Parts from the USA

[Zar]

Hey members - any advice to avoid extremely high price of shipping parts from USA ? The shipping cost (i.e customs brokerage and frieght) kind of takes benefit of any savings. I paid $17 shipping + $46 brokerage for a piece that wieghed 1 lbs and fit in a 8X10 envolope thru UPS. I guess I learnt my leason - buy local. Does anyone else have good luck with DHL, FedEx, United States Postal Service etc ? I contacted the vendor and they mentioned that I should have cleared the package thru customs myself and the charge would have been less . I havn't got a clue how to do that.

 

[Ryeser]

USPS is much less, UPS, for some reason likes to amke alot more money off of us!

 

[OVERKILL 19]

Hey members - any advice to avoid extremely high price of shipping parts from USA ? The shipping cost (i.e customs brokerage and frieght) kind of takes benefit of any savings. I paid $17 shipping + $46 brokerage for a piece that wieghed 1 lbs and fit in a 8X10 envolope thru UPS. I guess I learnt my leason - buy local. Does anyone else have good luck with DHL, FedEx, United States Postal Service etc ? I contacted the vendor and they mentioned that I should have cleared the package thru customs myself and the charge would have been less . I havn't got a clue how to do that.

Been there! I always get the vender to ship USPS, but there has been a few fast ones that say they will then they send it UPS. Then your screwed! Never been able to figure out how lots of these sites can offer FREE shipping anywere in the US. I had a web site qoute me free to my place in MT, $180 to AB on a set of air bags for my truck.

 

[DRD]

USPS or I don't order.

 

[buck50]

USPS is the way to go for getting stuff from the states. problem is some companies will ONLY ship with UPS/FEDEX. i don't buy from them! cause it sucks to pay $50 in brokerage fees for a $20 part!!!! USPS has no brokerage fees!

 

[polarice]

USPS is the way to go for getting stuff from the states. problem is some companies will ONLY ship with UPS/FEDEX. i don't buy from them! cause it sucks to pay $50 in brokerage fees for a $20 part!!!! USPS has no brokerage fees!

and sometimes with usps you dont have to pay the extra taxes

 

[Zar]

USPS is the way to go for getting stuff from the states. problem is some companies will ONLY ship with UPS/FEDEX. i don't buy from them! cause it sucks to pay $50 in brokerage fees for a $20 part!!!! USPS has no brokerage fees!

I see that I have a lesson learned here. Only use USPS . Thanks for the heads up for next time

 

[Switch]

I see that I have a lesson learned here. Only use USPS . Thanks for the heads up for next time

Well Grumpy even a Stampeders fan can learn somthing new.

 

[goodngrubby]

USPS usually takes too long. If you ask the vendor to ship it UPS Expidited, or 3 Day Select, then there will be no brokerage fees. Anything that goes standard (ground) can have some hefty brokerage charges, but if it goes air, then the fees are waived. It will cost a few $$ more to ship air, but eliminating the brokerage fees more than makes up for it, plus it gets here in half the time.

 

[Cyle]

I've had things from the states by USPS here in 5 business days. Usually as far or faster then UPS. USPS just charges you the 5% GST plus a flat rate $5 fee. UPS is like $30 minimum or something then a hefty % based on value. As said if you go with a higher shipping the brokerage drops but is still there. However there is the odd place that ships UPS with pre paid fees. Other then that I go USPS only.

 

[goodngrubby]

I've had things from the states by USPS here in 5 business days. Usually as far or faster then UPS. USPS just charges you the 5% GST plus a flat rate $5 fee. UPS is like $30 minimum or something then a hefty % based on value. As said if you go with a higher shipping the brokerage drops but is still there. However there is the odd place that ships UPS with pre paid fees. Other then that I go USPS only.

Where'd you get these numbers from? I ship in and out of the States everyday, I'm yet to have USPS beat UPS for delivery times. Once again, if you ship UPS air, there are NO brokerage fees.

 

[Cyle]

Where'd you get these numbers from? I ship in and out of the States everyday, I'm yet to have USPS beat UPS for delivery times. Once again, if you ship UPS air, there are NO brokerage fees.

By getting deliveries in 5 business days from USPS all the time. UPS is a joke, i've had so many packages where they push back the delivery date so of course their on-time is so high, and generally they take longer then USPS.

Anytime I can I avoid UPS, they are a bunch of crooks.

 

[ZRrrr]

I came across this once and keep it on file for reference when needed. Sometimes UPS will play dumb and tell you they do not have the "identifier number" but that's BS. Many have even had UPS drop the brokerage fee "this time only" when confronted with this information.

Enjoy!




"If you have a CBSA office reasonable close to you, than you can pay the duties and taxes your self and avoid the brokerage fee. Here is how:

A courier need your permission to represent you as a broker. The authority for this is found in D1-6-1 http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d…d1-6-1-eng.pdf

“4. Any person who proposes to transact business with CBSA as the agent of another person is responsible for ensuring that the proper authority has been granted. The written authority is often referred to as an agency agreement or a power of attorney.”

This means of course you always have the right to clear your goods yourself or using any broker you want. Generally couriers get permission to act as your broker when you sign for the goods, in fact the LVS (low value shipment) regulations specifically allow for them to do this, however they also give you the right to decline to use them.

Now I should mention the information I am referencing for this post is only LVS courier casual goods. That means the goods have to be valued at under $1600 Canadian and not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an act of Parliament. To qualify as Casual the goods have to be for the personal use of an individual and not be commercial goods.

We find the regulations for LVS courier goods in D 17-4-0

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d…17-4-0-eng.pdf

“1. The Courier Low Value Shipment (LVS) Program streamlines the reporting, release and accounting procedures for certain goods imported by courier. Couriers authorized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to participate in the program may have qualifying goods released by presenting a cargo/release list to the CBSA. To qualify under this program the goods must:
(a) be valued at less than CAN$1,600; and
(b) not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an Act of Parliament”

So what does LVS mean?

from D17-4-0 again

“11. The cargo/release list for authorized participants of the Courier LVS Program is to be used in place of individual cargo control and release documents for goods valued under CAN$1,600. The list must be presented to the CBSA by the courier before or as soon as the shipments arrive in Canada. It must contain a concise description of the LVS qualifying goods so that the border services officer can determine the admissibility of the goods.”

So the courier gives customs information on the goods they are bringing in to Canada.

Next if the goods are not being released at the office they enter Canada at they can move inbond to the office of release. This is important to note because UPS will often argue that the goods have to be released at the office of arrival but this is not true and we know it is not true because the LVS regulations tell us so.

Again from D-17-4-0

“16. When Courier LVS goods arrive in Canada at an office other than the office of release, the in-bond movement of the shipments to the office of release is permitted, provided that the entire container or load is moved inland.”

So the courier following these regulations moves your LVS parcel in bond eventually to a distribution centre near the importer. At this point the goods have not been accounted for, that is no duties and taxes have been paid yet, and the courier can not release them to the importer until they have.

So now the goods are in the UPS warehouse near your house and they bring them to your door. Lets see what the D 17-4-0 says about what happens next.

“Release and Accounting
54. Once the CBSA releases the casual goods, the courier delivers the shipment to the importer. The duties and taxes owing are paid by the importer to the courier. Afterwards, the courier or its agent accounts for the goods on an “F” type entry which is presented to the CBSA before the 24th day of the next month, with the duties and taxes payable by the end of that month.”

Ah so you pay the courier your duties and taxes (and brokerage fee), receive your goods and then the courier goes ahead and acts as your broker and pays the duties and taxes with an F type entry the next month.

So what happens if you decide you don’t want to pay the duties and taxes and brokerage fee to the courier? Surely the regulations state that the goods have to go back to the office of arrival right? and you have to pay the duties and taxes at that office right?That’s what UPS told my friend. Wrong.

D 17-4-0

“56. If an importer wishes to account for the goods himself or herself, the courier does not release the shipment to the importer but holds the goods until the importer presents satisfactory proof that the appropriate duties and taxes have been paid directly to the CBSA. The importer must note the unique shipment identifier number and contact the courier to determine where the goods are held in a bonded warehouse until the release is effected.”

So the courier hangs on to the goods which are still in-bond at their warehouse. The courier must provide the importer with information as to where the goods are, what the unique shipment identifier number is (they would have provided this to customs earlier as part of the cargo/release list noted in section 11). Now you the importer can take that information along with a bill or invoice from the shipper to your nearest customs office and get a B15 done for free. Customs will do all the work. Take that back to UPS and then as noted in section 56 of D17-4-0 they must release the goods to you.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Now simply put if a courier, say UPS, arrives at your door and you refuse to pay the duties and taxes, you want to do this:

Ask them where the goods are going now, which will be the nearby warehouse. (they may threaten to take them back to the border warehouse but this does not make sense from a economical sense on their part, is not supported by the LVS regulations and even if they do you can still clear your goods at the office closest to you)

Next ask for the unique shipment identifier number.

Print out a copy of the invoice from the shipper (most online shippers email this to you if not request a copy after you place your order)

Take these three pieces of information with you to your nearest CBSA office and ask for a B15.

Return to UPS with your B15, which will show you paid your duties and taxes and receive your goods.

If they give you any kind of hassle print out a copy of D 17-4-0 to support your right to clear the goods yourself and show that the goods do not have to be accounted for at the border entry office.

Armed with this information my friend was able to get a number from UPS that he brought to customs and was able to get UPS to accept a B15 and release his goods.

Hope folks that are forced to use a courier find this useful. Knowledge is power. By the way all the customs regulations can be found on the CBSA website at D memoranda

 

[Bucky]

If you get a package thru fedex and have a account, you pay no clearance fee, otherwise it's 10.50 if you have to pay for duties and taxes (thats decided by canada customs when package cleared) otherwise there is no fee. Depends on what the shipper puts for a value. This is for overnite and 2 day air shipments. The 10.50 is charged because the duties and taxes has to be prepaid to can customs before they will release the package for delivery.

 

[mikecbi]

also there is the issue with tracking.ups tracks all shipments,as usps doesnt.something to think about when you are ordering hundreds of dollars worth of parts

 

[buck50]

also there is the issue with tracking.ups tracks all shipments,as usps doesnt.something to think about when you are ordering hundreds of dollars worth of parts

you can get tracking on USPS stuff, just have to ask for it

 

[OVERKILL 19]

Thought I would order a "SoCal" t-shirt for a b-day preasent.....$21 for the t-shirt.....$34 to ship it??????????fricken ups..get bent!

 

[Modman]

I came across this once and keep it on file for reference when needed. Sometimes UPS will play dumb and tell you they do not have the "identifier number" but that's BS. Many have even had UPS drop the brokerage fee "this time only" when confronted with this information.

Enjoy!




"If you have a CBSA office reasonable close to you, than you can pay the duties and taxes your self and avoid the brokerage fee. Here is how:

A courier need your permission to represent you as a broker. The authority for this is found in D1-6-1 http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d…d1-6-1-eng.pdf

“4. Any person who proposes to transact business with CBSA as the agent of another person is responsible for ensuring that the proper authority has been granted. The written authority is often referred to as an agency agreement or a power of attorney.”

This means of course you always have the right to clear your goods yourself or using any broker you want. Generally couriers get permission to act as your broker when you sign for the goods, in fact the LVS (low value shipment) regulations specifically allow for them to do this, however they also give you the right to decline to use them.

Now I should mention the information I am referencing for this post is only LVS courier casual goods. That means the goods have to be valued at under $1600 Canadian and not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an act of Parliament. To qualify as Casual the goods have to be for the personal use of an individual and not be commercial goods.

We find the regulations for LVS courier goods in D 17-4-0

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d…17-4-0-eng.pdf

“1. The Courier Low Value Shipment (LVS) Program streamlines the reporting, release and accounting procedures for certain goods imported by courier. Couriers authorized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to participate in the program may have qualifying goods released by presenting a cargo/release list to the CBSA. To qualify under this program the goods must:
(a) be valued at less than CAN$1,600; and
(b) not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an Act of Parliament”

So what does LVS mean?

from D17-4-0 again

“11. The cargo/release list for authorized participants of the Courier LVS Program is to be used in place of individual cargo control and release documents for goods valued under CAN$1,600. The list must be presented to the CBSA by the courier before or as soon as the shipments arrive in Canada. It must contain a concise description of the LVS qualifying goods so that the border services officer can determine the admissibility of the goods.”

So the courier gives customs information on the goods they are bringing in to Canada.

Next if the goods are not being released at the office they enter Canada at they can move inbond to the office of release. This is important to note because UPS will often argue that the goods have to be released at the office of arrival but this is not true and we know it is not true because the LVS regulations tell us so.

Again from D-17-4-0

“16. When Courier LVS goods arrive in Canada at an office other than the office of release, the in-bond movement of the shipments to the office of release is permitted, provided that the entire container or load is moved inland.”

So the courier following these regulations moves your LVS parcel in bond eventually to a distribution centre near the importer. At this point the goods have not been accounted for, that is no duties and taxes have been paid yet, and the courier can not release them to the importer until they have.

So now the goods are in the UPS warehouse near your house and they bring them to your door. Lets see what the D 17-4-0 says about what happens next.

“Release and Accounting
54. Once the CBSA releases the casual goods, the courier delivers the shipment to the importer. The duties and taxes owing are paid by the importer to the courier. Afterwards, the courier or its agent accounts for the goods on an “F” type entry which is presented to the CBSA before the 24th day of the next month, with the duties and taxes payable by the end of that month.”

Ah so you pay the courier your duties and taxes (and brokerage fee), receive your goods and then the courier goes ahead and acts as your broker and pays the duties and taxes with an F type entry the next month.

So what happens if you decide you don’t want to pay the duties and taxes and brokerage fee to the courier? Surely the regulations state that the goods have to go back to the office of arrival right? and you have to pay the duties and taxes at that office right?That’s what UPS told my friend. Wrong.

D 17-4-0

“56. If an importer wishes to account for the goods himself or herself, the courier does not release the shipment to the importer but holds the goods until the importer presents satisfactory proof that the appropriate duties and taxes have been paid directly to the CBSA. The importer must note the unique shipment identifier number and contact the courier to determine where the goods are held in a bonded warehouse until the release is effected.”

So the courier hangs on to the goods which are still in-bond at their warehouse. The courier must provide the importer with information as to where the goods are, what the unique shipment identifier number is (they would have provided this to customs earlier as part of the cargo/release list noted in section 11). Now you the importer can take that information along with a bill or invoice from the shipper to your nearest customs office and get a B15 done for free. Customs will do all the work. Take that back to UPS and then as noted in section 56 of D17-4-0 they must release the goods to you.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Now simply put if a courier, say UPS, arrives at your door and you refuse to pay the duties and taxes, you want to do this:

Ask them where the goods are going now, which will be the nearby warehouse. (they may threaten to take them back to the border warehouse but this does not make sense from a economical sense on their part, is not supported by the LVS regulations and even if they do you can still clear your goods at the office closest to you)

Next ask for the unique shipment identifier number.

Print out a copy of the invoice from the shipper (most online shippers email this to you if not request a copy after you place your order)

Take these three pieces of information with you to your nearest CBSA office and ask for a B15.

Return to UPS with your B15, which will show you paid your duties and taxes and receive your goods.

If they give you any kind of hassle print out a copy of D 17-4-0 to support your right to clear the goods yourself and show that the goods do not have to be accounted for at the border entry office.

Armed with this information my friend was able to get a number from UPS that he brought to customs and was able to get UPS to accept a B15 and release his goods.

Hope folks that are forced to use a courier find this useful. Knowledge is power. By the way all the customs regulations can be found on the CBSA website at D memoranda

Holy Jesus that is a lot of extra work to get your package from UPS/Fedex :d and you still have to take time off work to go over there. Just like Cyle and some others, I only prefer to use USPS. Got stung once using UPS - won't ever do that again.

I ordered some stuff a few weeks ago and it was here in 7 days using USPS.
I will continue to ship USPS and just wait the extra 1.5 days to get my packages, comes right to my post office 3 mins from my house, no running 1/2 hr across town to the Fedex warehouse etc.

 

[shawnmcgr]

What he ^^^^ said. By the time I figured out how to get all these forms done the package would have arrived by USPS. Good info if you made the mistake of shipping my UPS though!

It's weird to see so many folks raving about a gov. organization, USPS?!?

Hopefully USPS doesn't hear about all these happy customer and change thier ways!

It's the only way I ship though.

 

[buck50]

What he ^^^^ said. By the time I figured out how to get all these forms done the package would have arrived by USPS. Good info if you made the mistake of shipping my UPS though!

It's weird to see so many folks raving about a gov. organization, USPS?!?

Hopefully USPS doesn't hear about all these happy customer and change thier ways!

It's the only way I ship though.

me too, but i have found that many companies in the states will ONLY ship thru UPS, even after i explain it to them, they just say it's their policy and that's the way it is! kind of frustrating really