molson wrote:
There aren't any duties or taxes charged on camera gear going to the USA if you ship it by Canada Post...
I may have used the wrong word...
When a Canadian purchases gear from US we are charged tax on the value. In Ontario, tax = 13%. If someone insures a lens for $1000, we will have to pay an additional $130.
I had assumed it would work the same way going to the US
Ah, US taxation system is a little different from Canada.
Firstly US do not have Federal Sales Tax like our GST, so there is no 5% there.
Secondly the US Federal Customs offices is not in the business of collecting States sales tax for the States, so there is no 8% there. Way back when, our Canadian Customs & Excise did not collect Provincial Sale Tax on importations either, until the Feds went in cohoot with the previnces a few years back.
The UPS Fedex Customs Service fee is their own way to gouch consumers. I read somewhere there is a class action suit against them. If you use Canadapost, USPS (their counter part in US) will only charge a small fee for clearing customs. If you use UPS or Fedex Ground service, the receiver will be charged a customs clearing fee based on % of the value of goods. For a high value item, the buyer may face fees of 2 or 3 hundred dollars. If you need to use UPS / Fedex, use their economy AIR service, cost is higher, but it includes the Customs Clearing fees.
Thanks for the info Frank! Will definitely take it into consideration in the future. I'll probably still stick with a Canadian sale just to help out a fellow Canadian since US deals are now down the drain!
