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 p.1 #15 · Fees/tariffs to ship camera gear from U.S. to Canada? | |
grantgoodes wrote:
For used camera gear, the Canadian buyer will normally just have to pay the locally applicable GST or HST (sales-tax) which varies from province to province. The shipper will almost always charge a brokerage (handling) fee of approximately the same amount as the sales tax (which is then in turn subject to sales tax!). If using USPS/Canada Post, smaller items will often just go through tax-free, but all the couriers use the border as a cash grab and will charge tax and brokerage on even the smallest items.
I have not received a US camera package since the tariff "war" started, so can't speak from experience on how that will affect things....Show more →
There is a process that works for us in Canada (separate from tariffs but specific to couriers and brokerage), I have used it multiple times when courier shipping was only option, and I am pasting the 'contributed' letter that was posted to an Okanagan web-page years ago:
I, as do so many others, do a lot of online shopping these days. I try and buy most things from within Canada, but from time to time it's unavoidable ordering something from the USA, Europe or China. When these packages arrive in Canada, we usually owe taxes and duties on them. Nine times out of ten the charges are waived but the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and your shopping arrives at your door promptly. This is if the seller ships your item(s) via a state postal service (USPS, Royal Mail, etc). However, when items are shipped via a private courier (UPS, FedEx, DHL), there are COD charges for taxes, and fees for the courier clearing the package through customs. The charges usually range from 25-65% of the total item value, which is absurd. I used to blindly pay these fees because I didn't know that I didn't have to. It wasn't until a friendly UPS driver told me (when I was stuck with a $97 brokerage fee for a $285 item) that we all have the right to self-clear customs.
There are a couple ways to do this, whether before or after the item has arrived. It's easiest to do it right after the package has shipped and you have gotten a tracking number.
- Print out your invoice/paypal receipt
- Call the courier (UPS, etc.), give them the tracking number, and tell them that you want to clear your items by yourself at your local CBSA office. They should then instruct you on what you need to do.
- Note, if the declared value is more than $1,600, then you can only self-clear at the port of entry to Canada. For anything less, however, the paperwork can be done at any CBSA office. The office here in Kelowna is at the Airport.
If the courier shows up at your door with a bill, you do not have to pay it.
- Simply refuse delivery, and inform the driver that you intend to self-clear customs directly with the CBSA.
- Take note of the unique shipment identifier number (tracking number) on the package, as the shipment will then be returned to the courier's local warehouse or depot.
- The courier must provide you with a commercial invoice, or an Import Duty and Tax Invoice.
- Take your invoice and the tracking number to the CBSA office and declare your goods, then take the official customs receipt to the courier's depot and collect your package.
I realize for small value shipments this may be too much hassle for some people. But the fact that big couriers are charging people for services that they did not consent to is illegal. Most people just roll over and take the charges, but for those that do a lot of international shopping, the brokerage fees can be a real drain on the wallet. Brokerage services by couriers should be a service that is opt-in, not opt-out.
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