Shipping from Canada question

[yard dawg]

Hey I bought an amp from a person in Canada (against my better judgement because dealing with foreiners and customs sux) and I asked if there were any fees or customs charges etc. The shipper said that my $40 would cover the UPS costs and fees. Today I get a $23 bill from UPS that says "brokerage charges" WTF are these and why doesnt the shipper have to pay them? I knew I should have bought from an american!!!!!!!!

[zeegler]

Haha. That'll teach you to be so ethnocentric.

[daisp]

Brokers look after customs forms for you...their services aren't free...and buyers from Canada pay them too with stuff shipped from the USA..This is generally not considered a shipping cost that a seller pays. And FYI $23 is dirt cheap, I've had $80 ones buying guitars, it's usually a % of the value of the item.

[kelly user]

I know a guy from canada that had to pay $300 for fees for a drum set, consider yourself lucky.

[delt]

Here in Canada UPS ripped me off more than once with these bullshit brokerage/import duty fees. A few months ago a Boss GX-700 that cost me $75 on ebay ended up costing me about 3 times that.

And FYI $23 is dirt cheap, I've had $80 ones buying guitars, it's usually a % of the value of the item.

I know a guy from canada that had to pay $300 for fees for a drum set, consider yourself lucky.

Next time this happens to me i think i'll send the delivery guy back to UPS in a body bag, without my package of course. They have no damn right to just grab something that belongs to me and hold it for ransom.

[Roidster]

UPS charges a lot of money for brokage fees,i was talking to a UPS guy here at my building asking him questions about shipping stuff in from the states,and he told me UPS charges a lot for brokage fee's,and to try and find someone else to ship into canada

[yard dawg]

Well so much for those free trade agreements we got hosed on during the Clinton/Bush sr yrs......... It seems only the corporate importers can get stuff in free.

I dont think I'll be buying anything from Canada.(not that canadians are bad) Too many hidden fees. or any other foreign countries for that matter. At least it was only $23..

[Leo Chang]

+1 on what all others have said.... consider that VERY cheap for UPS "brokerage fee".

The most I was charged for a guitar that shipped from the US to me in Vancouver was $250 - ish, and the guitar wasn't even that expensive.

While my UPS guy collected the riduculous brokerage fee from me at my doorstep, he told me that I actually could do the brokerage myself and save a lot of money (especially if I buy a lot from the US, which at that time I did)

Don't know about brokerage procedures on the US side, but all I had to do was to get the relevant paperwork from the UPS depot, hop over to the nearby Canada Customs office, have them clear the paperwork, then go back to the UPS depot to pickup the parcel.... that's it. Nothing to it, except for the time that you have to wait in line, the actual "work" part of it is what... maybe 2 minutes tops. Time spent waiting in line = approximately 30 minutes.

And yes, brokerage fees are the responsibility of the buyer, because it is charged on the importer.

[Freyr]

Bah, I've shipped / received over the boarder numourus times. Just don't be stupid enough to go with UPS!! USPS/Canada Post is the only way you'll get though it without any extra charges. (Even then, it has to be marked as a gift, and 50% of the time you have to file a claim to get your 'duty tax' back)

Still, I have no qualms selling/buying from anyone in the states. Just know what you're dealing with and you won't be hit by any hidden fees.