so today i see two letters from fedex, i owe them $275 for two items they shipped for me, meanwhile i ordered this from speedmachine and payed them $150. can anyone tell me wtf is going on? something to do with customs? if so why wouldnt anyone tell me i had to pay 2 different types of shipping

 

You are describing the customs brokerage/duty charges that have nothing to do with the shipping cost. This sum has been paid for you by Fedex's broker to the government and they are now trying to complete the transaction by collecting it from you along with their fee for being the broker.

It is not the sellor's responsibility to inform you of costs that are specific to your situation. Sellor's don't have to keep track of the different Canadian provincial taxes rates etc. We are privileged that they will deal with us at all.

Chalk it up to experience and try to find ways to lower brokerage/duty in future transactions. But we've all been there at one time or another.

 

Ya both FedEX and UPS will end up sending you those kinds of letters. Most of the parts I order from the US are small enough to send via USPS, but god only knows if they'll charge you for those brokerage fees for larger parts as well.

 

oh because i never got it before, ok thanks for clearing that up. its just that iv been ordering parts from ebay and other stuff for 2 and a half years and never got something like this before and out of nowhere BAM!

 

USPS is the only shipping method I use when ordering stuff online or from the states. Usually takes one week for products to come to my door. Just make sure the person declares it as a gift and under $20.

 

DOesn't matter if they declare it a gift - if Customs opens it and finds it's automotive parts, they can add duty and taxes. If you receive more than one duty-owing item marked 'gift' that they open and decide duty should be paid, you go on a list and EVERY one of your packages is opened and checked from that point on. Ask me how I know

 

USPS is the way to go.
I had to pay 12 taxes/duty on my NOS foglights, with a declared value of $50

 

If it's marked "used auto parts" there is no applicable duties, at least that's what I've always had success with. And yeah, don't note the true value.

Second the motion for USPS, slim to none on the brokerage fee side.

 

- "GIFT" doesn't mean anything past a certain value

- not writing down the correct value works, but then if you have an insured package it will only be insured for that amount. also, a lot of retailers will NOT do this

- USPS you will avoid brokerage fees, but will still have to pay customs and taxes.
also a lot of times there are certain items that NEED customs forms filled out, so the shipper will have to fill these long long forms out, since USPS does not have brokerage service. THUS why a lot of people only ship out UPS.


now, i have heard of a service that UPS offers, where you ship it to a US address, and then you pick up the package at a local UPS store. i keep forgetting the exact details, but if someone knows what i am talking about, post about it

 

Why don't you do a search, I posted the link to the Canada customs site where you'll find all the info.
Basically, -20$ gift or not, no tax (doesn't mean no brokerage, UPS/FedEx WILL charge you brokerage, USPS/Canada Post will not)
-60$ GIFT no tax, but brokerage of 5$ with USPS/CanadaPost and only God knows how much with others.
+60$ if gift the first 60$ is not tax but everything else is. Brokerage fees also apply.

I think starting at 150+$ CanadPost brokerage goes up to 10$. But UPS/FedEx would probably be around 80$.

It's not the exact numbers but go on the canada post website and Canada customs site for exact numbers.

 

What'd you order from speedmachine?

I was going to order the CF front lip spoiler from there but shipping costs were absurd. They said due to the size of the item there's a flat rate imposed on it basically. The only way around it is to get a few people together on the buy and package them together, splitting the shipping cost up... Not that this had much to do with the original post.

 

i ordered their racing beat suspension package

 

i can do border runs from NY, duty free!!

 

I just ship stuff to a mailbox in the usa and smuggle it over.

 

Fed-ex's service sucks...don't even pay it.

same thing happened to me, bought some recaro seats from a shop in canada, and he was supposted to write "gift, used parts"...instead he puts "recaro seats" and i end up getting a bill...i simply did not pay it...i never authorized a broker to clear the merchandise, if the guy followed simple instructions i would not have got a $220 bill for that bullshit

 

Yeah, I got slapped with a brokerage fee on some shocks that doubled their price a few years back. The morale of the story is only order from vendors who ship USPS. I just got a set of camber/caster plates from RB, and I had to pay sixty bucks GST/PST, but that's nothing compared to what I'd owe FedEx/UPS for 'brokerage,' which is just code for forced sodomy.