Registered: Apr 2000
Location:
Posts: 2

I was wondering if any other Canadians could clear some questions up for me re: taxes and customs when ordering from the States.

I just received my Rhodiana case for my BVDx and it is fantastic...thanks to everyone for posting the informative reviews. However, having not mail ordered anything from the US before, I was shocked at the $25.25 CDN + taxes charged as a "brokerage fee". On a $75 CDN case, it seems a bit excessive to me.

Is there anyway to (legally) avoid or minimize this fee in the future when ordering from the US? Does shipping express vs ground make any difference?

BTW, my case was shipped via UPS ground.

--from a poor student hoping that more Visor products become available in Canada!!!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 34

The brokerage fees are UPS. They charge an arm and a leg for "regular" ground shipment. I remember when Handspring shipped to Canada (a very brief period a long time ago) and many people mentioned that UPS doesn't charge brokerage fees when you ship next day/air (or something like that... I'm working from memory here) and it only costs a few bucks more. It doesn't make sense but that's how it works. Someone will probably respond with more information, but here's a preliminary thought.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Regular US Mail or Canadian Mail is the way to go. Fedex shipping is also good. UPS Ground is crap because you have to pay a high brokearage fees in addition to their shabby service.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: North York, Canada
Posts: 50

For low value shipments, Canada Post is the best way to go in my experience. They only charge about $5 brokerage charge.

For higher value shipments, Air shipment by UPS or FedEx are the best.

Handspring shipped my Visor by ground, but I ordered Air shipment. UPS charged me about $40, which Handspring refunded to me after I complained that they shipped the wrong method.

The UPS website explains all the charges (Brokerage, PST, GST, COD charge, etc.), but it's a little hard to find.