well us canadians have been getting the shaft from ups for a long time with customs and brokerage fees untill we found out we can clear our own shipments , now it seems they are pulling the same deal on our U.S. friends . the last 2 sales i made south of the border they were told they had to pay brokerage and customs fees. i would refuse the charges.
Are customs and brokerage services required, regardless of who does them? If so, then UPS must be performing a service for shippers/customers..........when is the last time you routinely performed services in your job or business and didn't charge for your time? If you can do it for yourself, good on you....go for it, but SCAM is really a pretty harsh label. IMO people are waaaay to quick to label someone else "GREEDY" just because they charge for something they have provided that the payer either doesn't understand or refuses to accept as value added.. I have no connection to UPS, except as an occasional shipper and receiver of goods, but in that experience I have found UPS to be outstanding in the services they render. Sorry if that is not your experience too. Ray
Mail it through the postal system. There may be a customs duty due to the value of the item but I've had things go both ways for years with no problem.
Via the post office, you might get nailed for sales tax, plus $5 collection fee. That's it. Smaller value stuff goes straight through. Via a courier, I've been hit with sales tax(no problem), improper duty on an item that was actually duty free, plus a $50 brokerage fee. I seriously doubt it takes 1/2 hour per package to clear customs.
Trouble is when you go oversize for the post office - Canada Post only accepts up to a certain size, often leaving the courier companies like UPS as the only option. I too would like to know how to avoid the brokerage USING UPS. Steve
Yup, UPS tacks on a huge extra fee on top of the taxes and duties. I got a dry ass raping from them for $48 brokerage fees on a $15.00 item once. Never again. I pay that much for a post office box in Washington once a year and handle all my customs stuff myself now. I'm happy and so are my customers. Shawn
i think some of the guys around here are using this company, http://www.seawings.ca/ lots of auto parts have free shipping within the US, so the parts get shipped to their Blaine office for free, then you pay for the shipping to BC, and as their add says, Upon arrival you may clear the product yourself or appoint a Broker of your choice.
I'm remembering something about shipments under a certain value (like $100) didn't require a formal customs declaration?
Scam and greedy are the right words. $20 for insurance on a $100 value is outrageous. But as long as we have the "nothing is free" mentality companies will screw us any way they can. Think about insurance with UPS. They're telling you they may or may not have the ability to get your package to the address on the label without losing it or breaking it. Would you go to a gas station and pay for $100 of gas and be asked would you like buy insurance on that $100 for $20? You ask why and get told you may or may not get the gas you paid for.
I use Package Express in Sumas, WA. They charge $4.00 per package to receive & are only 3 block from the border crossing. I have walked over many times when the lines are long & I have even walked over with my handcart once or twice.
Bought some parts from a fellow Hamber on here--items came from Canada--all was fine until I got a letter from UPS demanding $48 on a $300 dollar item--letter was also worded quite strong as to implications of non payment--no fault of the seller just a UPS ripoff
I always thought a consumer having to pay insurance against the service they're patronizing/paying for is pure horse shit. Any other industry bakes their fuck ups into the cost of running their business.
Yeah I know about avoiding brokerage fees by using the postal service. Problem is UPS is the ONLY shipper for some companies, right? Like Summit I believe. I also know about having a post box in Blaine or Point Roberts, but I don't live close enough to the border without having to make a special trip far out of my way. Costs me the same to just have it delivered to my door.
Ray you obviously never had a package delivered across the border because SCAM as well as Douche and A holes are very appropriate regarding their business practices regarding brokerage fees.
I had a good one last week. Ordered from the US only place I could get the part would only ship UPS so I relented and ordered it. They were nice enough to do the brokerage from their end so I figured I would pay GST when it got here which should have been about $22. I missed the delivery and had the note on my door that I owe $32 for brokerage. I think wtf the shipper paid brokerage and the GST is $22 and there should be no duty so I phone and get told there is a $10 redistribution fee for them to pay the gov't the $22 in GST. They are criminals.
I was under the impression that UPS shipments were automatically insured for $400 ... did that change?
UPS in the US is insured for $100, not $400. Over the border everything changes. I once sent an intake with carb on it to British Columbia, cost a fortune, but it got there, postal service, they'll accept a fairly big box.
when they piss off enough people , and they go down the tubes, maybe then they will get it, but at that time it will be too late. in the mean time keep fucking those that keep you going..isnt that the way these days? Hey i agree you have to charge for your services, but when it gets to the point of being rediculous, dont be surprised when the general customer base says fuck this. shipping costs are becoming very costly,, people are getting to the point where it can make or break a sale.And in this economy its just making it worse,.nothing like a shipping company to choke themselfs to death
Canada Post are the cheapest if the package is under a certain weight and size, I've always had good service from UPS,but is expensive but they call to see if I have a broker or they do it.A couple of weeks ago I ordered some circle track floats for a Holley cost of $25 FEDEX charged $80 for shipping, brokerage fees, and taxes and have shitty service,had to pick it up at the post office
First of all, the insurance charges you refer to were for USPS (post office) NOT UPS.....reading comprehension here is abysmal.....secondly, UPS INCLUDES insurance up to $100 automatically........Thirdly, if you think ANYTHING is free, you are sadly delusional. Ray
Another shallow analysis ............since UPS and other shippers do not open and inspect your package when you ship, but mere accept your word about it's contents and/or value, why would you think they would open themselves up to claims for values not established as a fact? Packages of any size can have contents with wildly varying values and the carrier DOES "bake in" their potential losses......up to $100 in the case of UPS...........but why shouldn't the shipper have some skin in the game, it's his merchandise........they are just hauling it for him. You guys think this is such a lucrative SCAM........buy some trucks, airplanes, terminals, hire drivers, pilots and have at it. Ray
Same thing for deliveries coming over here: anything over about $50 gets taxed (20%), and the carriers charge a fee for the pleasure of collecting that tax. It's usually around $15 for UPS, FedEx and USPS (handled by Parcelfarce in the UK). Of course, there's no incentive for them to let stuff get through to the already over-taxed public by simply delivering it...and it also adds a week to the delivery time for USPS while your parcel sits in the depot waiting for the notification letter to be sent out, and the tax and fees pre-paid by the customer (hostage!) before they'll deliver it.
Yes "shipping costs are becoming very costly"......that's the whole point. Do you, and others on this thread, really think that any of the carriers you are trashing have escaped the same rising costs you face? The cost of fuel, tires and numerous other supplies that comprise the carrier's cost have risen too. Gee, what gall to pass that on to the user/beneficiaries! So, who is the 'chokee' and who is the 'choker' ? Ray
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