Hello!

I'm new to trying to order items from amazon.co.uk to Canada and I was hoping that someone could clarify some confusion for me.

I'm ordering a DVD set which is selling for £20.00. Now once the VAT is removed and shipping charges are applied, the cost will be £19.75. My question is, there were no import charges applied to the order. Will I likely see Canada Post (or whoever else will be processing the delivery) wanting to collect money from me for the DVD for taxes and import? I'm not too certain what the price limit is for Canada Customs when it comes to items like that.

Thank you!

$20 is the limit below which Import Duty and other purchase taxes are not levied.

HOWEVER, Canada calculates using the 'CIF Value' method, which is the total of the Cost of the item, any Insurance paid and the Freight cost.

This effectively means that ALL imports are liable for Duty/Taxes IF they are stopped by CBSA at Canada Post etc.

If they aren't stopped, you pay nothing.

If they are stopped, you will pay all of the Duty/Taxes and a handling charge by the carrier that will cancel out any savings you make anyway on low-value items.

The likes of Amazon and a lot of USA-based companies won't even send orders to Canada, probably due to dubious business practices of their suppliers more than any other reason (although I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!).

For example, try buying Columbia clothing from a US-based retail website. They won't accept your order....

Amazon.co.uk and .com (and other country sites) have recently banned cross-border delivery of quite a lot of stuff. There appears to be no logic to what is included...

I've not noticed that. Marketplace sellers quite often won't do cross border orders, but where there's a reference to 'international shipping' they will.

What often gets my goat is where a US site quotes something at half the cost of a Canadian site, but the moment you put a Canadian postcode, the price doubles. And not because of delivery fees.

On the other hand, quite often a marketplace seller on Amazon.ca is in the US, also advertising the product on amazon.com and ordering from .ca is worth it, paying a much cheaper 'domestic' shipping rate rather than international.

I ordered from amazon.co.uk just before Christmas, I ordered a book and a DVD, the value of the goods was about $22, plus shipping, which I don't remember the total of. I was not charged any extra. I have been charged in the past though, I think it's just a chance you take if you're willing to.

Amazon themselves on many items.

Seems random (and occasionally supplier-driven...try ordering something made by Apple!)

Did you check to make sure the DVD you purchased Region coded as '0' or Region All?

If you don't have a universal DVD player, there is a way to break the code on DVD players.. ( a few years ago we did so on ours, after receiving DVD's as Christmas Pressies from friends in the U.K.)

We have 3 DVD players, so we tried it 1st on our oldest, when it worked we then did on the others... It's VERY simple to do, just Google.. 'Breaking DVD region codes' all you do is open the player and punch in a series of numbers.. Different numbers needed depending on your make and model of player.. (so you need to look it up online)

Good luck

Thank you for the information! I'm not worried about regions as my player is already set up for all regions so that will not be an issue but I will keep it in mind for machines later on!

I guess I will just have to take that chance! Thank you!

Columbia.com offer online shopping and shipping to many countries. Just choose your place of residence from the drop down menu at the top of the page.

If you don't like using the dot com site, visit a country specific site instead such as http://www.columbiasportswear.ca/ I don't see how much more convenient Columbia could make it.

I ordered a couple of items, separately, just before Christmas to be delivered here in Canada, both under $20 and never encountered any additional costs, delivery was speedy too.

...other than on price and the fact they don't seem to allow their stockists to send Columbia goods to other countries.

Columbia's own website is probably the last place to look, unless you enjoy paying list price.

Ah, so it's an issue of price you're complaining about, not availability.

I regularly have stuff mailed to me (guitar parts, musical equipment, etc.) and have never once been nailed for any taxes or duties. But I have heard horror stories from friends about bringing stuff in via the courier UPS. If you are simply dealing with the postal service, as I always have, I think you will be fine.

Too used to having lived in a region of the world with a competitive open consumer market that works, I guess...

My husband gets at least a couple of parcels a week from Amazon UK and has never had to pay anything.