Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

Dizzy · 03-19-2013, 10:00 AM

Some sellers will misrepresent what's in the packages they send, most will not. It's fraud and can cause all sorts of problems for vendors if they get caught. Why would they risk their business to save you tax, brokerage and possible duty? I wouldn't worry about receiving a package like that, but I would never try to revalue it or misrepresent the country of manufacture at a boarder crossing. One bad customs dude having a bad day and you won't believe the hassle you will have. Like 6MT says, be prepared to lose it, pay a fine and have your name flagged for a few years in their system. Just ain't worth it.

If your package is shipped UPS, Fedex, or any other courier, be ready for a very unpleasant surprise on brokerage fees. As mentioned, they will rape you. For instance, on a $250 package, UPS charges $47.00 in brokerage. That equates to a whopping 19%. You can see the full raping table here.

If your seller sends the package USPS, it will arrive at your door via Canada Post and they charge a flat $5 brokerage fee. But as mentioned, there are size and weight limitations.

Taxes - you will definitely pay it with a courier. With Canada Post, it depends on the size of the package and the declared value. I'm not sure what the cutoff is, or if there even is a rule, but I get a lot of small packages that are declared less than say $50 and for some reason, they don't collect the tax. On larger more expensive stuff, they do. I'm not sure why some of the cheaper stuff slides through. You never get away with anything with a courier. I suspect because Canada Post is also a federal agency, they have some sort of leeway in excusing taxes on certain things. Kinda of a "not worth the hassle" sort of thing. If you have to pick up the package at the post office, you'll be paying for sure. If it's dropped in your mailbox, often you'll get away with it if its a small value.

Duty - As above. Smaller stuff, you'll get away with Canada Post, but you will always pay with a courier. Duty is only charged on non US or Mexico manufactured goods. Currently, for auto parts made outside US or Mexico, duty is 8%.

Now, you live in Toronto, so consider this. You can have stuff sent to a US address in Niagara Falls NY. This place is awesome:

US Address

It costs next to nothing and it's so easy. You drive down, pick up your stuff and drive back. That eliminates any brokerage fees but the big advantage is shipping costs. For most suppliers, the cost of shipping within the US is a fraction of the cost of shipping to Canada. A lot of US suppliers have free US shipping. Taxes and duty will be same. Again, sometimes you luck out with the boarder guy and he just says "have a nice day" when you come back.

03-19-2013, 10:00 AM	#7 (permalink)
Dizzy Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Milton, On Posts: 234 Drives: 10 HW 6MT SPT/NAV Rep Power: 14	Some sellers will misrepresent what's in the packages they send, most will not. It's fraud and can cause all sorts of problems for vendors if they get caught. Why would they risk their business to save you tax, brokerage and possible duty? I wouldn't worry about receiving a package like that, but I would never try to revalue it or misrepresent the country of manufacture at a boarder crossing. One bad customs dude having a bad day and you won't believe the hassle you will have. Like 6MT says, be prepared to lose it, pay a fine and have your name flagged for a few years in their system. Just ain't worth it. If your package is shipped UPS, Fedex, or any other courier, be ready for a very unpleasant surprise on brokerage fees. As mentioned, they will rape you. For instance, on a $250 package, UPS charges $47.00 in brokerage. That equates to a whopping 19%. You can see the full raping table here. If your seller sends the package USPS, it will arrive at your door via Canada Post and they charge a flat $5 brokerage fee. But as mentioned, there are size and weight limitations. Taxes - you will definitely pay it with a courier. With Canada Post, it depends on the size of the package and the declared value. I'm not sure what the cutoff is, or if there even is a rule, but I get a lot of small packages that are declared less than say $50 and for some reason, they don't collect the tax. On larger more expensive stuff, they do. I'm not sure why some of the cheaper stuff slides through. You never get away with anything with a courier. I suspect because Canada Post is also a federal agency, they have some sort of leeway in excusing taxes on certain things. Kinda of a "not worth the hassle" sort of thing. If you have to pick up the package at the post office, you'll be paying for sure. If it's dropped in your mailbox, often you'll get away with it if its a small value. Duty - As above. Smaller stuff, you'll get away with Canada Post, but you will always pay with a courier. Duty is only charged on non US or Mexico manufactured goods. Currently, for auto parts made outside US or Mexico, duty is 8%. Now, you live in Toronto, so consider this. You can have stuff sent to a US address in Niagara Falls NY. This place is awesome: US Address It costs next to nothing and it's so easy. You drive down, pick up your stuff and drive back. That eliminates any brokerage fees but the big advantage is shipping costs. For most suppliers, the cost of shipping within the US is a fraction of the cost of shipping to Canada. A lot of US suppliers have free US shipping. Taxes and duty will be same. Again, sometimes you luck out with the boarder guy and he just says "have a nice day" when you come back. __________________ Last edited by Dizzy; 03-19-2013 at 10:03 AM.