Buying from the US

[salzburg]

I recently got a shipment from the US, value $46.00, via UPS. Thats the
only way I could get it. I knew UPS would try to rip me off like usual but
I needed those particular items and could not get them here.
When UPS delivered the parcel I was not home but they left it at my
apartment door with a note saying I owed them $32.00 for a customs fee.
Luckily the parcel was not stolen. Now UPS wants the $32.00 but hell will
freeze over before they will get it.
2 years ago I had a mini mill and mini lathe shipped to a washington state
address and my boss picked them up for me and brought them across the
border paying only GST, nothing else.

[cyclestart]

Al

Those Revenue Canada sites give me a headache but maybe with you're tip I can muddle through the mentioned pdf. If this works I'm in your debt. Thanks.

salzburg

There's a American member here who will redirect parcels, combine shipping, etc. Might be worth checking out next time a "UPS only" situation arises. Besides, you could be on UPS's "problem customer" list Wear it like the Badge of Honor it surely is

[Al_The_Man]

Another little known fact is that you can claim a claw-back from revenue Canada if you feel that UPS has used the wrong commodity number and you have paid a chunk of excise tax, which can be 6.5 ~9.5%.
I normally clear my own UPS ground shipments, but in the case of express shipments from the US, the brokerage is covered, and carried out by UPS in the price of shipping.
The down side is, like ground cleared shipments, they do not always get the commodity number right.
Imagine some guy in UPS brokerage trying to decide what a 'Mitsubishi Servo Encoder ' comes under.
When it runs to imports valued at a few $k, the excise tax mounts up.
I will submit a B2, which like the B3 and is fillable off the CRA site.
UPS will send you a copy of the B3 they used to import, and with that in hand, you use it to make up the B2, in order to get your refund.
This can also apply to USPS/CanPost shipments that CRA clear themselves.
I have been doing this for a number of years, and believe me, you learn all the wrinkles.
Al.

[the2lmaker]

I am new to this website, but have bought a lot of items on Ebay. This includes a 12 X 20 X 2 inch CNC. After being stung by UPS a couple of times I always specify USPS. Sometimes tax is added (plus $5 handling) but not usually for small items.

Caution: My opinion is that Canada post throws all parcels into and out of their trucks. My CNC suffered damage because it was not packaged for this abuse (2 bent 1/4 " leadscrews).

[DareBee]

I paid $8 brokerage on my last parcel up from the states (through mail). It would have been WAY more any other way.