A Way for Canadians to Save Money.

[Ray]

Maybe I was being too touchy. Spent all of Sunday with a stomach bug, so have been feeling pretty bad.

This whole US/Canada border thing is ridiculous. There is NO logical reason it should be so costly to ship across the border.

Wait a minute! Governments are involved, so logic does not apply.

As a person who lives about an hour drive from the border I think it was a great advice. I didn't have a chance to take an advantage of it yet, but I know people who ship to the US UPS store and pick the items up. They are amazed by the amount of savings left alone availability of some items (or lack of it here in Canada).

[silken]

I agree Ray, it shouldn't be so costly to get things cross the border, both shipping and duty. Our countries signed a 'Free Trade' agreement years ago but it is a joke.

[Ray]

Several years ago, an aunt of mine from N. Battleford sent me a needlepoint she did for me as a birthday present. Cost me $130 in duty.

Happy birthday to me.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Ray

Several years ago, an aunt of mine from N. Battleford sent me a needlepoint she did for me as a birthday present. Cost me $130 in duty.

Happy birthday to me.

OMG, that is insane! Did she put the true (likely high) value on the parcel? They force us to lie about those things when we can...

[ALToronto]

Well, I just got my very expensive shipment that prompted this thread, and the sole reason for the high shipping charges was the bottle of SucraShield. Even though it's an organic pesticide, it was listed separately on the documents, and it looks like the duty on it was something like 100%.

The package was not labelled HazMat, and it was not handled any more carefully than any other package. This simply looks like a punitive fee and a cash grab by Canada Customs.

If I had known that this little bottle would end up costing me $45 instead of $22.50, I probably wouldn't have ordered it. Ray, even though this will cost you some business, you should make a note on your website listing for this product that it is subject to unreasonable cross-border fees. Either that, or write it up it as a nutritional supplement or something else that doesn't raise a flag at the border.

Lesson learned.

[Ray]

Alla,

There is no hard and fast rule about who's going to be charged what. Yours is the first I have ever heard of any kind of fee being charged for SucraShield, and I would guess I've shipped easily 25 bottles to Canada over the last several years.

And I absolutely will not falsify documentation!

Borrowing a line from the defunct Syms chain: "Our best customer is an educated consumer." The foibles of international shipping are such that a vendor cannot possibly know all of the rules and regulations of every country, so it is up the the purchaser to know what to expect, and order - or not - accordingly.

Let me add that my original suggestion about driving to a US-based shipping service would have apparently paid off, in this case.


Ray Barkalow
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[Vanda lover]

I mail stuff around the world and it costs me more to send within Canada then it does to send anywhere else.
Even Australia!

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Well, I just got my very expensive shipment that prompted this thread, and the sole reason for the high shipping charges was the bottle of SucraShield. Even though it's an organic pesticide, it was listed separately on the documents, and it looks like the duty on it was something like 100%.

The package was not labelled HazMat, and it was not handled any more carefully than any other package. This simply looks like a punitive fee and a cash grab by Canada Customs.

If I had known that this little bottle would end up costing me $45 instead of $22.50, I probably wouldn't have ordered it. Ray, even though this will cost you some business, you should make a note on your website listing for this product that it is subject to unreasonable cross-border fees. Either that, or write it up it as a nutritional supplement or something else that doesn't raise a flag at the border.

Lesson learned.

Not pretend to be an expert on the matter but when I occasionally buy gardening stuff from Amazon.com as well as Ebay, the shipping charges and the calculator are available at the pre-order time.

I use the tools till I find the suitable shipping fee and calculate TOTAL, and it's an upfront deal, no surprises.

Overall, it is a very discouraging business to ship to Canada as already discussed.

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by rlilia

Not pretend to be an expert on the matter but when I occasionally buy gardening stuff from Amazon.com as well as Ebay, the shipping charges and the calculator are available at the pre-order time.

I use the tools till I find the suitable shipping fee and calculate TOTAL, and it's an upfront deal, no surprises.

Overall, it is a very discouraging business to ship to Canada as already discussed.

Most of the time, the stuff I want on Amazon.COM is not available for shipping to Canada. I have to order from Amazon.CA. I don't have enough experience with Ebay.