Another U.S shipping rant

[rella's fan]

You guys probably remember my last shipping rant regarding the Mickey grad ears and how they ended up costing an obscene amount in fees from Disney. So for the holidays I really wanted to get the Vera Bradley snacks throw and a Lokai mickey bracelet and etc. My best friend lives in the U.S. so I had everything shipped to her and she then sent it to me (I got it about a month ago). Fast forward to today and I got a $125 bill from Fed Ex for additional fees. What? I realize there are supposed to be customs fees but this is ridiculous, also should it not have been collected upon delivery? Found the box at the side of my house after it was delivered because they didn't knock or ring the bell or request a signature. Just wanted to give people a heads up that it appears there really is no cost effective way to order from Disney. The $80 throw is now worth about $300!!!

 

[MamaLema]

I miss cross border shopping so much

 

[rella's fan]

I miss cross border shopping so much

me too!!

 

[alohamom]

I miss cross border shopping so much

me three!!

 

[bcwife76]

I miss cross border shopping so much

Same!!! I miss shipping stuff to my US mail ox just over the border in Blaine WA.

 

[damo]

When we have stuff sent from a friend in the US, we have them send it USPS and say that it is a gift. We've never had any additional fees.

 

[rella's fan]

First time for me, never happened before. Does make you really appreciate the U.S. mailbox though (I have one too).

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

It must be brokerage fees. Here in NS, duty is usually around 15% (which is our HST tax). Is the increase also due to the exchange rate?

 

[swong4824]

You guys probably remember my last shipping rant regarding the Mickey grad ears and how they ended up costing an obscene amount in fees from Disney. So for the holidays I really wanted to get the Vera Bradley snacks throw and a Lokai mickey bracelet and etc. My best friend lives in the U.S. so I had everything shipped to her and she then sent it to me (I got it about a month ago). Fast forward to today and I got a $125 bill from Fed Ex for additional fees. What? I realize there are supposed to be customs fees but this is ridiculous, also should it not have been collected upon delivery? Found the box at the side of my house after it was delivered because they didn't knock or ring the bell or request a signature. Just wanted to give people a heads up that it appears there really is no cost effective way to order from Disney. The $80 throw is now worth about $300!!!

This is more common now due to COVID as couriers don't want to walk up to the door collect the fees. By chance, was it Fedex Ground that they used? FedEx ground, UPS ground will generally charge a minimum of $30 just to clear the package plus $10 collect on delivery fee before any taxes are collected. Just an FYI use USPS, so if they need to collect duties, it's only around $10 or have them use a more expensive service like Fedex Economy or anything better than ground, usually that $30 fee will be waived on the more expensive services.

 

[White Cat]

Try a phone call from customs at Pearson airport waning $2500 to release a jewelry purchased by my wife. Could have had it shipped to the USA house but didn’t want to wait the 2 months till her next visit. Free healthcare lol. Nothing is free.

 

[Starwind]

FYI, here is the UPS rate table for customs clearance into Canada:

https://www.ups.com/ca/en/shipping/zones-and-rates/customs-clearance.page
As a PP noted, "UPS offers free+* routine customs clearance of UPS Worldwide Express Plus™, UPS Worldwide Express™, UPS Worldwide Express Freight™, UPS Worldwide Express Saver®, and UPS Worldwide Expedited™." Note: Rates do not include applicable duties or taxes.

However, the difference in cost between UPS Standard and the next cheapest service can be substantial. I just priced out a package I need sent to me from the US; UPS Standard is US$38, while the next cheapest is over US$130 just for the shipping costs. In this case the UPS entry brokerage fee will be about $30.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

never use FedEx/DHL/UPS to ship regular random consumer stuff to Canada, it's just a money grab for taxes and fees. use these services for documents and important shipments

if you ship with USPS then there is a lower chance of incurring the high fees, BUT if your friend filled out the values on the customs forms properly and legally, there should be something owed.

and no, there is no cost-effective way to cross border shop really... it costs what it costs... the cost of doing business.

 

[mshanson3121]

I miss cross border shopping so much

Same. It has honestly cost us so much money on certain things, having to buy them in Canada. Either because they're more expensive here to begin with, or due to the shipping. I tried to order a pin for one of my kids for Christmas - almost $25 shipping is what they were going to charge. Um... thanks, but no thanks. Especially when the actual cost for First Class parcel is only $12.25 (and that's retail).

 

[mshanson3121]

and no, there is no cost-effective way to cross border shop really... it costs what it costs... the cost of doing business.

A lot of companies, Disney included, are gouging their customers with extremely inflated shipping costs. See my post above about the cost to ship a tiny pin that weighs but a few oz. And yet, another company (smaller than Disney) was able to ship me a box of books that weighed probably 10x as much and had 4x the value, for only $8.99. So, you can't tell me it's the "cost of doing business" (and hopefully that's not what you were trying to say). Since ultimately, the majority of shipping fees we're being charged by companies are just businesses taking advantage of us.

 

[rella's fan]

A lot of companies, Disney included, are gouging their customers with extremely inflated shipping costs. See my post above about the cost to ship a tiny pin that weighs but a few oz. And yet, another company (smaller than Disney) was able to ship me a box of books that weighed probably 10x as much and had 4x the value, for only $8.99. So, you can't tell me it's the "cost of doing business" (and hopefully that's not what you were trying to say). Since ultimately, the majority of shipping fees we're being charged by companies are just businesses taking advantage of us.

Yes, this is what bothers me the most - it's not across the board (thankfully, I guess). I have ordered from Alex and Ani, Shutterfly and a couple of others and all from the U.S. with very little shipping costs and extra fees. Lesson learned - no more Fed Ex!

 

[juniorbugman]

My brother orders jeep parts from a store in the US and yup he always has to pay duty and taxes to DHL as that is how it gets shipped. Now DHL wants you to pay your duty and taxes before they deliver the package as the drivers are no longer collecting the payment at the door. They will drop off a slip to pay online and come back another day. He has been having issues with the store who is shipping the item as they are only giving him an 8 digit shipping code but DHL codes are 10 digits. He may have resolved that problem now but we will see with his next order.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

I have a friend in Florida near WDW that I have my items shipped to and she also buys stuff at WDW for me when I want something. We usually visit WDW/DCL at least 4 times a year so I am able to pick up my stuff on a regular basis. Our last trip was Dec 2019 and we had a trip planned for the end of March but it was cancelled due to covid. It wasn't looking like we would be visiting any time soon, so I had her send me all my stuff via UPS (so I could track it all the way). She mailed it on a Monday and it was delivered Friday. She did detail all the items in the box and the value ($400). The box cost $45 US to send and I got an email on Thursday saying that there was $125 customs and duty due and I had a choice of paying the driver when my parcel was dropped off on Friday or pay online. I opted to pay online. I realize it is a lot of money, but it was the price I paid to order to be able to have my purchases here in Canada. She just sent me another package of my 2021 calendar and the Christmas masks and chip & dale mask - she sent this by USPS and I had no extra fees due - it was just put in my mailbox.

 

[lisaviolet]

Just want to make sure that everyone knows that you do not have to allow these courier services to be your broker for customs. That is where the high fees are coming from, not just simple duties. You simply inform them that you will be clearing the item yourself (I guess ahead of time now since they are simply dropping them off first, without payment- is that really Covid or another way to stop self-clearing?!?).

They will try to talk you out of it of course.

If you happen to be near a CBSA office this is a very easy process. (I don't know how Covid has affected their hours/services ). But only worth the trouble on principle, for a smaller amount.

And like another poster mentioned USPS is your best bet. Years ago it was UPS that was the worst of the bunch, then others joined in.

I have done it myself.

Once I had a memorial firefighters' flag coming set in a glass case. Not ordered from anywhere, sent after a memorial service in Colorado. Obviously it had no monetary value, just you know. And they even tried to be the broker on something so sacred.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/canadagotsole.ca/2018/07/17/how-to-self-clear/amp/

 

[Northernlites]

Most goods from the US are duty free under trade agreements, If the broker is charging duty make sure that they used the right tariff classification to start with.
Here is the link to the tariff.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2020/menu-eng.html
Sometimes brokers are either lazy or stupid or don't know what the goods are and just pick a generic tariff code.
Also make sure the correct GST or HST was charged. Different provinces have different rates. For example the east coast is 15% GST Ontario is 13% and west of Ontario is 5%.
Here is the link showing the breakdown by province: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-ag...hst-businesses/charge-collect-which-rate.html
I have seen a few calculation errors by brokerages, worse case scenario if the duty rate and amount is wrong a request from CBSA for a refund can be made with the proper documents. If you want to use the Casual Refund Program, the first thing you’ll need is a B2G (CBSA Informal Adjustment Request) form. Go to the CBSA website to find a link to the Customs refund form in PDF format and instructions on filling it out.

Concerning the broker fees to ship your goods I agree with all the comments above about the excess fees.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi , we did alot of online shopping the last 6 months, and now we keep getting a automated call from DHL. Do not know what it is for? Would they not mail us a paper invoice if we owed duty?