UPS Sucks elephant

northof49 · Soul Rider Joined: 06 Aug 2003 Posts: 432 City: Toronto

OK - so I get a great deal on a new LF Substance - super excited to have it shipped up here to Canda (mucho cheaper ordering from US).

Anyway, so it arrives today - and UPS wants $130 - not for shipping, just for clearing customs.

So I call...and try to explain that as a percentage of the overall transaction, they are out of whack - and here's how it breaks down:

$50 CDN Tax - Don't know why USPS and Fedex have never charged me that
$5 Tax fee - because they had to collect the tax
$5 no Account Fee - Because I am receiving a package and don't have a UPS account
and $70 in UPS Brokerage fee - note there is no duty on wakeboards - this is just for them to fill out their forms..
Note - this isn't the shipping charge - they already also charged $30 for shipping

So I ask...what if the item was $130 - Apparently I'd save on taxes...but the brokerage fee is lowered by ...$8 ..

What a joke...I am still getting a better deal then buying it up here by far - however if I had known this was the case, I would have requested USPS, and bought myself a new handle with the money i saved....

BigRed · Posted: Sep 26, 2005 3:43 pm Post subject:

send it back and request usps.

microman · Posted: Sep 26, 2005 3:56 pm Post subject:

Yeah isn't it great. Somone charges you $20 for shipping when you make the transaction and then you end up paying nearly 10 times that to UPS at the door. It makes little sense no matter how they spin it.

ontrider · Ladies Man Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 16491 City: Russia

northof49, yes... UPS is bullstuff. The same thing happened to me and I got in a big dispute with them.

"Brokerage Fee" eh? WTF does that mean? $80 for some minimum wage employee to stamp a package?

And yeah, ship your boards USPS for sure.. it's like 20-25 bucks.

swilly · Soul Rider Joined: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 362 City: Eugene

Thats crazy. I ordered $7,500 worth of camera/security equipment from Taiwan and UPS didn't even charge me that much for bringing it in the states. I would call the billing department and ask what your options are, then tell them you can't afford the $120 and see what they say. They are people just like everybody else. Before you get all crazy with them, look for alternatives and options! Sometimes shipping things with an invoice stating "Sample" and stating the price of the unit lower than it really is makes a difference too, of course this involves the distributor helping you out!