a good plan. But how do you collect from your PO Box? Do you have to go down to the US and collect yourself, or do you have an international re-direct or what?