Thread: Question about UPS brokerage shipping fees to Canada

I know when I ship full desktop computers valued at roughly $1800USD through FedEx, the customer is usually charged about $200CND. Pretty riduculous.

Only way around it, is to declare it a gift. Then they call both people and ask for proof of relation. If you are found to have lied (claiming it as a gift when it is not), then in the U.S. you can face a couple years in jail and an enormous (like upwards of $5k USD) fine for international fraud. On top of that they confiscate the item, and usually destroy it.

It happened to one of my friends. They shipped a computer to their best friend in Toronto. About $3,000 USD. He claimed it as a gift to avoid customs fee's. The agreement was that the friend in Canada would pay back the costs to my friend. So my friend included a receipt in the box. Of course they get suspicious when you send a multi-thousand dollar gift to a person whom you are not related to! So basically, he got a fine of $6,000 USD, and the Canadian customs siezed and destroyed the computer. So in the end, he was out close to $9k USD, and no computer.

Originally Posted by nobb

Thanks for your reply. I just noticed that mp3car stores have "USPS Global Express Mail (EMS) $32.57" Doing some reading, I am getting the impression that USPS would be a better shipping option instead of UPS standard ($21.40) due to the lower brokerage fees. Can anyone confirm?

I work for UPS... answer is yes.

Originally Posted by nobb

So if I choose the USPS I would only have to pay the $32 upfront and they wont charge me anything once my package arrives at my door?

It'll come via Canada Post, where if declared properly, should only cost you taxes on the Canadian dollar value of the item, and a small processing fee, usually $5-$8 bucks. Make sure that it's declared as Computer parts and not a TV. if declared as Computer parts it's duty free, if declared as a TV you'll have to pay duty as well. It's prolly too big to fit in your mailbox, so you'll likely get the little card saying you have a parcel.

so for the MTSVO you're looking 449 USD + shipping for $32 USD

which is roughly $500 CAD + $35 CAD for shipping.

When you go to pick it up, you'll be chaged tax on the item value converted to CDN funds (assuming 14% for Ontario residents) $70 + the processing fee, which is like i said usually about $5 - $8. You might wanna call you local Canada Post outlet to confirm this, I'm just goin by my past experiences.

All said and done, you likely be $610-$615 give or take a few bucks.

Please keep in mind that the above is based on my experience. I'm not responsible for any other fees that you might be charged. This is how i usually go about figuring out my purchases from the US, and I'm usually pretty close.

Trev

taxes aren't brokerage. Brokerage is (as far as I understand) paying the taxes and applicable duties for you, then charging you a 'fee' plus the tax/duty/etc. THe fee they tack on is ususally beyond bloated for the actual service they've offered. I've seen $50 items come via UPS and having them charge the same in brokerage. It's rediculous. The $70 is the 14% Tax on the $500 for the monitor. Anything that's imported into Canada and is not declared a gift or warranty replacement is subject to taxes. Cause heaven forbid we do anything that doesn't involve the federal gov't being in our pockets

Oh yea, I'm not sure about shipping by air saving you the taxes, i never do it cause it's usually more than I wanna spend on shipping

Originally Posted by kamikaze2112

taxes aren't brokerage. Brokerage is (as far as I understand) paying the taxes and applicable duties for you, then charging you a 'fee' plus the tax/duty/etc. THe fee they tack on is ususally beyond bloated for the actual service they've offered. I've seen $50 items come via UPS and having them charge the same in brokerage. It's rediculous. The $70 is the 14% Tax on the $500 for the monitor. Anything that's imported into Canada and is not declared a gift or warranty replacement is subject to taxes. Cause heaven forbid we do anything that doesn't involve the federal gov't being in our pockets

Oh yea, I'm not sure about shipping by air saving you the taxes, i never do it cause it's usually more than I wanna spend on shipping

You got it spot on. The brokerage fee, is for some guy who has a magic stamp. He simply squirts some ink juice on a package, and voila! Now it is ready for customs, and importation, and only for between $50-$300. He must use really expensive ink! Basically the neato circle stmap you see on a package, yup. That's the guy.