# DIYers ordering from abroad be aware!t Brokerage Fees!



## neven (May 15, 2010)

I know many DIYers order parts factory direct, so heres a little refresher on something that could bite you in the behind.

They are called Brokerage Fees and they suck. Whats happened now is major couriers now don't hold items at the border, since they are bonded, the government trusts them to charge proper taxes and duty on items we ship. Years back they would contract out to independent brokers who actually did their job, now they do it themselves. The plus is there is less a chance your goods will be stopped at the border and inspected, but the draw back is horrible fees. Some charge flat rates to every package, some include the fees in their express shipping options, and others will charge you based on the items value, not the duty Paid. These are not taxes, they are third party charges for handling your package. Even in free shipping they get incurred.

So here is a list of what i am aware of, remember that some odd ball shippers (EMS for instance) hands off the package to another courier and that courier will charge the extra brokerage fees (ems is canada post fyi)

Canada post: $9.95 if the package has been taxed or duty, no charges from govt, no fee.

UPS: Often other fees besides brokerage are incurred as well but here they are:


> Based on items value, on top of duty and taxes
> $0.00 to $20.00	- -(blank, so assume 0 i guess)
> $20.01 to $40.00	- $7.00
> $40.01 to $100.00 - $19.45
> ...


I got the DHL paper here some where so i will add more as i get the time.


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

learned this long ago - never use UPS to cross the border, always try to use USPS (United States Postal Service) it is supposed to be slower, but the brokerage / duty fees are like 0$ - 12$, very reasonable. Most companies say they only use UPS, but if you explain the issue, many will make an exception.


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes ups is the worst. That's been like that for a long time.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I would rather not buy something than use UPS.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail (May 30, 2010)

Yep,agree with others,have been burned in the Past and refuse to use.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I got hit by dhl not ups luckily, every other package has been through Singaporepost, Hong Kong post or ems, all of which go through Canada post. Prior to this I had no issues, minus a warranty replacement being slapped with duty years back and some independent broker trying to rip people off

Sent from my SGH-I897 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

UPS is horrible. Highway robbery.LOL
Puralator was really ridiculous, too about 10 years or so ago but they have stopped that for a while now. If a parcel was shipped via USPS express they would hand it over to Puralor and then the receiver would get charged a very high brokerage fee. If I remember correctly it was actually charged by anothe rbroker, PPS or something like that, not by Puralor directly. Sometimes, evern with a GST/business number written on the waybill they will still do the brokerage for you and charge you anyway.
From the US, USPS is the way to go; with Asia, DHL is the norm with express--if the shipper writes "no commercial value" on the waybill sometimes you could get away with it. But China Post is not very reliable and they usually need to ship it to Hong Kong in order to ship it to Canada so it is rather complicated. I would rather pay a bit more and have a precise tracking number so I know what is going on, which is why I would choose DHL, rather than Canada Post. If you have your phone number and a business number on the way bill sometimes they will call you to ask if you want to do your own brokerage or not. You can do your own and save the brokerage fee but the place is by the airport so it is quite a bit of drive for a lot of people.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Brokerage fees are a rip off as far as I'm concerned. 

Canada Post used Dolphin to deliver goods, some time back. There were THIEVES in that company ( I have first hand knowledge)and I believe that's the main reason that CP stopped using them. 

UPS can take a long time to clear customs. Mind you it depends on how the product is mailed and packaged. There's standard, expedited and I seem to recall and additional method of shipping. 

I bought some lighting umbrellas at ebay for $125.00 USP charged me close to an additional 50% for brokerage fees and shipping. Rip off company!!

FED/EX is good but I haven't used it lately.

I've had pretty good luck with items shipped from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. An occasional item does go missing but PayPal comes to the rescue.

I have to say that a lot of companies undervalue or misrepresent their product so it can clear customs quicker.

What I mean to say is that a diamond becomes a mineral sample with a value of $10.00.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Fedex for me is the worest.

Bought something about $35 in value + shipping. The seller used fedex. Not a problem. Received the good the next day. Not a problem, not tax, no duty, no anything. I thought it was great. 1 month later, a fedex invoice came through my mail. The amount in the invoice was $45 + change... I called them. Explained to them my item was only $35 in value. How is that I got my invoice at $45? Then Fedex broke down all the charges and explain one by one, there are duty fee, tax, doucment fee, and broker fee. 

Apparently, sometimes you can get the charges like this, other time with fedex, there are none. So it all depends if the government is going to charge you. If the item clear custom without any charges, then fedex doesn't add on top. If they have to declare and clear custom with charges, then they might put on their part of fee.


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

and if something is missing from the shipment, you are double up the creek.

Ship to washington, and pick-up.


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## GaryR (Sep 16, 2012)

mdwflyer said:


> and if something is missing from the shipment, you are double up the creek.
> 
> Ship to washington, and pick-up.


It isn't always worth it, but if you have a lot of things, shipping to Point Roberts is pretty convenient. The gas isn't quite as cheap as bellingham, but I haven't had to pay duty on any amount I've brought back yet.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

I just found out the hard way today . My wife just had to pay an extra $100 on $ 600 air purifier unit from the states . She didn't know I had a mail box in Point Roberts.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

In any event so much for FREE TRADE.

i got Cotton Sponge Biochemical Filters shipped from China earlier in the week. There was 10 units and the shipping was FREE. I always try to buy items with free shipping.

The items took about three weeks to arrive. I'm almost certain that it would cost me $15-20 to send the same items to China, with tracking. Does anyone know how China gets away with cheap shipping? It seems to me that the charge should be identical no matter which direction it's shipped. Also there's never been additional fees placed on items shipped from Asia.
Another thing is that in country shipping is much lower in the US.

New Pond Filtration Foam Cotton Sponge Biochemical Filter For Fish Tank Aquarium | eBay


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Canada Post runs one of the most expensive postage service in the world. It is by law that other couriers (DHL, FedEX, UPS...) need to be at a certain percentage above the cost provided by Canada Post. Canada Post is not allowed to increase their fees too often but they can increase their fuel surcharge quite regularly.
Anyway, shipping cost is never the same both ways and Canada's import practise is not really what you would call free trade. A free trade country should not impose duty and tax the way Canada does.
Hong Kong practises free trade--you can send something marked as mechandise valued at USD$1000 to Hong Kong and the receiver will not need to pay a dime to receive it. Speaking from my own experience as I do a lot of trading with Hong Kong: same item would cost $120 to ship from Canada to Hong Kong via Canada Post and it takes 4-5 business days; to return it from Hong Kong to Canada, same package weight and everything, would cost only $40, and it arrived 1 day faster. The bonus is when I received it I needed to pay tax (even when it was clearly marked made in canada, returned to manufacturer...etc) but when they received theirs they didnt. In my opinion, not trying to get into politics, but this makes it hard for businesses in Canada to compete.
If I drive across the border to ship an item that would cost me $150 to ship via Canada Post, it usually costs me about $75 (50% less) with USPS, and I am actually dealing with a well trained USPS employee rather than someone in a home hardware or conveniece store uniform. The service is very good and tracking is precise. They can give me an actual date that the parcel is guaranteed to arrive. I have sent hundreds if not thousands of items through them so far, and have never had one delay.
I also have never lost even one item with USPS so far. Nevertheless, I have lost many items and had many delays with Canada Post eventhough I was paying more and was supposed to get a guaranteed delivery. I had to call them to ask for a refund repeatedly and was sometimes put on hold for a very long time. Although they have agreed in some cases but refused in some other claiming that that the guaranteed date was actaully flexible (i.e. not 4 days but 4-6 days although when I paid I was told exactly 4 days), they still owe me two checks total over $200 for over 3 years. I called them over and over and they kept telling me they woudl mail me another check and eventually I just gave up. One time, about 10 years ago, they had a delay with a guaranteed express post I sent, and they sent me the refund in the form of a paid express post envelope, which I still have--but Canada Post no longer uses the same kind of envelope. 
Dont even get me started when the strike was on. It was actually during the strike that I started going to the US, and I am so glad I did.
Okay enough of my whinning. LOL


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Fish rookie said:


> Canada Post runs one of the most expensive postage service in the world. It is by law that other couriers (DHL, FedEX, UPS...) need to be at a certain percentage above the cost provided by Canada Post. Canada Post is not allowed to increase their fees too often but they can increase their fuel surcharge quite regularly.


Dis you ever use CP when they farmed the work out to Dolphin. Fido shipped me a cell phone and it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday. I phoned Fido on Thursday and they told me that I had received it. I guess they tracked the item. I knew someone at CP and they went to work for me trying to locate my phone. It turned out that the driver had forged my name and kept the phone. I had a special delivery from Dolphin late that evening.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Most postal workers I have met from Canada Post are really nice and seem to really enjoy and take pride in their work. Canada Post is contracting a lot of work out to say convenience stores and super maket/pharamncy and like you said other couriers or brokers which do not seem to sometimes display the same level of integrity and expertise as the "official" Canada Postal workers. I would imagine it must be hard to control the standards of service this way. 

I have problem with the charges they charge and the way they do their business as it makes me and many Canadian businesses less competitive. Now I usually go to the US for international shipment. Canada Post makes millions each year, they are doing very well and they are a crown coporation with laws protecting them from their competitions. They are very expensive compared to postal services from most other countries.

For example, I told a customer postage was $150 CAD for an item going to the UK (actually it was $169 but I was going to charged $150 and paid the extra out of my own pocket as I knew how ridiculous it sounded) and he could not understand it because he said postage from the UK to his friend in Canada for a very similiar item was only 35 GBP, which was about $55CAD. He could not understand why it was not the same both ways as the same flight, same amount of time and the same type of work was supposed to be involved. 

Actually, speaking of the Canada Post's postal rate...could someone please explain to me why shipping to Ontario from BC is more expensive than shipping to Quebec eventhough Quebec is farther away?


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

China most
Likely isn't government run mail. Who knows?


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Most likely where the plane lands . Then trucked back to Ontario. Also Ontario is a big place. Lots of towns not near airports.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Insofar as Quebec goes it is of course further away from BC but closer to New Foundland. 

There are postal employees that have been caught stealing goods from the mail. We seldom hear about the issue. They are usually quietly terminated. But I'll tell you that according to my sources employees at CP are not treated well. 

Canada Post or ICBC are both Crown Corporations that can charge what they feel like. 

I don't know about all the shipping rates from various countries. I found shipping from the UK pretty expensive. The pound has of course been devalued so it's less expensive now. 

I think the least expensive shipping costs is from ASIA to here.


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## MOLOTO (Jun 8, 2010)

As an employee at Canada Post, I can honestly inform everyone wanting to save a few bucks in mailing costs. 

DO NOT take your packages to any postal outlet such as a 7-11, Pharmasave, or Shoppers Drugmart, etc. These franchises are allowed to charge their fees above the actual costs of postage rates on outgoing packages. 

Your best bet to save your hard earned dollars is to take it to a Postal Station which offers counter/wicket services. You will pay only the actual postage rate. Not too many Postal station offer the wicket services, you just have to call around to find the closest one to your home/work address.

My 2 bits to save everyone 200 bits.


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